The Runaway Bride's Regret

After I found out my fiancée had fallen for another man, I gave her one last chance. She could break off our engagement and go abroad with him for a closed research program, or she could marry me. She chose me. But at our wedding, she heard he was about to marry someone else, and she abandoned me and ran out after him. What she didn't know was that betraying me would come at a price. Chapter 1 Just as things between Evelyn and me reached their peak, a nickname slipped from her throat in a low moan. "Ry..." That was when I knew she'd fallen for her youngest student. So while she lay there afterward, still in a daze, I gave her one last chance. "Let's go get our marriage license tomorrow." She flatly refused. She said she was going abroad with Ryan Cole for a closed research program. Calmly, I gave her two options. Either she stayed here, or she broke off our engagement. Evelyn was allergic to alcohol, but she drank all night. When she woke up, she gave in. "I'm not going." From that day on, she drank behind my back and ended up getting her stomach pumped more times than I could count. Then came our wedding day. The officiant had just announced, "You may kiss the bride." At that exact moment, several of Evelyn's students suddenly stood up to take Ryan's side. "Professor Monroe, you broke Ryan's heart, and now he's getting married tomorrow!" Evelyn went white. Like a madwoman, she threw down her wedding ring and ran off the stage. I snatched the microphone from the emcee. "If you go after him, we're done!" Her whole body jolted, but she still got in her car and sped away. I laughed. Evelyn, you can't have it both ways. You chose love, so I'll take your career. ... A minute after Evelyn left, the guests started pointing and whispering. "Evelyn just ditched her own wedding to run off with the other man. That's a slap in the face to the whole Hayes family!" "Who would've thought even Nathan, the Hayes heir, could get dumped like this?" "Guess even someone as even-tempered as Evelyn couldn't put up with his rich-boy temper!" The gossip drifted into my ears. But Evelyn's parents looked even paler than I did. "Nathan, what happened today is Evie's fault. Don't worry, we'll drag her back tonight, and the two of you will have your wedding night!" "Richard, have you lost all sense of shame?" My mom scoffed and stepped in front of me. "What Evelyn did today wasn't just a slap in my son's face. She openly declared war on the entire Hayes family!" My dad and my sister wore icy expressions. The pressure coming off them was suffocating. Diane, pale-faced, pleaded with me. "Nathan, that boy seduced Evie! You know her. She's always been so principled. She never would've done something like this before!" Before? I let out a cold laugh and turned the word over in my mind. Evelyn was a professor at a top university. She was quiet and awkward. She couldn't even be bothered to send me a sweet message on Valentine's Day, let alone remember any other holiday. Every time I brought it up, she brushed me off, irritated. "Nathan, these holidays are a waste of time and energy. I'm not in the mood to waste either on them." So, time after time, I made excuses for her in front of my parents and friends. But when she forgot my birthday yet again, her clueless student, Ryan, posted on social media. [Thanks to my amazing professor for gift number 99!] The photo showed a bed covered in designer watches, luxury car keys, and key cards to a villa. All together, it was worth millions. That night, Evelyn made it up to me by pulling me into bed herself. But what she didn't know was that the name she called out in the heat of the moment gave away who she really loved. Afterward, she took the chance to bring up going abroad with Ryan to do research. For three years. That day, I finally saw it clearly. It wasn't that Evelyn didn't know how to love. She just didn't want to love me. I shook off Diane's grip. My voice was calm. "As of today, Evelyn and I are no longer engaged." If she couldn't love me, then she didn't get to love anyone. "Call off the engagement?!" Richard shouted. Then something occurred to him, and he forced a smile. "Nathan, what about your promise to help me with our cash-flow problem..." Before I could say anything, my sister sneered. "Richard, you've got some nerve. The engagement's off. Of course everything else is off, too!" Richard and Diane turned ashen. Monroe Group was in the middle of a cash-flow crisis. Only our two families knew. This marriage was less a match between two families and more Evelyn's plan to save her family's company. Too bad she'd blown it. I was about to leave when Richard, refusing to give up, rushed in front of me, his face twisted. "Nathan, don't worry. I'll give you an answer by tonight!" I didn't think much of it. When I got home, I burned every gift Evelyn had ever given me, all of them academic papers. Back then, I'd thought she just wasn't romantic. I'd even treasured the research papers she'd dashed off for me. When I was done, a notification popped up on my phone. Ryan had posted again, bragging. [Finally got a taste of my crush!] The photo showed a red bite mark on a woman's chest. It said everything. I smiled and took a screenshot. The next second, Evelyn called. "Nathan, I was wrong to run out on the wedding today, but Ry is my student. I can't just ignore it when he does something stupid." I laughed. "Something stupid? What does his wedding have to do with you, Evelyn? You humiliated me in public today. You should've thought about the consequences." That shut her up. Chapter 2 An impatient voice came through the phone. "Are you done yet? I've told you, there's nothing going on between us. It's bad enough that your mind's in the gutter, but now you're deliberately spreading lies about us? Nathan, what happened to you? "Fine. My dad already called and chewed me out. Hurry up and sort out the investment. I'll come back once I'm done talking some sense into Ry." Listening to her act so high and mighty, I found the whole thing ridiculous. She was the one who'd said she was just a reserved person and begged me to be patient with her. Then she'd turned around and laughed and joked with her male student. She was the one who'd used work as an excuse to ignore my birthday, yet she'd gone out of her way to prepare exquisite gifts for her student. And she was the one who'd humiliated me in front of everyone at our wedding, all for someone else's happiness. I'd given her countless chances to choose. And she'd chosen to humiliate me by running out on our wedding in front of everyone. I'd loved her, but that was over now. I was going to block and delete her, but the call hadn't ended. Then I heard Ryan's taunting voice. "Professor, who lasts longer? Me or your fiancé?" "...You." I raised an eyebrow and hit record. Then I contacted the private investigator who'd been staking out Evelyn's villa. "Tonight, record everything they do. Every position, from start to finish." Evelyn, you can come back, but there'll be no one left behind you. Sure enough, at five in the morning, Richard forced her to come back to my place. The moment she walked in, she threw several big boxes of luxury gifts at me. "Nathan! How long are you going to keep pushing my dad? You're going after the company over a few boxes of designer stuff? You're mixing business with personal grudges. You were never like this before. "You're not young anymore. Would it kill you to play fewer games?" Every word was sharp, like she was deliberately stabbing me with a knife. I sneered, stepped forward, and ripped open her shirt, revealing the bite mark underneath. Evelyn froze. "Ry's cat bit me..." I scoffed, remembering how Evelyn had hidden the fact that she was the Monroe family's eldest daughter when she first pursued me. I'd been touched by her awkward, inexperienced way of chasing me. Later, when she became so self-righteous, devoted herself entirely to research, and treated money like dirt, I was the one funding her behind the scenes. I even brought in my friends from our circle to invest and back her. And with a few careless words, she'd written me off as a jealous husband throwing a fit. Her phone rang. She answered it and hurried off again. Before leaving, she warned me, "Nathan, if you still want me to marry you, be good and stay out of trouble. Hurry up and fix the company's problem. I don't have time to keep fighting with you." Three minutes later, Ryan posted again. [Trained my crush like a dog. She comes running whenever I call.] My gaze sharpened. I turned and sent a message to the group chat of Kingswell's rich heirs. "Cut off all funding for Evelyn Monroe's lab." Replies flooded in within seconds. "Got it, Nate." She wanted to help Ryan shoot straight to the top? Then I'd give her what she wanted. But without the basic funding, how long could they last? What I didn't expect was a commotion downstairs at my company the next afternoon. My assistant, Owen, came running in, drenched in sweat. "Mr. Hayes, we've got a problem! Professor Monroe brought a bunch of students and lab staff to the company. They're demanding an explanation!" I narrowed my eyes and looked down through the glass skylight. I clearly saw more than a dozen people holding up banners. [Nathan Hayes, capitalist! Stop holding science hostage!] [Capitalists, get out of research funding!] ... I steadied my racing heart and told security downstairs to let them in. Ten seconds later, more than a dozen people stormed into my office. The moment Ryan saw me, he dropped to his knees with a thud. Tears streaming down his face, he slapped himself as he sobbed. "Mr. Hayes, I know you've never liked me. You can have people beat me, curse me, even ruin my face, but you can't get other people to pull funding just because you're jealous! "If you're angry, then slap me yourself!" The sound of slaps rang through the whole room. Evelyn rushed forward and, heartbroken, pulled him to his feet. "Ry, stand up straight! This has nothing to do with you!" Then she glared at me, her voice icy. "Nathan, pulling that funding is a matter of national importance. It's not some rich capitalist's plaything!" I said nothing and coldly watched the show. The moment Evelyn finished, the students and researchers behind her were whipped into a frenzy. Some of them shoved their phones in my face to livestream, shouting in outrage, "Everyone, we're live! A capitalist is blocking scientific progress and bullying students!" Others snuck up behind me with red paint and deliberately splashed it on me. I was soaked from head to toe. The sticky paint spread over every inch of me. And Ryan, refusing to give up, knelt in front of me again. Facing the camera, he ripped off the bandage on his face. The moment the horrifying scar was revealed, everyone gasped. I looked down at him coolly. "Mr. Hayes, please, just let us go! I know this all started because of me. I'll do whatever you say!" Then he crawled over to me on his knees and whispered, "Nathan, so what if your parents are the richest family in Kingswell? The thing Professor Monroe hates most is rich, powerful people like you! She's going to be mine. You can't take her from me." The next second, in a show he'd staged himself, he pulled out a hidden knife and stabbed himself in the stomach. Chapter 3 Warm blood sprayed across my face. Ryan's mouth hung open in terror as he pointed a trembling finger at me. Everyone was stunned by the sudden turn of events. One after another, they pointed at me and screamed. "Murder! The capitalist's killing people!" Evelyn's face darkened with fury. She shoved me away hard, held Ryan in her arms, and roared, "Call 911!" I stared coldly at the smug look on his face. My hands clenched at my sides without my realizing it. After Ryan was loaded into the ambulance, Evelyn walked up to me, scowling. "You nearly got him killed. Happy now?" The crowd erupted again. A new wave of insults came at me, and people started smashing things in anger. Just as things were about to spiral out of control, I smirked. "You're saying I tried to kill him? Then let's pull the security footage and settle this in front of everyone. If I really stabbed Ryan, I'll go to prison." The moment I said it, the angry crowd slowly quieted down. Doubt even started showing up in the livestream chat of the people who'd been filming. [No way. You guys are being manipulated. I don't think this guy's dumb enough to kill someone.] [You never know, though.] [Yeah, I don't think he's that stupid either. If anything, that other guy seemed a little unhinged.] Evelyn stared straight at me, frowning hard. "Nathan, you're the CEO of Hayes Group. You could easily have the footage swapped. "Ry is my student. If you want to hurt him, you'll have to go through me first." Refusing to let it go, she picked up her phone, flipped the camera around, and made her accusation with red-rimmed eyes. "Nathan Hayes is my fiancé. Lately, he's been acting like a jealous little boy and has hurt a lot of people. As his fiancée, I apologize. But I won't cover for him. I want to be clear: everything he's done to my student Ryan is true. "As for his interference with research funding and the attempted murder, I definitely won't defend him in court." With that, Evelyn ended the livestream without hesitation and left with the group. Someone still wanted to turn back and curse me out on her behalf, but she forced them out. I stood there speechless. Owen swallowed nervously. "Mr. Hayes, less than a minute after the livestream ended, Hayes Group's stock dropped ten points." I forced down the emotions churning inside me. "Contact the PR department. Get a statement ready. Fast." But my statement couldn't keep up with how fast Evelyn and Ryan's smears spread. Clickbait accounts went wild, maliciously editing videos of me "killing someone" and pulling funding. My accounts were swarmed by armies of paid trolls and haters. Some keyboard warriors even mailed me razor blades. People on the street called me "the vampire of academia." Every project Hayes Group had been working on, even the contracts that had already been signed, was either pulled or hit with sky-high compensation demands. As public outrage spiraled, my sister, Claire, called. "Nathan, this got out of hand. Evelyn and the Monroes are paying off troll armies on every major platform and every lawyer in the city with any clout so no one will take your case. "They're saying you deliberately sabotaged a major national project. People in government have even come asking questions. And those senior board members want you to apologize to the Monroes, agree to the marriage, and fix their cash-flow problem. You..." I took a deep breath, hung up, and unblocked a number. "Let's meet." Chapter 4 Half an hour later, Evelyn took me to the hospital where Ryan was staying. "Apologize." I looked down. "I'm sorry." Her expression softened a lot. Only then did she flick the ash from the cigarette between her fingers and raise an eyebrow. "So even you can get backed into a corner, Nathan? "But back then, Ry was exactly where you are now. He was hurting even more than you are." I glanced up at her. "What do I have to do for you to leave me alone?" Evelyn crossed her legs and leaned lazily back against the leather couch. Casually, she asked Ryan, "Ry, you tell him. What do you want?" Ryan bit his index finger, playing innocent. "I... I just want to make peace with Mr. Hayes." Evelyn ruffled his hair helplessly. "I know you're timid. Let me handle it. "Nathan, fill the gap in the Monroes' cash flow and tell that sleazy crowd of friends of yours to reinstate the research investments. And since you ruined Ry's face, you'll pay for his skin graft. "Apologize to Ry publicly on every platform. Once you've done all that, I'll think about marrying you." I was so angry I laughed. I gave her a long look, then turned and walked out. That apology was for the blind fool I used to be. But she had some nerve. She'd named a ridiculous price. And if I gave it to her, did she even deserve it? The moment I left the room, I had the private investigator send me the videos and photos he'd recorded. Then I pulled together the evidence my hacker had dug up earlier about the illegal materials being used in her lab. Since she liked this game so much, this would be enough to keep them busy for the rest of their lives. I finished up and left the hospital. But as soon as I stepped outside, a sharp pain exploded at the back of my head. My vision went black, and I fell backward. When I opened my eyes again, a blinding surgical light was shining straight into my face. I struggled, but my wrists and ankles were locked down with iron chains. Evelyn walked over, her expression cold. "Nathan, did you think you could just come and go from this hospital as you pleased? You've had plenty of time. Have you made up your mind?" My heart leaped into my throat. The veins in my forehead throbbed. "Evelyn, if you touch a single hair on my head, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!" She led Ryan over to me by the hand. "Ry's face! If you hadn't made a scene and pulled the funding, we never would've had to use cheap materials, and he never would've been hurt in that explosion! "You think an apology fixes that?" I clenched my jaw. My blood was boiling. "He did that to his own face!" But Evelyn chose to ignore me. She coldly instructed the doctor beside her, "Let's begin. Take the softest layer of skin from his face. I don't want Ry's body to reject it." A sharp needle pierced my skin. My whole body shook with pain and hatred until my screams grew fainter and fainter. Only then did Evelyn come in. Her guilty gaze fell on the bandages covering my entire face. "Nathan, I'll marry you." With every ounce of strength I had, I slapped her. Her head snapped to the side, and a faint smile crossed her lips. The next moment, I was dragged away and shoved into a car. When I got out, a huge crowd of reporters aimed their cameras straight at my face. Evelyn forced me down into a chair at the press conference. She coaxed me gently. "Nathan, just clear everything up and pave the way for Ry's future. Then it'll all be over." Under the table, my fists were clenched so tight they shook. I listened as the reporters below, eyes gleaming with excitement, hurled one sharp question after another, each one meant to finish me off. I smiled faintly. Evelyn, did you really think you had me under your thumb? I'd been ready for this all along...