Chapter 1
Chapter 1
3:30 pm, Helen Hospital.
I had always thought my birthday would bring something else–hope, perhaps, or a sign that things could change. But instead, it brought me here, to a cold hospital
room under sterile lights, alone.
Before I went into surgery, the doctor had paused at the foot of my bed, flipping through his notes. He didn’t look up at first when he asked, “No family coming to
accompany you?”
in WI.”
The question caught me off guard. I swallowed and pressed my fingers the rough hospital blanket, gripping it like a lifeline. “No,” I said. “I’m fine on my The lie came out smoothly–too practiced, too familiar.
He glanced at me, concern flickering in his eyes as if he could see through my thin veneer of confidence. He didn’t push, though, he just sighed and made a note on his clipboard.
As I was wheeled toward the operating room, I caught snippets of conversation from two nurses walking by. Their voices, bright with gossip, seemed so out of place in the sterile, impersonal hallway.
“Did you hear? Dwight and Belinda were spotted together,” one of them whispered, her tone tinged with excitement, as though it were a piece of juicy news everyone needed to know.
“Really? They were each other’s first love, weren’t they? Could you imagine if they got back together after all this time? It’s like something out of a romance novel. They have to get married. I mean, how perfect is that? It’s fate!”
Dwight…
Chapter 1
His name dropped into my chest like a stone into still water, creating ripples of unease. The pain was dull, but it spread quickly, slowly suffocating me.
It had been months since I last saw him, even longer since we’d had a real conversation. Whenever I tried to mind–link with him, all I found was an empty void. The bond that once connected us felt frayed, like a thread worn thin from
neglect.
Dwight and I had run away together, eloping to the human world and leaving our
werewolf pack behind, driven by passion and a desire for freedom.
At the time, it had seemed so romantic, so right. He was a rogue, someone my pack
would never have accepted, and I had rebelled against them to be with him.
But now, after five long years, that rebellion felt like a distant dream.
The surgery lasted three hours, though it felt both like an eternity and an instant. When I woke up, the world was darker than I remembered, the shadows long and the room quiet. My body ached, but the pain wasn’t unbearable.
Werewolf healing was a strange gift–what would have taken humans weeks to recover from, I could already feel stitching itself together beneath my skin.
I reached for my phone, expecting nothing. Maybe a message from a distant friend, or perhaps even one from my pack, though we hadn’t spoken since I left. But the first thing I saw was a missed call from Dwight.
My heart lurched, a confused mix of hope and dread rising within me.
Why now? Why today, of all days?
But before I could decide, the phone rang again. It was him.
I hesitated for a second, then answered.
“Sylvia!” Except it wasn’t Dwight’s voice I heard. It was hers. Belinda’s voice was
21:26
The Ex Husband’s Regret: I Shot to be Overnight After Chur Divorce
Chapter 1
cheerful, almost too cheerful for the darkness that surrounded me.
“Hey, Sylvia! Dwight told me it’s your birthday! Happy birthday!” Her words dripped with warmth, but each syllable felt like a dagger, twisting deeper into my
chest.
“We just got a cake–it was so good. There’s half left, and I told Dwight to bring it
home to you. Don’t be upset, though, it’s so late, and I couldn’t find anywhere to
get you a gift.”
Before she could finish, I heard Dwight in the background. His voice was a little too sharp. “Stop talking so much, Belinda. You’re bothering her.”
They both said it at the same time. It was almost comical, like they were two halves
of the same person.
Belinda huffed playfully. “I knew you were going to scold me again. You always did when we were dating. Well, you’re not my boyfriend anymore, so stop acting
like it.”
Dwight chuckled in response, low and familiar, and my stomach twisted.
I didn’t hear the rest of their conversation. My vision blurred, tears stinging at the edges of my eyes. I felt the ache in my chest sharpen, and for a moment, I thought it was the surgery. But no, this pain was deeper, more profound. It was the pain of realizing that the person I had sacrificed everything for was no longer mine.
Someone in the background shouted, “Dwight, you should just get back together
with Belinda. You’re only happy when you’re with her.”
I couldn’t listen anymore. I couldn’t bear it.
Without thinking, I hung up t
