When You Started to Regret - Chapter 36

His only sister was no fool.
If Elaine ever learned the truth about the past between himself, Vanessa, and Dominic she was smart and strong enough to see through Dominic’s intentions immediately.
And she would leave him. Without hesitation.
Even if she loved him.
Even if her feelings were real.

But at the same time, Fernando knew how deeply it would wound her.
Since she was a child, once her heart locked onto something—or someone—she loved with a kind of reckless intensity.
He and Vanessa had always feared that one day, Elaine would fall for the wrong man and get hurt.

And Dominic Cheshire was worse than “the wrong man.”
He wasn’t just a scoundrel—he was something far darker.

Had he only been after the Aiola name—its wealth, its prestige—Fernando would’ve almost preferred that. Because so long as Elaine remained Elaine Aiola, no man who only wanted her title would ever dare to truly harm her.

But Dominic didn’t want the name.
He wanted ruin.
Vengeance.
The kind that reduced everything to ash—until all that was beautiful in her world became a wasteland.

What was he going to do to her?

Whatever it was, Fernando knew—it would devastate Elaine.

And still, he hadn’t told her the truth.

Because deep down, he feared not just her pain—but her disappointment.
He didn’t want her to know how low he’d stooped to break a man.
Didn’t want her to see how vile her brother had truly been.

In that sense, Fernando Aiola was a pathetic older brother.

But still, Elaine…

The same little girl who once endured pain for his sake—at just six years old.
The only comfort he had during those fragile years when, at eighteen, he was forced to become head of House Aiola after their parents died.
When he looked into her green eyes—so much like his own—it always brought back that day from fourteen years ago.
She made him feel guilt and peace, all at once.

“Haah…”

He exhaled, pressing his fingers to his burning, sleepless eyes.

“Elaine… my poor sister…”

He would have to be the villain—if only to sever the tie between her and that man.
There were still ways. Even if it meant breaking the promise they had made long ago.

“There’s no helping it.”

His voice was low as he clenched his jaw until his teeth ached.

If I can just separate them… then after that…

“…I should’ve never let him live in the first place.”

Fernando rose from the couch. He couldn’t afford to sit idle any longer.

At that same moment, Vanessa stood on the third-floor landing, peering down the staircase as Elaine quietly ascended, wrapped in a white shawl.

Her hand gripped the banister so tightly that veins stood out on the back of her hand.

Vanessa bit down on her lower lip, waiting until Elaine was fully out of sight before she dared breathe again.

No. I can’t let her be ruined like this.

Her past with Dominic had been nothing more than a brief, reckless indulgence.
He was a low-born war slave Edmund had dragged home from the battlefield.
Three years younger than she was. Vanessa had never truly loved him. But she had cared.

Even in her eyes—eyes accustomed to the finest things in the kingdom—Dominic had been beautiful.
And the way he sometimes looked at her, wide-eyed with admiration… that naive little crush had amused her.

Maybe that was why she played along.
Even with Fernando as her perfect fiancé.

Vanessa had cared for Dominic’s sister Liliana, too.
To her, Liliana had been the most lifelike and exquisite of all her dolls.

She had washed that delicate girl clean, dressed her in fine clothes.
Vanessa hadn’t overfed her—after all, an overweight doll was no longer beautiful—but she gave her just enough of the finest foods.
She even allowed Liliana to meet with family in secret, hidden from Edmund’s eyes.

She had been a kind mistress.

So no—Vanessa hadn’t wanted Liliana to be broken.

But she had loved Dominic just a little more.

If Liliana had been a prized doll, Dominic was a cherished pet.
And when she had to choose between them, she’d chosen the pet.

Was it truly such a sin to discard the doll for the sake of the dog I loved more?
Whatever guilt she’d once felt had faded long ago.

Vanessa descended the staircase, her hand still resting on the railing.

Once she reached the first floor, she paused to look around.

The interior of the Aiola estate spread out before her—elegant, old, and full of quiet beauty.

She loved Hermanda.
She loved House Aiola.
She loved her perfect husband, Fernando.
She loved her darling little sister-in-law, who called her “Vanessa Unnie” in that sweet, chirping voice.

She had been born the kingdom’s only princess—of the purest bloodline in Hermanda.
And when she came of age, she became the lady of the kingdom’s most powerful house.
She had lived the most beautiful life a woman could ask for.

And she loved every inch of it.

Her past with Dominic… was the one stain on that perfect life.

She had no intention of letting it ruin what she had built.

Fernando, Elaine, Aiola—they’re all mine.
I won’t let Dominic touch a single piece of it.

Even if she had committed an unforgivable sin against Dominic, it wouldn’t matter.
Of course it wouldn’t.
She was Vanessa.
The only princess of Hermanda. Now the matron of the kingdom’s most powerful house.

Abandoning a doll she once adored, breaking a boy she once fancied—none of that could possibly warrant something as heavy as the word sin.

I have to separate Elaine from Dominic.

Vanessa recalled the conversation she’d had the night before with Turner.
She had subtly tried to gauge his feelings during his visit for her birthday celebration.
Surprisingly, Turner had been ready to let Elaine go.

“Elaine already has someone else. What more can I do? I just want her to be happy. To cheer for her love.”

“So that’s it? You’re giving up on her? Just like that, to some man of questionable background?”

Vanessa had questioned him with disbelief.
Turner had only smiled—bitterly.

“Her feelings are what matter most. You know this, Vanessa. I’ve always been in her debt. Since that incident when she was six, I swore I’d live my life for her. So if what she wants is happiness with him, then I’ll quietly step aside.”

That voice—so resolute, so unwavering—had left Vanessa speechless.
Elaine had been right. Turner had stayed by her side out of guilt.

But guilt, Vanessa realized, often looked remarkably like love.
It wasn’t the same love she knew, but if it wasn’t love… how could someone devote themselves so fully, so selflessly, to another person?

So, Vanessa decided.
Whatever his true feelings were, she would use them.
It wasn’t betrayal. Not when everything was for Elaine’s sake.
This, too, she justified—not as selfishness, but as loyalty.

And somewhere else in the house, another person hadn’t slept a single minute that night.

Bella.

She kept thinking about her last, faintly disappointing encounter with Dominic.
A strange unease gnawed at her.

At first, she’d told herself his recent behavior was due to his nearing revenge.
But what she saw yesterday—in the annex—kept unsettling her.

The way he looked at Elaine.
The gentleness with which he took her hand and walked beside her.
The quiet protectiveness, no less intense than Fernando’s or Vanessa’s.

…He looked like a man who was truly in love.

Could it have all been an act?
And if so—just how brilliant an actor was Dominic?
How terrifying a revenge would require deceiving even himself to that degree?

Bella chewed at her fingernails.
The image of Dominic helping Elaine down from the carriage earlier still lingered in her mind.
Even when no one was watching, he acted the part of a gentle lover. It must be for show, right?

But is it really just an act?

That gaze, that face, that tenderness—was all of that truly a lie?

No.

The thought struck her, fierce and immediate.

I found Dominic first. Not Elaine. Not Vanessa. Me.

She had been the one who first approached that lost, ragged slave boy wandering the palace in search of his sister.
She had been there when he fell in love with the princess.
When he was crushed by her betrayal.
When he was believed to be dead—by Vanessa, by the world.

And through all of it, Bella had loved him.
Always. Unchanging.

So for him to now look at another woman with those eyes, to give someone else that kind of love—
It felt like betrayal.
Betrayal of her devotion. Of her years of quiet, unwavering love.

Dominic returned again on a day when Fernando was away.

“It’s fine. Fernando’s out,” Elaine whispered with a playful smile.

Seeing him glancing around warily, she reached out and took his hand.

“You’re early today. Want to wait in my room? I’m not quite ready yet.”

She didn’t even give him a chance to answer, her words tumbling out in a soft stream of cheerful chatter.

Dominic let himself be led, the corners of his lips curling into a faint smile.

He didn’t mind the sound of her voice.

Not at all.

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