Too Late for Regret

He Brought it on Himself

Chapter 5

Analise’s POV

My parents left an hour later, but it wasn't soon enough. My father was sitting next to me, helped me outline the next steps I needed to take. So he was there when Roger’s text came. They all looked at me after Dad growled out seeing ‘Husband’ on my screen. I quickly changed the title to ‘Roger- do not answer’ and he seemed happier about that. I clicked on the text as I already expected to see the creative way he planned to lie to me this time.

Roger [Babe, I’m flying to Paris Monday morning. Hoping to strike up a deal with another designer to bring them into the fold. This should help you, as you won’t be so busy anymore. I don’t want you to pass out again, and you’ll be my wife soon. You got us here, you don’t have to work so hard anymore.]

Ana [Which designer are you going to be speaking to?]

Roger [I don’t know who they are just yet. I’d heard about an up-and-comer here, so I wanted to speak to them. I’d like to get them into place before we leave on our honeymoon. I don’t want anything cutting our time together short when we go to Paris. I would like them to be up to speed on what we need them to do.]

Ana [Ok]

Roger [Love, I may end up letting them use your designs after they arrive. It would bring them and our company a great deal of attention. Attention is beneficial for all of us and will help drive up sales. I know that they're your designs, but as co-owner, you’ve always allowed me to use them before. It’s profitable for both of us, don’t you think? I don’t want our clients to think that when you step down, our company will struggle. I believe that doing this will help our business grow.]

Ana [I’ll think about it]

Roger [Are you upset with me, Love? You don’t seem like yourself tonight.]

Ana [I have a headache]

Roger [As long as you don’t have one when we’re on our honeymoon]

The nerve of him, putting a wink emoji after he said that. As if I would ever let him touch me again. I know where his hands have been now. I know Sasha, and what she is capable of doing to get what she wants. Now that I know that he had been flying to Paris to see her and had slept with her. Nothing could possess me to change my mind. He made his choice, I’m happy to let him live with it.

I was angry at his blatant favoritism, but I tried to act calmly. I knew Mom had told Gwen and Emily to keep an eye on me. They were worried about me, but Dad knew I would be fine. I was just like him. Once I was crossed, I was done. As a Caldwell, the wedding invitations had been sent out to all the prominent families. We had a reputation to uphold. That was the biggest issue: the wedding was three weeks away. Something was going to have to give because the invitations had been sent out long ago.

Despite my name being noted as Wade on the invitations, those in the know knew exactly who I was. They knew who this wedding was for, as this had happened before when my mother married my father. The elites of the city wouldn’t be giving the Cook family a heads-up. A number of them looked down on the Cook family. I’ve witnessed it in person myself. They were not the wealthy family they aspired to be. They have no claim to being part of the upper crust of society. They could have achieved it with me, but not anymore.

A smile came to my face at that thought. That is the only thing that makes me happy out of all this. Roger’s mother and sister have always looked down on me and talked badly about me. We had gone out to eat dinner two months ago, and that was the day I discovered just how badly they looked down on me. They're loud and abrasive. They had no etiquette. They liked to pretend, but anyone watching them could tell in an instant they didn’t fit in.

I had been sitting quietly, waiting for Roger to arrive so we could order, when it happened. At first, I was worried, as Erika Carrington was a friend of my parents and she was here for a dinner meeting. She saw me as she passed and nodded at me. She didn’t speak, knowing that my identity was to remain hidden until after the wedding. She was friends with my mother and had been warned what was happening. I had just nodded back to her to acknowledge her when Roger’s mother started to yell at me.

“How dare you try to act as if you know Mrs. Carrington? She was acknowledging us, not you. You're nothing compared to us. Now that Roger’s business is now being publicly traded, more people are starting to notice us. You have nothing good about you, Elizabeth. You’re a lowly orphan. You have no class or common sense. I will never know why Roger agreed to marry you, but please be assured that we do not support your marriage. You're beneath our family, and can only bring us down in the future,” Joyce Cook announced.

“Pathetic, how dare you try to ride on our success. You've clung to my brother for years. I can smell your desperation from here. Roger can do so much better than you. I wish he would cast you away and put you back in the gutter where you came,” his younger sister, Regina, spat out.

“Excuse me, but you’re both wrong. I was acknowledging Ms. Wade. I’ve known her for years, as she is an excellent designer. Maybe you two are the ones who need some common sense. I don’t know either of you, but I’ve never seen anyone be so disrespectful to an innocent woman in public before. You need to be aware of your surroundings before launching into such a vicious diatribe. You’re not at home, you’re inside an upscale restaurant, act like it,” Erika advised. She had come back to the table when she heard Mrs. Cook laying into me for nodding at Erika.

“What’s going on?” I heard Roger’s smooth voice come from behind me.

Erika immediately replied, “These two women were going off on my friend Elizabeth for no reason. I nodded at her to acknowledge her in passing. Apparently, it bothered these women a great deal.”

“I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding, Mrs. Carrington. Please don’t hold them responsible for responding out of turn. I can tell that they’re both regretful for it now,” Roger tried to be the voice of reason. He can’t afford to offend her; it could have dire consequences for both his company and his father’s company, too. She was the owner of one of the largest finance houses in the country.

Roger’s mother immediately understood where he was going with his comment. “Yes, Mrs. Carrington. I just didn’t want you to be insulted by Elizabeth’s actions. I didn’t know you knew her. It’s completely my fault. I’m sorry,” Joyce advised.

“Do you think that I'm unable to speak up for myself? I nodded to her first, and she replied in kind. She was using manners, which I think you and your daughter are lacking. There was no excuse for what you did, despite your son's attempts to smooth it over. I’m known for many things, Mrs. Cook, but being a pushover is not one of them. I know what I saw here today. I didn’t misunderstand anything. Excuse me, I have to leave. Elizabeth, please let me know the next time you’re free. I would enjoy getting to speak to you privately, preferably before your wedding,” Erika said as she slid her eyes over the women, before finally resting them on Roger. Her expression said it all. She didn’t have to say out loud what she was thinking about them.

The flush of color on Joyce and Regina’s cheeks showed that they got her message. Eliza then turned and walked away with her group. That's what made it even more embarrassing. They got their dressing down in front of a crowd of important businessmen, and it made Roger, and his father look bad. I had hoped that Roger would defend me, but instead, he sat down and grabbed my wrist tightly. “What did you do?” he hissed at me.

“Mrs. Carrington nodded at me, and I nodded back. She said it clearly herself. I know her professionally. I didn’t say a word. She was referring to what your mother and sister had had said, if that wasn’t clear to you,” I replied, my voice laced with sarcasm. What made him assume I caused any of this? I never cause a scene. His mother, on the other hand, lives to cause drama. He had been so nice to me, up until that time. He still hadn’t apologized, nor had his family.

How had I allowed myself to ignore the warning signs? His tight grip had bruised my wrist that night. I had to wear a brace for over a week because of it. He ended up taking me to the hospital after dinner, but he never admitted any fault. He had told the doctor that my injury was an accident. That I had tripped and fallen, and Roger had just grabbed my wrist to save me, which explained his fingerprints on my wrist. I feel like the biggest i***t. He was more concerned about his reputation than he was about my well-being. Yet, I stillclung to him.

I suppose I taught him that I was willing to accept anything he gave me, just to be with him. What a fool I was. Which reminds me that I needed to take Erika out for a meal. I knew what she wanted to say to me, so I had been avoiding her. There's no need to avoid her anymore. I need to discuss business with her anyway. Now that I’m no longer going to help Roger out, I need her to put his debt in his name only.

I had given him several million to get us up and started. He borrowed money to get our latest designs made. He never puts his money into the company. I know that if Roger realizes that I’m out, he won’t sign the new loan paperwork. I’ve already figured that out. I will secretly sell my shares to recoup my investment. I'll wait to quit until he brings Sasha in to take my place.

I also won’t be correcting any of the flaws that the design team makes this next week. Roger has the final say on what goes to production anyway, so it will all be on him and Sasha. I’m taking myself out of the equation. I’m going to let Roger see just how much help I have been to him over the years. He needs the wake-up call that he’s about to go down with the ship. Just the thought of that makes me smile.

He took advantage of my love for him. He was kind and caring when we were alone or texting me. I let myself fall for it because I wanted it to be true. The only thing I feel for him now is disgust. Wait, that’s incorrect. I feel a great deal of anger, and dare I say, some hate, mixed in there with it. My emotions should help me carry through with my plans. I don’t owe him anything except what he deserves because he brought this all on himself.