Thus Began Your Regret (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 15
The moon hanging in the sky was exceptionally clear on this autumn night.
At the Allen mansion, where the night deepened and everyone had gone to bed, only a faint light remained.
Edward hurriedly stepped out of the carriage and pulled a heavy pocket watch from his coat. Opening the lid, he saw that the time was already nearing 1 a.m.
‘If I’d known I’d be this late, I should have sent word.’
His lips were parched with anxious worry.
Though he had feigned calmness in front of his staff, the moment he’d passed his target time by even an hour, his own heart had begun pounding as if it might leap out of his chest.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’d devoted this entire year solely to this project.
He’d searched and searched for a material capable of withstanding that level of output, only to find nothing suitable—forcing him to revise his design again and again.
Those moments flashed before his eyes like a reel of memories, and though he couldn’t say for sure, if Louisa had been standing right before him, he might have burst into tears and clung to his wife just as he once had.
Just like back then in the small Greenberg laboratory.
It had happened while he was raising a toast and reminiscing with his staff. Once the excitement subsided slightly, he suddenly remembered Louisa, waiting for him at home.
Louisa.
His heart plummeted.
Louisa, waiting alone again in the reception room.
Louisa, staying up all night anxiously over his unexplained absence.
Edward immediately checked his watch—but it was already so late that even the telegraph office had closed.
The moment he realized this, a chill swept over his entire body as if icy water had been poured over his head.
From then on, his heart began racing for an entirely different reason. Without another thought, he abruptly rose and left.
‘How should I apologize? What should I even say?’
Edward nearly ran as he hurried forward.
With every step, dozens of scenarios played out in his mind—but none of them ended well.
Bang. Edward pushed open the front door and stepped inside.
Before his eyes was the usual soft glow of the gas lamp.
Thankfully, no other lights seemed to be on in the house—but one could never be sure. He strode quickly down the hallway.
Stopping before the reception room door, he saw it tightly shut, not a single sliver of light escaping through the cracks. No—there didn’t seem to be anyone inside at all.
He swallowed hard, then reached for the doorknob.
Click.
The latch turned, and the door opened.
The hallway light softly illuminated the interior.
Edward looked beyond the open doorway to the spot where Louisa always sat.
An empty chair.
Staring at the unoccupied seat, he quietly closed the door.
Inside the dark reception room, as if bewitched by something, Edward walked toward the chair where Louisa always sat.
Grasping the backrest, he felt the distinct coldness of metal.
He placed his hand on the cushion upholstered with the soft velvet his wife loved—but the coldness of the cushion, devoid of any lingering warmth, pierced his chest.
Silently, he smoothed the cushion for a long while before pulling out the chair and sitting down himself.
He thought of his wife gazing out the window—and turned his own head toward it.
Outside, two large lamps brightly lit the mansion’s main gate.
The perfect spot to notice immediately anyone entering through the front gate.
His eyes suddenly stung with hot tears.
His stubborn wife, who had never once listened to his repeated requests, had finally listened to him for the first time today.
[This is the timeline separator]“Oh my goodness, Master!”
At 5 a.m., Mrs. Johnson, who had come downstairs to begin her morning cleaning, let out a startled cry.
“What are you doing here at this hour? Don’t tell me you stayed up all night in this room?”
Then she spotted the empty liquor bottle and glass on the table, and her voice rose even higher.
“Good heavens—did you really finish an entire bottle?”
“……Don’t mind me. Just carry on with your cleaning.”
Edward rose from his seat as he spoke.
Flustered and unsure what to do, Mrs. Johnson hurried off to the kitchen, saying she’d bring him some honeyed water since he seemed to have been drinking.
Because of that, Edward missed his chance to slip away and simply sank back into his seat.
After some thought, he decided not to go to work today. Since he’d already achieved his goal, surely spending just one day by Louisa’s side would be all right.
Taking the honeyed water Mrs. Johnson offered, he asked, “When does Louisa usually wake up?”
“Lately, Madam has been getting up around half past six.”
“Is that so?”
Ever since she no longer prepared for his departure together with him, her waking time had grown later.
This time, he resolved to help Louisa get ready for work himself.
She had always done this for him—so he wanted, no, needed, to do it for her just once.
To understand what else he might be missing, he had to try anything and everything he could.
Following Mrs. Johnson’s instructions, he gathered the morning essentials: a towel, a robe, and other necessary items.
Right at 6:30, he knocked on his wife’s bedroom door—and heard her voice invite him in.
Click. Opening the door, he saw Louisa stretching before the wide-open window.
Dressed in her nightgown, her hair tousled—
a rare sight indeed from her, who was practically the definition of neatness itself. Edward forgot himself for a moment and let out a soft chuckle.
“Mrs. John—… Edward?”
Turning around, Louisa looked visibly startled, her eyes flickering as they met his.
“Good morning.”
“You’ve been saying that quite a lot lately. But what are you doing here with that?”
“I’m not going to work today. You have a meeting, right? I came to help you.”
“That’s all right—you must be busier than I am.”
Louisa’s voice sounded no different than usual, yet he clearly sensed the invisible line she was drawing between them.
Edward lowered his gaze like a guilty man. He forced himself to speak, offering an excuse.
“I was a bit out of my mind yesterday. Actually, the project I’ve been preparing lately was finally completed.”
“Oh… I see.”
Louisa nodded. Yet even after hearing his explanation, her expression showed no noticeable change.
“I’m glad you achieved a good result—congratulations. I wish I could have celebrated it with you. I’m sorry my congratulations are late.”
“No, I’m the one who only just told you.”
“Even so… you don’t need to feel sorry. Work is important, after all.”
“Of course it’s important—but not this time. It truly wasn’t intentional.”
“I know.”
Louisa offered a weary smile. She walked listlessly to the bedside table, picked up the bath bundle Edward had brought, and said,
“Anyway, since it’s a rare day off for you, why don’t you go get some rest?”
“No. Let me help.”
Edward spoke urgently.
“It’s a rare day off, so I want to stay by your side—me, personally.”
Her subtle rejection made him anxious—it felt as if Louisa no longer wished to keep him close.
Their eyes met—his pleading, hers conflicted—as he noticed her lips tremble, ready to speak.
He thought he knew what she would say—and spoke first.
“I’m sorry.”
For the first time between them, who always only argued, came an apology.
He felt her surprised gaze pierce right through him. Edward met her eyes fully as he continued,
“I really am sorry. It won’t happen again.”
In his haste, he realized the flaw in his own words and quickly added,
“That is… even if we end up divorcing someday.”
It was a difficult thing to say—but it was the truth.
From now on, he would never again make Louisa feel such emotions.
She stared at him with deep, quiet eyes—then let out a long sigh.
“All right. Do as you please.”
[This is the timeline separator]The engineer, known for his delicate hands, had long shown remarkable skill at styling a lady’s hair.
Edward, who used to braid her short bob in various ways, once again displayed that talent today—neatly braiding and coiling her hair into an elegant updo.
Mrs. Johnson sincerely praised him, saying the master possessed a talent he’d never known before. Preening proudly, Edward began flitting about, claiming he’d find a dress to match the hair accessory he’d placed—only to be scolded once by Mrs. Johnson and promptly stripped of his selection rights.
When it was time for Louisa to leave, Edward headed down to the garage ahead of her.
There, Paul Johnson was already waiting, having started the car.
“Master. Good morning.”
Paul Johnson greeted him warmly. Edward strode straight toward Louisa’s vehicle and said,
“You may go attend to your duties now. I’ll be the one taking Louisa today.”
“Will you also drive her home after work?”
“I’m not going into work today.”
Edward opened the driver’s side door and gave Paul a pointed look, signaling him to step out. Chuckling, Paul complied and said,
“Master… about what you mentioned yesterday.”
Edward, now seated in the driver’s seat, turned to look at Paul Johnson.
“Might there perhaps be a reason why you and Madam won’t be attending the party together?”
“Why ask such a thing out of the blue?”
Edward frowned, clearly displeased—but seeing Paul’s ever-gentle face, he finally answered.
“…There is.”
“May I take a guess at that reason? Perhaps… it was because you didn’t want Madam to worry.”
Edward nodded at Paul’s words.
Paul hesitated over how to phrase his next words—then decided to cut straight to the point.
“I believe it would be best if you attended the party together with Madam this time.”
“What have you heard to make you say that?”
“Madam told me to let this matter rest quietly, but…”
He recounted what he’d confirmed yesterday by asking Louisa herself.
“For men, having a distant relationship with their wives isn’t considered a serious fault. They can simply take a mistress or lover as they please—and some even boast about how beautiful their mistresses are.”
Edward frowned at this sudden, unexpected topic.
Still—it wasn’t entirely untrue. He’d never been particularly interested in others’ affairs, but remembering how Councilor Valeria had so loudly flaunted her own mistress, the statement didn’t seem entirely wrong.
“But those legitimate wives, pushed into obscurity by such beautiful mistresses, are different. They become the neglected—the ones who failed to hold onto what was theirs.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true. But why bring it up now?”
“Master… when people see a couple growing distant, they naturally assume one thing: that the husband has taken a mistress.”
Edward’s eyes widened as if he’d been struck hard on the back of the head.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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That seems nice at least he is trying the problem that he doesn’t know how !!!