He Left Her for His First Love, Only to Regret It When a CEO Spoiled Her
Chapter 4
Daniel waited two days.
Then he sent another message.
I owe you an apology.
Emily read it.
This time, she didn’t delete it.
She replied:
You don’t owe me anything anymore.
Daniel stared at the screen.
He deserved that.
But he still called.
She answered.
“Hello?”
“Can I explain?”
“You can.”
“But you don’t have to listen.”
“I know.”
He took a breath.
“I made a terrible mistake.”
She closed her eyes.
“I know.”
“I thought I was choosing love.”
“And?”
“I was choosing memory.”
Silence.
Daniel continued.
“Sophia was my first love.”
“I know.”
“I thought that meant she was supposed to be my last.”
Emily said nothing.
“But I forgot who stood beside me when I had nothing.”
Her voice softened.
“You didn’t forget.”
“What?”
“You remembered.”
Daniel froze.
“You chose not to value it.”
The words hurt because they were true.
“I know.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Because I regret it.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“I can’t be responsible for your regret.”
“I know.”
“And I can’t become the person you suddenly appreciate because another man sees my worth.”
Daniel’s heart tightened.
“Is that what Alexander is?”
“A reminder.”
“Of what?”
Emily looked out the window.
“That I should never beg someone to see me again.”
Daniel was silent.
Then he asked:
“Do you love him?”
Emily didn’t answer.
“Emily?”
She finally whispered:
“I don’t know.”
That was enough.
Daniel hung up.
At the office, Alexander noticed Emily was distracted.
He didn’t ask immediately.
He waited until lunch.
“Do you want to talk?”
“About Daniel.”
Alexander nodded.
“He called.”
“What did he want?”
“To apologize.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“Do you forgive him?”
Emily thought.
“I forgive who I used to be.”
Alexander waited.
“The woman who thought his leaving meant she wasn’t enough.”
He smiled.
“And now?”
“Now I know better.”
Alexander reached across the table.
He didn’t touch her.
Just placed his hand near hers.
“You don’t have to choose me.”
Emily looked at him.
“What if I want to?”
“Then choose me.”
She smiled.
Their relationship began quietly.
No dramatic announcement.
No public affair.
Just two people learning each other.
Alexander never bought Emily love.
But he did something she had never experienced before.
He noticed.
Her favorite coffee.
Her mother’s birthday.
The small things that made her nervous.
The projects she was proud of.
He even remembered the names of her childhood friends.
Then, on Emily’s birthday, he surprised her.
Not with jewelry.
Not with a sports car.
He rented the little bookstore where she had met Daniel twelve years earlier.
She walked in.
“What is this?”
Alexander smiled.
“I asked around.”
She looked at the shelves.
The same smell.
The same quiet.
The same corner where Daniel had first spoken to her.
Alexander held out a book.
Inside the cover was a handwritten note:
You don’t have to erase your past to deserve a future.
Emily cried.
He took her hand.
“Happy birthday.”
She hugged him.
And somewhere across the city, Daniel received a photograph from Sophia.
Emily.
Alexander.
Together.
His stomach dropped.
Sophia watched him carefully.
“You still want her.”
Daniel didn’t answer.
And that was all the answer she needed.
