Nights Burn With Regret — by Nathan Perez 171
Chapter 171
Chapter 171
Matthew
37
“Mr. Hades Sinclair, the world’s most renowned billionaire and the sole heir of the Sinclair Corporation, is set to host his wedding party tonight. The world is buzzing with excitement. Despite being known for avoiding media attention, Mr. Hades Sinclair has allowed full coverage for this event and invited influential billionaires and politicians from across the globe. Tonight’s event promises to be truly historic-”
“Turn it off,” I said sharply.
The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, immediately nodding.
“Yes, sir.” He reached forward and switched off the screen, plunging the car back into silence.
I turned my gaze toward the window, my reflection staring back at me, dark eyes, hollow, and exhausted. My expression was blank, but my heartbeat was anything but calm. It was pounding so hard against my chest it felt like it wanted to tear its way out. I couldn’t understand what was happening, and worse, I couldn’t understand why it bothered me this much.
Hades Sinclair was married? And he was having a wedding party with guests?
None of it made sense.
My father barely tolerated people, let alone crowds. He avoided the media like a disease, treated relationships like transactions, and had never shown genuine interest in any woman before. So why now? Why a wedding party? Why make it public? Why invite the entire world to watch?
And why did my mind keep drifting to thoughts I didn’t want to have?
I clenched my jaw, my fingers curling tightly into my palm. It was ridiculous, and completely delusional. And yet no matter how many times I told myself to stop, the thought kept resurfacing like a curse I couldn’t shake.
Why did it feel like the woman he was marrying was Violet?
The very idea made my stomach twist. Violet, my girlfriend. Or at least, the woman who used to be. The woman everything had gone wrong with. There was no logical reason to even entertain that thought, and yet my mind refused to let it go. It was as if something deep inside me was screaming that I was missing something important.
The past few days hadn’t helped.
After the parking lot incident, my father sent me out of the country under the excuse of urgent work. Work that was relentless, suffocating, and overwhelming. I hadn’t slept properly in days. My body felt heavy, my head constantly aching, and my patience worn down to nothing. I couldn’t even delegate the tasks, no one would help me. Every time I tried, people suddenly became unavailable, busy, or outright refused.
It didn’t take a genius to realize someone had given an order.
And I had a sinking feeling I knew exactly who.
Hades Sinclair.
Why would my father intentionally exhaust me like that? Why push me to the brink unless he wanted me distracted, drained, and unable to think clearly? The more I thought about it, the tighter my chest felt. Everything felt calculated, and planned.
And Violet.
After everything that happened with her, I tried to keep tabs on her. I sent people. Yet, not one of them reported back. Not a
Chapter 171
single message, call, or update. They just vanished. As if they had never existed in the first place.
That didn’t make sense either.
Violet couldn’t do that on her own. She wasn’t powerful enough to erase people so cleanly. Which meant someone else had stepped in. Someone far more powerful. Someone who didn’t want me anywhere near her.
My hand tightened even more, nails biting into my skin as I dragged a frustrated hand through my hair. Every path my thoughts took led to the same conclusion, no matter how much I tried to avoid it.
Tonight’s party wasn’t just a celebration.
Something was going to happen. Something big. Something no one was expecting.
And for the first time in a long time, I had the unsettling feeling that I wasn’t in control anymore, and that whatever awaited me tonight was already set in motion.
Beside me, a soft, familiar voice broke through the chaos in my head. “Matthew,” she said gently, her fingers slipping around my hand. “What happened? Are you okay? You haven’t said anything since.”
I turned my head and saw Nora looking at me, her expression full of concern, that innocent smile perfectly arranged on her lips as she squeezed my hand lightly. Under normal circumstances, that look alone would have been enough to calm me. It always had been.
I used to melt every time she looked at me like that, as if I was the only thing in her world. But this time, nothing stirred. just an overwhelming sense of irritation and exhaustion.
Without thinking too much about it, I pulled my hand away from hers and placed it back on my lap. The movement was small, but the effect was immediate. Her smile faltered for a second, before she tried to hide it. I caught it anyway.
“Matthew…” she said quietly, uncertainty creeping into her voice.
“It’s nothing, Nora,” I replied, my tone flatter than I intended. “I’m just tired.”
Her eyes flickered at my words. I knew that look. She didn’t believe me. Nora had always been good at reading people, especially me. Still, she didn’t push. Instead, she forced that smile back onto her face and nodded slowly, as if convincing herself rather than me.
“Are you sure?” she asked softly. “If you’re not feeling well, we can stop somewhere. I can get you something.”
I looked at her, and for a moment my chest tightened for reasons I didn’t fully understand. Violet would have said something like that too. Even when I snapped at her, even when I was cold and distant, she never stopped worrying about me. She would quietly do everything she could, bring food, make sure I rested, stay by my side, never asking for anything in return, never complaining, as long as I was okay.
Nora and Violet were similar in so many ways. That was what I used to tell myself.
So why did it feel so different now?
I frowned slightly, memories surfacing against my will. Violet’s voice echoed in my mind, the words she said that day by the pool, when she fell into the water and looked at me like she finally saw through me.
No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t. She was right. I liked her because she reminded me of my first love,
Nora.
Back then, I loved Nora with everything I had. When we were kids and she left me for another man because I was poor, I didn’t even hate her for it. I told myself it was natural. People wanted security. And when I was adopted by Hades, when I suddenly had wealth and power, I convinced myself that taking care of Nora was the right thing to do. That now I could finally give her everything she wanted.
21:16 Tue, Jan 13
Chapter 171
So why wasn’t I satisfied?
Violet was gone. She was out of the way. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? I could finally be with Nora without complications. And yet the thought of Violet with another man made something dark twist violently in my chest. The idea of letting her go completely, of someone else touching her, loving her, felt unbearable, and suffocating. As if I would rather die than accept that reality.
“Matthew?” Nora raised an eyebrow, calling my name again, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I blinked and looked back at her, realizing how long I’d been silent. I let out a slow sigh and shook my head, forcing my expression to soften.
“It’s fine,” I said quietly. ” Don’t worry about me.”
She frowned slightly, clearly unconvinced, but she didn’t press further. She simply nodded and leaned back in her seat. And as the car continued forward, I stared ahead, my thoughts tangled and restless, knowing deep down that nothing about this situation was fine at all.
AD
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21:16
Tue, Jan 13
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