Delayed Regrets: He Regretted Only After Her Death-Chapter 166: To a Place You Love

This voice made Tiana Linden’s body tense up.

It was a voice she never wanted to hear again.

From the moment she heard him utter the first word, many painful memories flashed in her mind, like an inescapable nightmare.

A flood of memories surged into her mind.

Every frame was a past she never wanted to touch.

The past she had struggled to escape was easily awakened by Aiden Grant.

Slowly turning her head, she saw Aiden, who had also sat up on the bed with her, and her chest and lungs felt like they were bursting.

In the starlight from the window, Aiden’s eyes, full of guilt and deep affection, met hers.

Though a sea breeze blew one wave after another, Tiana suddenly felt devoid of air in her chest.

Her whole being suffocated to the extreme.

Her repelled and disgusted expression fell into Aiden’s eyes.

It wasn’t just her true emotion; it was also a thorn stabbed into Aiden’s chest.

He took a deep breath to ease the pain.

Restraining the pain welling up in his chest, he apologized deeply:

"Tiana, I’m sorry, I had to use this method to bring you back to me."

Smack!

Tiana slapped Aiden’s cheek.

She showed no mercy to him.

With that slap, she used all her strength.

Under the hazy moonlight, a red handprint immediately appeared on Aiden’s cheek.

The slap made her palm burn with pain.

But she wished she could slap him again.

Her eyes fixed stubbornly on Aiden, whose head was turned, silently enduring it all.

"Aiden, what exactly do you want?"

"Where is Daisy, where is Daisy?"

Aiden then slowly turned his head, enduring the pain, softly saying, "If you keep yelling, you’ll wake Daisy."

Only then did Tiana notice that Daisy was lying to Aiden’s right.

And Aiden was sleeping between her and Daisy.

This man was delusional about reuniting their family?

Ridiculous!

Tiana remained unfazed, "It’s okay, Hector Chaucer will definitely find us."

Upon hearing this, Aiden smiled.

He was laughing at Tiana’s naivety, and also mocking himself.

Once, she only had eyes for him, but now her heart was full of another man, who shared a bond deeper than life with him, his best brother.

Thinking of Hector Chaucer and Tiana’s closeness, Aiden grit his teeth tightly.

His tense jaw and neck muscles were a testament to his restraint and control.

And the unspeakable pain.

Then, a cold laugh again, "Look, are the ribbons, longevity lock, and safety string Hector Chaucer gave to Daisy still there?"

Tiana bypassed Aiden, crawling from the foot of the bed to Daisy’s side.

The ribbons tied in Daisy’s braids had long been replaced.

The safety string on Daisy’s wrist and the longevity lock on her neck were gone.

She touched her own earrings, gone too.

Reaching out, the ring on her hand was also missing.

The wedding ring that Hector Chaucer spent two months crafting himself, bearing his name.

Son of a bitch!

This time, fearing to wake Daisy, Tiana refrained from slapping him.

She didn’t insult him either.

She grabbed Aiden’s hand and bit down hard.

A row of teeth marks embedded into Aiden’s arm, deeper and deeper, until fresh blood flowed.

The taste of salt and blood seeped into her mouth.

Tiana still didn’t let go.

From the initial grimacing pain to finally a satisfied smile.

In this laughter, there was a hint of fulfillment.

He liked Tiana leaving marks on him in this manner.

He remembered their first night was after her college entrance exams.

She had just become an adult.

In the heat of the moment, neither controlled themselves.

That summer when she was eighteen and a half, he was twenty-one, the evening wind was gentle, the moonlight bright, the memories so vivid.

When in pain, she would also bite his shoulder hard like she did now.

Feeling his almost twisted laugh, Tiana finally released her bite.

She wiped the blood at the corner of her mouth, looking at his unreasonable self, "Aiden, you are simply a madman."

Yes.

He was indeed a madman.

He admitted, that since Tiana truly got together with Hector Chaucer, his jealousy had made him mad.

During those days, he never had a peaceful sleep.

Every night, he couldn’t sleep due to remorse, pain, and jealousy.

Sometimes he’d dream of Tiana dying in the operating room, sometimes of Tiana nestling in Hector Chaucer’s arms, smiling so brightly.

Night after night, he awoke from nightmares.

Beside him, there were smoked cigarette butts, and the night’s loneliness and agony.

He knew the harm he caused Tiana was profound.

Nothing he said could compensate for it.

The pain in his arm, however, made his zombie-like self feel alive for the first time.

"Tiana, the future is long, I will gradually prove to you my remorse and change."

"If you don’t like me lying beside you, I’ll sleep on the sofa."

With that, he got off the bed, took a blanket, and lay down on the sofa at the foot of the bed.

Meanwhile, Tiana climbed up and leaned by the window.

Looking out, all was black.

A cold and salty sea breeze hit her face.

She and Daisy were actually on a gigantic cruise ship, tens of meters high.

The night sea was pitch black, endless.

This man, to evade Hector Chaucer’s pursuit, actually abandoned air travel and chose sea routes.

She returned to the bed, asking, "Aiden, where are you taking us?"

Aiden rose from the sofa, picked up slippers from beside the bed, and bent down to place them at her feet.

Tiana pursued, "Where exactly are you taking Daisy and me?"

Seeing her not wearing the slippers, Aiden forcibly grasped her slender and fair ankle and put the slippers on her feet.

"Be careful not to catch cold!"

Though her feet rested on a soft carpet.

The carpet was newly laid by him, impeccably clean.

But he still worried she would catch a cold.

After speaking, he stood up, gently smoothing the hair the wind had tousled by her ear, "Go to a place where it’s already snowing. Didn’t you say back then that you loved watching the snow? I promised that I’d take you to see the snow one day, to witness how beautiful the scenery truly is."

That was after her college entrance exams, when she secretly indulged with him, lying in his arms, talking about wanting to visit a snowy place for a long journey.

Then walking together with him in the snow.

Because that way, as they walked, their heads would turn white together.

Such words, such an image were both memories in Aiden’s mind and simultaneously in Tiana Linden’s mind.

She did say those words.

But that was a foolish and ridiculous past she refused to admit.

She said icily, "I don’t like snow anymore now."

The cold tone froze the smile on Aiden’s face.

He took a breath.

His chest was still tight.

Wanting to brush away her wind-tousled hair again, she avoided him this time.

His hand froze in midair, "No worries, once you see the scenery there, you’ll surely like it."

She didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

Their conversations were always at odds, not a single word connecting.

Turning away, she lay back on the bed.

Daisy was sleeping soundly.

She patted Daisy’s head, staring at the man standing by the bedside, and asked, "When Daisy fell asleep in the car, what did you do to her? Did you use ether?"

Ether is a toxic chemical, harmful to humans.

Especially for children whose brain isn’t fully developed.

As Daisy’s biological father, how could he use such toxin on Daisy?

He explained, "Daisy inhaled a pure herbal formulation, prepared by my own hands, devoid of any side effects. It merely prolonged her sleep."

Tiana scoffed internally, at least he had a shred of paternal conscience.

However, Tiana felt no comfort from this, rather she detested his scheming even more.

This man studied Western medicine yet could concoct a pure herbal formula in a short time, making Daisy and her stay unconscious for long.

Clearly, he had been planning this operation for a while.

Lying next to Daisy, she ignored the man.

Contemplating how to break free from this man’s clutches.

But they were on the vast sea.

The only phone connecting her to Hector Chaucer was missing.

Escaping Aiden’s clutches was virtually impossible.

Thankfully, Daisy was still by her side.

She held Daisy tightly.

The man at the bedside walked to the window, closed it, and gently said to her, "Sleep now, good night. I’m right next to you, call me if anything arises."

Tiana didn’t respond.

In her mind is the iron-hearted yet tender image of Hector Chaucer, constantly appearing.

Unable to reach her, Hector Chaucer must be very worried.

She wondered if Hector Chaucer had a way of finding her and her daughter, her mind occupied with the man who never loved her since childhood.

If he lost her at this moment, how painful and miserable would he be?

The man on the sofa seemed asleep, with steady breathing; Tiana stated firmly, "Aiden, there can never be anything between us. No matter where or how long you hide me, I will never change my mind. Give up."

Suddenly, that steady breathing elongated.

Aiden, whose breath was stifled, took a deep breath.

In the thick night, Aiden slowly opened his eyes, watching Tiana, who held Daisy, her back to him. He also remained resolute, "Time reveals strength, and patience reveals true intentions. I have plenty of time."

For this plan, he even disregarded Linden-Grant Pharmaceuticals.

The research projects there were nationally supported priorities, once his dreams to benefit humanity.

Yet, he abandoned them all.

From now on, he would dedicate all his energy to Daisy and Tiana.

He believed that Tiana and Daisy would surely feel his repentance, transformation, and genuine heart.

...

Hector Chaucer drove through the night, rushing to the city where Christopher Grant was on a business trip.

At this time, the sky hadn’t yet brightened.

The car hadn’t yet reached Christopher Grant’s hotel, Hector Chaucer was already calling him urgently to come out from the hotel.

Christopher Grant, upon hearing that Tiana and Daisy were taken away by Aiden, realized there was no trace of Aiden in all of Veridia, even the entire country.

He too felt anxious.

Watching Hector Chaucer’s car slowly enter the hotel gate, Christopher Grant walked over hastily.

As the car stopped, Hector Chaucer quickly got out.

Christopher Grant looked apologetic, "Hector, sorry, Uncle Linden and Aiden both ignore Linden-Grant Pharmaceuticals now, leaving everything on my shoulders alone; I’m doing the work of three men, busy day and night. Still unable to contact Tiana and Aiden?"

Hearing this, Hector Chaucer had a clearer understanding.

Christopher Grant was so busy, no wonder his unserious wife would seek another man outside.

After leaving Harmony Villa at Star River Bay last night, Hector Chaucer had Gordon Lowell arrange for someone to tail them, capturing photos of Jane Summers secretly seeing off a white-face man before dawn.

Hector Chaucer didn’t plan on giving those photos to Christopher Grant now.

Things were already chaotic enough.

He didn’t wish for Christopher Grant to lose his anchor suddenly.

Additionally, with his heart set on Tiana and Daisy, he had no spare energy to deal with Jane Summers’ messy affairs.

He asked Christopher Grant into the car.

In the car, they went straight to the point.

"Did Aiden instruct you on anything before leaving?"

Christopher Grant fished out a car key from the briefcase, "Aiden wanted me to give you this. He knew about your accident, fearing The Chaucer Family or your enemies would retaliate against you, custom made a high-security vehicle for you."

Hector Chaucer had no intention of taking that car key.

Christopher Grant forced it into his arms, "Don’t underestimate this domestic BYD; it’s even better than your previous Hongqi Gregory. Not just explosion-proof, bulletproof, and collision-resilient, but once it falls into the water, it can sail like a boat over three hundred kilometers. It’s our new skill in domestic cars."

"I’m not asking about that; did Aiden behave unusually?"

Returning to the topic, Christopher Grant tried hard to recall, "Speaking of unusual behavior... Aiden asked me to prepare two hundred billion in liquid funds, not knowing what he plans to do with it."

Finally, Hector Chaucer had a glimmer of clarity.

This man preparing such a massive cash flow must have his reasons, "Can we trace where this cash flow is spent?"

Christopher Grant: "I need to go back and check."

Hector Chaucer: "Let’s go check together."

Unable to find any news about Tiana and Daisy is tormenting him, leaving him restless night and day.

From Tiana and Daisy’s disappearance to now.

It’s been over ten hours; he hasn’t sipped water, eaten, or closed his eyes.

Aiden is a clever man.

He knew Hector Chaucer would follow the trail to the two hundred billion cash flow prepared by Christopher Grant.

Also aware Hector Chaucer would continue investigating.

When Hector Chaucer and Christopher Grant returned to Veridia, pursuing this clue further, it yielded nothing.

Aiden indeed opened an account abroad at the Swiss Bank.

But each transaction was a cash withdrawal after taking out the money.

Unable to trace which assets he purchased, where the money was spent, every transaction was a substantial cash withdrawal.

Christopher Grant took a deep sigh, "Hector, this man intends to completely hide Tiana and Daisy, ensuring no one finds them."