HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 517

Chapter 517

“Damn it,” Selena muttered, her hands clenched into fists. Her breath came fast and uneven as she struggled to contain her anger.

The dining room door shut behind her with a solid thud. She walked away quickly, her breathing still ragged. Her jaw tightened every time she remembered the way Nathan and Riana had looked at her-as if she were the source of every problem. The way they had judged her. They should have realized that what she said was the truth.

“They’re too blind,” Selena murmured, her face flushed with emotion. “I’ll prove that I’m right. Just wait. You’ll regret treating me like I don’t matter.”

Her nails dug deeper into her palms until the sting from the accidental scratches became sharp and real. She didn’t head straight for her room. She needed to calm herself down. Her head throbbed, her thoughts tangled. Where could she find a glass of wine to take the edge off?

But more than the wine, one thought kept gnawing at her.

Eli.

“Where is that child?”

Selena stopped in the middle of the corridor, her gaze sweeping the area, searching for the figure who had left earlier. No one was there. Her chest rose and fell again-this time not from anger at Nathan or Riana, but at her own daughter.

“How could she say something like that in front of them?” she muttered under her breath, her voice tight with pressure. “As if I were the villain.”

The sound of a servant’s footsteps passing by made Selena snap her head around.

“You,” she called.

The servant stopped, slightly startled. “Yes, Madam?”

“Where is Eli?” Selena asked flatly.

The servant hesitated for a moment before answering. “Miss Eli has returned to her room, Madam. She went with Gia, who followed her earlier.”

Selena narrowed her eyes. “To her room?”

“Yes, Madam.”

Without another word, Selena turned away. Her steps were much faster now, her anger not only unspent but growing as she replayed with what Eli had done. The girl was slipping further out of her control.

“No,” Selena shook her head slowly. “Eli can’t be allowed to act on her own. I need to make her move the way I want her to-like before.”

She sensed that Eli was beginning to forget one crucial thing: everything she did was supposed to be under Selena’s control. Without her guidance, Eli would never get what was rightfully hers. She should have been

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grateful-but instead, what did Selena get?

“I need to teach her a lesson,” she whispered. “She can’t act however she wants.”

As she passed the corridor leading to the back garden, Selena slowed her steps. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Josh heading in that direction. Her brow lifted slightly. The boy looked hesitant before moving forward.

Selena stopped. Her instincts kicked in immediately. Josh wouldn’t be in the garden without a reason. Besides, he had followed his mother toward the right pavilion earlier-so what was he doing here?

Slowly, Selena moved closer without making a sound. She stopped behind a large pillar near the glass doors leading out to the garden. From there, she could see the wooden bench by the pond.

And they’re sat Eli.

Selena held her breath for a moment. Her chest filled with a complicated mix of emotions. But she didn’t move. She chose to watch-watch what the two of them were doing. And since when had Eli grown close to Josh? How had she missed something like this?

Questions crowded Selena’s mind, one after another. Meanwhile, Josh seemed to be moving closer to Eli.

Selena narrowed her eyes. She studied the way Josh stood, the distance he deliberately kept, and how Eli rose the moment she noticed his presence. From where Selena stood, she couldn’t hear their conversation clearly- but their expressions told her enough.

Eli looked nervous. Josh looked tense.

Selena crossed her arms over her chest, focusing on every movement. She watched Eli lower her head, then lift her face again. Josh did most of the talk. Eli listened. There were long pauses-and more than once, Selena saw Eli’s shoulders slump.

A conclusion began to form in Selena’s mind.

They weren’t strangers to each other.

Her gaze sharpened. If Eli and Josh were close, that could be a useful opening. Emotional closeness often unlocked doors that couldn’t be forced open any other way. And Eli had never mentioned this to her?

“Damn it. That girl really needs to be reminded who’s in control.”

She kept watching until Josh finally turned away, leaving Eli alone on the bench.

Selena moved quickly. She adjusted her pace to look natural, as though she knew nothing at all. When Josh stepped through the glass doors back into the house, Selena deliberately approached from the opposite direction.

They crossed paths.

Josh paused for a fraction of a second. Selena looked at him with a thin, carefully crafted smile.

“You two seem rather close,” she said softly, her voice laced with hidden meaning.

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