I Won't Accept Any of Your Regrets

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End.

"I can't promise you love, and I'll have no other woman but you," Juan Yihe had said. His tone was neutral, as if making a business deal, not a vow. The coldness of his words never left Qin Ran's heart, even after all these years.

But Qin Ran—no, Evelyn De Maxwell—had convinced herself that it would be enough. She thought her love for him would fill the gap he left. How foolish she had been.

She looked out at the sprawling city below her, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Even now, the memory of his words still stung as she prepared to make the final decision that would change everything.

"Qin Ran, you're not serious about this, right?" Her best friend Li Jia Jia asked, standing beside her on the terrace. Jia Jia's eyes were wide with concern, her usual fiery attitude softened by worry. She had always been the voice of reason, pushing Qin Ran to recognize her own worth. But this... this was different.

"I am," Qin Ran said softly, her eyes still fixed on the city lights, "I can't do this anymore, Jia Jia. I've waited long enough."

Jia Jia sighed, brushing a hand through her short, pixie-cut hair. "You know he'll fight you on this, right? You're not just some woman he can easily discard. You're his wife. You've stood by him for five years, and now you're telling me you want to leave?"

Qin Ran's heart clenched, not at Jia Jia's words, but at the thought of those five long years. Years where she had stood in the shadows, waiting for Juan Yihe to see and love her. She had sacrificed everything, her life, her joy, her heart... and for what?

For a man who would never love her. A man whose heart still belonged to someone else.

"I don't care anymore," Qin Ran whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "I can't keep waiting for him to love me. I can't keep pretending that I'm okay."

A tear slid down her cheek, but she wiped it away quickly. Evelyn De Maxwell didn't cry. Qin Ran, the girl who had once been so full of hope and dreams, had long disappeared. Now, there was only Evelyn—the queen of business, a woman of power and strength, a force the world couldn't ignore.

Meanwhile, at the Juan Family Mansion...

Juan Yihe sat at his desk, his eyes scanning the paperwork before him. His mind, however, was elsewhere. His first love, Lou Jiang, had returned with a child.

His heart clenched at the thought of Lou. She had left him years ago without explanation, and now she was back. With a son who looked so much like him, it was unnerving. The child's dark hair and striking eyes were a mirror of his own.

"Yihe, we need to talk," Lou Jiang's voice interrupted his thoughts. She stood in the doorway, holding the child's hand. Lou's beauty hadn't faded over the years, but there was a hardness to her now, something calculating in her gaze.

Yihe frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What is it?"

Lou smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You know what this is about. Cheng needs a future. He needs a father. He needs you."

Juan's heart raced, but not for the reasons Lou probably expected. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to face the fact that this child—his child—would change everything. But what about Qin Ran?

The woman who had stood by his side for years, waiting for something that would never come.

Back at the Maxwell Estate in Russia...

Evelyn's older brother, Zhou Fang Yue, also known as Dmitry De Maxwell, stood at the window, watching as his sister approached the grand estate. Her face was as composed as ever, but he knew better. He had watched her suffer silently for too long, and now... now she was finally taking control.