HIS REGRET (Ex-Husband wants Me Back) novel Chapter 182

**Shadows of the Past – By Emma Clarke**
**Chapter 182**

“Ensure that Vanessa doesn’t do anything foolish! Remove anything sharp from her vicinity!” Theo commanded, his tone laced with genuine trepidation after hearing the chilling threat his daughter had uttered.

And who could truly blame him? He understood her nature all too well—headstrong, impulsive, and dangerously unpredictable when backed into a corner. If Vanessa voiced an intention, there was always a lingering possibility that she might act on it, devoid of any remorse or second thoughts. And if she did… Theo would be left to shoulder the fallout of her scandalous actions.

Daven’s announcement of their divorce had not merely been a hollow threat. The man was not one to speak lightly, and the manner in which he had made his declaration so publicly left Theo acutely aware that Vanessa’s chances of winning him back were virtually nonexistent.

Damn it. Everything he had meticulously planned had crumbled into dust.

“Yes, Mr. Theo,” one of the staff members responded, a hint of anxiety evident in his voice.

Without uttering another word, Theo withdrew from the living room, his phone buzzing incessantly in his grip. Calls were flooding in—damage control awaited him. At the very least, he had managed to bring Vanessa back to his home, a place where he could monitor her closely. He couldn’t afford to let her act on any reckless impulses. One catastrophe was already more than enough.

But Vanessa was far from finished.

Still simmering with rage, she propelled the table in front of her with a violent shove, sending it toppling over. Dishes clattered and shattered against the marble floor, the polished surface now glistening with sharp shards that pierced her bare feet. She didn’t care. Her eyes were puffy; her once-beautiful face marred by streaks of ruined mascara, a testament to her inner turmoil.

“Miss Vanessa, please, stop!” one of the servants ventured, his voice quaking with fear as he approached her. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Shut up!” Vanessa spat back, fury erupting from her throat like a raging wildfire. Not content with merely destroying the table, she turned her wrath upon the glass cabinet that housed her father’s cherished porcelain collection.

“Damn you!” she roared, smashing her palm against the cabinet’s surface. “Damn you, Daven! Damn you, Althea! Filthy whore! How could you betray me like this?!”

One by one, her porcelain treasures plummeted to the ground, shattering into countless fragments that littered the floor like fallen stars. Vanessa’s hands began to bleed, her rage blinding her to the pain.

“Miss Vanessa…” the servant tried again, his voice trembling with trepidation. He had never witnessed her in such a state, though given the sensational headlines that had been plastered everywhere, it was hardly surprising that her fury was spiraling out of control. Still…

“Miss Vanessa, please. Your foot is bleeding. Allow me to tend to your wounds—”

“SHUT UP!” Vanessa screamed, seizing the nearest picture frame and hurling it across the room. It narrowly missed the servant, crashing into the back of the sofa instead. The sound made him flinch, a shiver of fear racing down his spine.

“All of you only know how to pity me, don’t you?! Get out! I don’t need anyone’s pity!”

The servant lowered his head, hands quaking—torn between adhering to his master’s strict orders to stay with Vanessa and his own fear of her uncontrollable rage.

“Miss Vanessa…” he attempted once more, his voice barely above a whisper, almost breaking under the weight of his apprehension.

“I said get out!” Vanessa screamed, lifting a small vase that remained unscathed. The servant shrieked in terror and bolted toward the door—just as Theo entered, still engrossed in a conversation on his phone.

“Mr. Theo, Miss Vane—”

Theo raised a hand, silencing the servant with a single gesture. The man quickly closed his mouth, relief washing over him as Theo stepped into the living room, only to find it in utter disarray.

“What do you mean by that?!” Vanessa stepped closer, her eyes red and swollen with indignation. “You care more about your business than about me? Your own daughter?!”

Theo let out a long, weary breath. He shut his eyes tightly, and when he opened them again, he fixed her with a hard, unwavering gaze.

“If you continue down this path, Vanessa, I won’t be able to protect you anymore.” His hand rose, giving her cheek a light, almost weary pat. “I won’t allow the reputation I built through my own sweat and blood to be obliterated by your disgraceful actions.”

With that, he turned sharply and began to walk away, leaving her standing there in the ruins of her fury.

“Dad! Don’t go! You can’t leave me now!” Vanessa cried out, panic surging within her chest. She didn’t care about the stinging cuts on her hands or the searing pain in her feet.

“Dad!!!”

But Theo was already gone, not sparing her a backward glance, as if her fate had ceased to concern him.

“No! Don’t do this to me, Dad!” Her voice cracked into a desperate plea. “I don’t know who else to turn to!”

Silence enveloped her. Theo’s figure had vanished into the depths of the house.

“Daddy!”