Chapter 10 â Andrew Begs
Chapter 10 â Andrew Begs
The most painful apologies are not the ones spoken too late.
They are the ones spoken only after someone has lost everything.
For weeks, Andrew Mercer believed regret was enough.
He believed realizing his mistakes would somehow change the damage he caused.
He believed saying I was wrong could rebuild what he destroyed.
But regret was not a time machine.
It could not erase the slap.
It could not erase the humiliation.
It could not erase the moment he looked at his wife standing on the marble floor and chose someone else.
The world had moved on.
But Andrew was trapped in that night.
The lawsuit shocked everyone.
The same man who had lost control of the company was now attempting to challenge the very woman who owned it.
Executives were furious.
Investors were confused.
The media called it:
THE BATTLE FOR THE MERCER EMPIRE.
But I knew something others didn't.
Andrew wasn't fighting because he believed he could win.
He was fighting because accepting defeat meant accepting the truth.
He had destroyed his own life.
The first hearing was scheduled three days later.
My legal team prepared everything.
Every document.
Every contract.
Every signature.
Every financial record.
There was no doubt.
Legally...
Andrew had no chance.
Emotionally...
That was more complicated.
Because once...
I loved him.
The morning before the hearing, Andrew appeared at my office.
Security stopped him.
But I allowed him inside.
Not because I wanted to see him.
Because I needed closure.
He entered quietly.
No expensive suit.
No confident smile.
No powerful CEO image.
Just Andrew.
The man I married.
He looked tired.
Older.
"I didn't expect you to let me in."
I sat behind my desk.
"I wanted to know what you came to say."
He nodded.
Then he did something I never expected.
He apologized.
Not a performance.
Not an excuse.
A real apology.
"I was wrong."
Four words.
Simple.
But they carried years of damage.
I said nothing.
He continued.
"I spent years believing I built everything myself."
A bitter smile appeared.
"I believed everyone needed me."
He looked at me.
"But the truth was..."
"I needed everyone."
Silence.
"I needed your intelligence."
"I needed your support."
"I needed your patience."
His voice became quieter.
"And I needed your love."
I looked away.
Because hearing him admit it hurt.
Not because I wanted him back.
Because I wished he had understood sooner.
"I am sorry for what I did to you."
I looked at him.
"Which part?"
The question made him freeze.
Good.
Because there were too many parts.
"The public humiliation?"
"Your mother?"
"Brenda?"
"The lies?"
"Or the fact that you looked at me like I was nothing?"
Andrew lowered his eyes.
"All of it."
I stood.
"Do you know what hurt the most?"
He looked at me.
"You think it was losing the company."
"It wasn't."
"You think it was losing money."
"It wasn't."
I walked toward the window.
"The worst moment was when Lucy..."
I stopped.
Then corrected myself.
"Not Lucy."
I remembered this story was not that story.
The memory shifted.
"Sorry."
I took a breath.
"The worst moment was when I realized the person I trusted most could stand beside someone hurting me and feel nothing."
Andrew's face changed.
Because he understood.
That was the truth he could never escape.
"I don't expect forgiveness."
I looked at him.
"Good."
He nodded.
"I just want a chance to fix what I can."
I almost smiled.
"Andrew."
"Yes?"
"Some things cannot be fixed."
The words hurt him.
But they were honest.
Then he surprised me.
He didn't argue.
He didn't beg.
He simply nodded.
"I know."
For a moment...
I saw the man he could have been.
Not perfect.
Not powerful.
Just human.
"Then why file the lawsuit?"
I asked.
His expression changed.
And I knew.
There was something else.
"I didn't."
I frowned.
"What?"
"I didn't authorize it."
The room became silent.
"What are you saying?"
Andrew looked at me.
"Someone filed it using my legal information."
My expression hardened.
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"I think..."
A pause.
"I think my mother did."
The timing was too perfect.
The lawsuit.
The documents.
The attack.
Someone wanted Andrew and me fighting.
Again.
That afternoon, Daniel confirmed it.
"The lawsuit documents contain signatures that don't match Andrew's current authorization records."
I looked at the file.
"So someone is using him."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Who?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Margaret."
I closed my eyes.
The woman who apologized.
The woman who claimed she regretted everything.
Was she lying?
Before I could decide...
My phone rang.
Margaret.
I answered.
"Mariana."
Her voice was shaking.
"Please listen to me."
I remained silent.
"I know what you found."
My eyes narrowed.
"You filed the lawsuit."
"No."
Her answer came immediately.
"No, I didn't."
"Then who did?"
A long silence.
Then she whispered:
"Someone from my past."
"Who?"
Her voice became almost frightened.
"The person who started all of this."
I felt a chill.
"Richard Mercer?"
Silence.
That silence was enough.
Margaret continued.
"He's back."
The name I had seen in the files.
The man my grandfather warned about.
The man who destroyed families.
"Why now?"
Margaret's voice broke.
"Because he knows you have taken control."
A pause.
"And he knows Andrew is the only weakness you still have."
That night...
Andrew returned.
But this time...
He wasn't asking for money.
He wasn't asking for the company.
He wasn't asking for forgiveness.
He stood outside my office and said:
"Mariana."
I looked up.
"Yes?"
"I need your help."
The old Andrew would have hated those words.
The old Andrew believed asking for help was weakness.
The new Andrew understood something different.
Sometimes admitting you need someone...
Was the first honest thing you ever did.
"Why should I help you?"
He looked at me.
"Because if Richard Mercer succeeds..."
A pause.
"He won't just destroy me."
"He'll destroy everything your family built."
I stared at him.
The man who betrayed me.
The man who lost everything.
The man who was finally learning what mattered.
"Andrew."
"Yes?"
"This is not a second chance."
He nodded.
"I know."
"This is not forgiveness."
"I know."
I studied his face.
"And this doesn't mean we go back."
His eyes lowered.
"I know."
For the first time...
Andrew wasn't asking me to save him.
He was asking me to stop someone worse.
I stood.
"Then we find the truth."
He looked surprised.
"We?"
I nodded.
"For now."
Outside the window...
The city lights burned against the darkness.
The empire was no longer the only thing at stake.
Because the battle ahead wasn't about money.
It was about legacy.
Family.
And the secrets buried before either of us was born.
Andrew had spent years believing he owned everything.
Now he finally understood.
The greatest thing he ever had...
Was the one person he treated like she was disposable.
And this time...
If he wanted to survive...
May you like
He would have to fight beside the woman he once destroyed.
End of Chapter 10
