She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 817

"You ungrateful daughter!"

Unable to hold it in any longer, Nathaniel let out a furious roar.

But mindful of the elegant setting, he restrained himself from causing a full-blown scene to preserve his dignity.

"Mr. Royce, please, calm down."

Everett immediately poured a glass of water and handed it to the older man.

As Dominic watched Nathaniel, his gaze naturally shifted to Everett.

The Everett of today was completely different from the past.

Dressed in a tailored suit, working as a corporate executive, and constantly by Nathaniel's side—

It was exactly the role Dominic used to play.

A sudden tremor seized Dominic's chest, hitting him like an electric shock.

He regretted it.

Even back then, before he knew Melanie was his first love who had saved his life...

He had always had the option of just living a stable, quiet life with her.

If only he hadn't been so blind as to string Evelyn along.

If only he hadn't fathered Lila.

Would Melanie have stayed married to him?

If they hadn't divorced, Melanie would never have brought Everett into their lives.

And his father's lie about stealing Walter Kingsley's heroic deed would never have been exposed.

If that were the case, he would still be Melanie's perfect husband and Nathaniel's golden son-in-law.

Nothing would have changed.

Dominic closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

His chest...

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

While Dominic was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of regret, Everett was busy trying to convince Melanie to apologize.

"Melanie, you were definitely too impulsive this time. Just apologize to Mr. Royce."

"I wasn't impulsive, and I'm not going to apologize."

He lacked Dominic's intelligence and social finesse.

"Mr. Royce..."

Dominic took a step forward, facing Nathaniel directly.

For a split second, Nathaniel found the man standing before him utterly unrecognizable, as if he were a complete stranger.

Nathaniel now knew that Gregory Hale was never the hero who had saved his life all those years ago.

Walter Kingsley was.

Which meant Dominic was no longer the son of his savior.

To Nathaniel, Dominic was nothing more than the cheating scumbag who had betrayed his daughter and ruined their marriage.

Meeting his gaze, Dominic saw nothing but coldness and disgust in Nathaniel's eyes.

But he also knew perfectly well that Nathaniel's hostility was largely due to Gregory's despicable actions.

Dominic might have transformed into Holden Lockridge's favored adopted grandson, and he had sworn off acting like Melanie's desperate lapdog.

But ascending to the top of the social ladder and ultimately remarrying Melanie had always been his ultimate endgame.

To achieve that, he had to salvage his image in Nathaniel's eyes.