Chapter 84 I never expected to hear you say that

Chapter 84 I never expected to hear you say that
Michelle felt a moment of shock, but before she could even open her mouth, Rush spoke up. "She does not want to."

Caspian fixed him with a hard look. "Do you know how to be polite? I think a bodyguard should keep to his own affairs."

He was just as full of himself as he had always been, but on the inside, he was hoping Michelle would not agree with Rush.

It was Edmund who answered, because of how the situation was going. "We should get out of here. I have a place to show you. Believe me, you will feel a lot better," he told Michelle, giving Caspian a dark look.

Michelle already felt pretty good. The reason she had come back was almost done. Once Sienna got what was coming to her, Michelle was going back to Los Angeles. The film she was supposed to make would be finished by then, too. Caspian’s problem was with Michelle alone, so he did not care much about any man trying to get between them.

"Elara, I need no more than two minutes of your time."

"I do not believe we have anything to discuss," Michelle fired back. Rush let out a quiet breath of relief. Sebastian still looked broken and empty after everything he had learned.

"You seem scared to speak with me. Maybe you are still in love with me," Caspian said, his voice confident, his eyes locked on her.

He knew it was not true, but it was the only way he could think to make her listen.

Michelle let out a mocking laugh. "I believed you might be different. You are still as arrogant as ever."

A look of real remorse appeared in Caspian’s eyes, and his voice was heavy with it. "It is just part of who I am. Only two minutes. Unless you want to talk longer."

Michelle knew how he was. He would not give up. And since she had already decided she would never let herself care for him again, she agreed. "Fine. Two minutes. What do you need to say?"

Caspian glanced around the room. When his eyes landed on Rush, he spoke. "Not here. Please, come with me."

He was already getting up and moving toward the room Sebastian had come from when Michelle asked, her voice serious, "What makes you think I would go anywhere with you?"

Caspian stopped moving. He saw the hint of a smug smile on Rush’s mouth. An idea came to him, and he focused on the other man.

"Rush, if she is not back out in two minutes, you have my permission to come and get her." The look on Rush’s face went stiff immediately.

Caspian was good at these mind games, and Rush did not like it one bit. Caspian turned back to Michelle. "Is that acceptable to you?"

Michelle was feeling okay, and since she did not plan to be here much longer anyway, she asked, "Where are we going?"

"To the manager’s office. Right there." Caspian pointed at the door.

Michelle walked ahead, but Caspian passed her and held the door open for her. That was new. But it was too late for a kind gesture to soften a heart that had turned to stone.

"Please, sit down," Caspian said, motioning to a chair in the office.

Michelle did not budge. "Two minutes is not long. I will stand."

Caspian gave a pained smile as he stood facing her. People get older, but it seemed like time had only made his ex-wife more beautiful.

For a long moment, all he could do was look at her, a little lost. "You are very different now," he finally managed to say.

Michelle felt a spark of annoyance. "That is not a good enough reason to drag me in here."

Caspian nodded and got to the point. The weight of his regret was heavy as he started to explain why he needed to see her alone. "Elara, the main reason I asked you here is to say I am sorry."

For a second, Michelle just looked at him. Caspian never apologized. Not once in all their three years of marriage had she heard those words.

She watched him, a little stunned, as he kept talking. "I was terrible to you. I do not think I should ever be forgiven."

Michelle laughed, but there was no humor in it. Caspian was an expert at these emotional tricks. By saying he was not worthy, no one else could throw it in his face. He had already claimed it.

He went on, not knowing what she was thinking. "But I need you to know that I regret all of it. Every hurtful thing. Including losing our baby. I am so sorry, Elara." He said it with a real, raw pain that was hard to fake.

Michelle was quiet for a moment. "I never expected to hear you say that. I am not a small person, so I forgive you."

Caspian released a breath he had not realized he was holding, but it also made him feel more undeserving than ever.

"I am shutting down my company in Massachusetts. I will go back to Los Angeles after I finish my next film, in about a month," Michelle told him.

She wanted him to understand she was not here because of him. Caspian’s face grew dark.

He had not seen this coming. He felt a sudden, hollow feeling from the news.

"Why are you leaving? It sounds like you are running. Are you worried I will try to win you back?" he asked, his voice gentle. It made Michelle question if this was the same man who had shouted such ugly things at her in her office just days before.

People could change, but how could Caspian change this quickly? The sad truth was, it did not matter anymore. It was too late.