The Billionaire's Regret { Regret Series #1}

CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE

{HOW COULD HE BE GONE?}

Kathleen's heart was numb now as the doctor's words echoed in her mind. Dead. Charles was dead. The world around her blurred as tears welled up in her eyes. She clenched her fists, refusing to accept the reality being thrust upon her. Mrs. Walker. The doctor had called her Mrs. Walker, she couldn't even be bothered to correct him right now.

Ignoring David's futile attempts to hold her, Kathleen stormed through the sterile corridors. Nurses and David called after her, their voices a distant hum, drowned out by the deafening drumbeat of grief that pulsed through her veins. She needed to see for herself. She needed confirmation that this was all just a terrible mistake.

A heavy, ominous silence greeted her as she pushed open the double doors of the operating room. The room was bathed in muted lights, casting long shadows across the stillness. Charles lay motionless on the operating table, a pale sheet draped over him like a shroud. Anguish surged through Kathleen's body as she took in his lifeless form, the contours of his face etched with peaceful resignation.

"No!" she screamed, her voice tearing through the silence. "Why? Why didn't you save him? Keep trying! Please, keep trying!" Her plea hung in the air, desperate and raw.

David, the doctors, and nurses stood frozen, their faces etched with sympathy and understanding. One of the doctors, a tall, middle-aged man with tired eyes, stepped forward, his voice filled with regret. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Walker. We did everything we could. Mr Walker's injuries were too severe. It was... too late."

Kathleen's legs buckled beneath her, and she sank to the ground, tears streaming down her face. The clamor of her heartbeats mingled with the distant sounds of medical equipment, creating a discordant symphony of grief. She cradled her head in her hands, unwilling to face the truth in front of her.

Memories flooded Kathleen's mind, images of a time when Charles was still alive and well. How could he be gone? How could everything they had be reduced to a lifeless body on a cold table?

She reached out a trembling hand, fingertips grazing the edge of the sheet that covered Charles's face. A sob escaped her lips, both a cry of agony and a plea for the impossible. "Please, come back to me. I can't raise Lana without you."

But no matter how desperately she wished for it, the room remained shrouded in silence. Grief enveloped her like a suffocating blanket, and she struggled to breathe. The future stretched out before her, a desolate landscape devoid of Charles.

With each passing moment, Kathleen's pain transformed into anger. Anger at the doctors who failed to save him, anger at David who adviced him to travel overseas, anger at the unfairness refusing his love. How could this happen? Why hadn't she been there to shield him from harm? Why?... Why did this have to happen to Charles? How was she going to continue? How would she tell Lana that her dad was no more? Just how?.