The CEO’s Regret: Begging Her Firefighter Ex-husband

Chapter 2

Lucas opened his eyes to the sterile smell of disinfectant and the dull throb in his right leg.

His lower leg was locked inside a heavy plaster cast, and every breath burned his raw, smoke-damaged throat.

He reached for the bedside table and picked up his phone.

It was already past nine in the morning. The screen was completely dark—no missed calls, no messages, nothing.

Twelve hours had passed since the wreck, and Claire hadn't sent a single word to check if her husband was still alive.

Staring at the blank glass, Lucas couldn't help but remember that it hadn't always been this way.

Back in their university days, Claire had been the one chasing after him.

He was the rowing captain back then, out on the water before dawn every morning, and Claire would always be waiting by the boathouse with a warm thermos of porridge.

She memorized his training schedules, carried his spare gym towels, and once ran across the entire campus in a downpour just to bring him medicine when he came down with a fever.

She used to look at him with soft, devoted eyes, swearing he was the only man she would ever love.

It was that quiet, stubborn tenderness that had melted Lucas's guarded heart and made him promise to spend the rest of his life with her.

Yet the moment Julian Miller stepped back into her life, that devotion vanished as if it had never existed.

She had abandoned Lucas in a flooded compartment, spent the entire night at Julian's bedside, and never looked back.

The last lingering warmth in Lucas's chest finally went cold.

He unlocked the screen and dialed his lawyer.

"Thomas," Lucas said, his voice scratchy and dry. "Draft a divorce agreement. I want to end it."

Thomas sounded completely taken aback on the other end.

"Lucas? What happened? Did you two have a fight?"

"I've made my decision," Lucas said calmly. "Divide the shared assets down the middle. I don't want a single penny of what belongs to Claire."

"You've been married for five years, Lucas. Are you sure you don't want to talk it through first?"

Lucas looked down at the cast covering his leg.

"I tried talking to her last night. She chose not to listen."

Thomas went silent for a moment, sensing the finality in his voice. "Understood. I'll prepare the paperwork today."

After ending the call, Lucas dialed the rescue base's duty desk.

"Team Leader Cole speaking," Lucas said. "I need an open room in the base dormitory once I'm discharged from the hospital."

"Of course, Team Leader. We'll set one up. Are you all right, sir?"

"I also need to update my personnel file," Lucas continued evenly. "Remove Claire Hayes as my primary emergency contact. Replace her with my deputy, Mark Vance."

The duty officer hesitated. "Sir, are you certain? Spousal removal usually requires—"

"I'll sign the authorization forms as soon as I'm back on base."

"Yes, sir. It will be done."

Lucas set the phone down on the blanket.

He had waited in that rising water until it reached his chest. He had dragged himself up that ladder with a shattered bone, clinging to the hope that she had simply been delayed.

Now, he didn't even need her excuses anymore.

Shortly after three in the afternoon, the door to the hospital room was pushed open.

Claire walked in carrying her coat over one arm, her phone still in hand. Her eyes dropped directly to the heavy cast on his leg.

She stopped in her tracks for a second, then walked over to the edge of the bed.

"Why didn't you let me know which ward you were in?" Claire asked, her tone carrying a note of grievance. "I've been asking around the surgical wing for nearly an hour."

Lucas looked at her quietly. "You could have picked up your phone."

"I was dealing with the port authority all morning!" Claire explained, pulling a chair over but remaining on her feet. "The board of directors has been calling nonstop about the Orion. You were awake, weren't you? Would it have killed you to send me a short text?"

Lucas watched her flustered expression.

"Why didn't you come back?"

Claire's hand tightened around her coat. "What?"

"On the ship," Lucas said, his voice flat and quiet. "You swore you would come straight back for me."

Claire averted her gaze, looking toward the window.

"Julian was in terrible condition. He inhaled so much smoke he was coughing up black phlegm. When we reached the dock, his son was crying hysterically, and then the maritime inspectors pulled us in for questioning. Everything happened at once."

"You knew I was pinned down there."

"Lucas, I was going to send someone back!" Claire said, her voice rising in defense. "I just got overwhelmed by everything happening at the dock!"

"Did you tell my crew I was trapped below?"

Claire's lips parted, but no sound came out.

"My leg was snapped under an iron rack," Lucas said, his eyes fixed on hers. "The seawater was at my waist. I told you plainly that I couldn't walk."

"I know!" Claire snapped, before lowering her voice with visible irritation. "But you're a rescue team leader, Lucas! You've survived dozens of dangerous wrecks. I honestly thought your team would clear the hold and find you."

"You expected them to find me when they didn't even know I was trapped down there?"

Claire pressed her lips into a thin line, her brows knitting together.

"You're here now, aren't you? You made it out safe, thank God. Can we please stop dwelling on what happened in the heat of the moment?"

Lucas leaned his head back against the thin hospital pillow.

He had thought she might feel a shred of remorse. Instead, she was only annoyed that he was bringing it up.

Claire sat down on the edge of the chair, leaning in closer.

"Actually, there's something urgent we need to talk about."

Lucas didn't answer, waiting for her to continue.

"The accident report," Claire said, lowering her voice. "Julian was the one who signed off on the survey boat continuing its work after the storm warning. If the maritime safety board pins the wreck on him, he could lose his license permanently."

"Then the investigation will determine his liability."

"You know how the board operates, Lucas," Claire pressed, her tone turning urgent. "Once his name is flagged for gross negligence, his career in this city is finished."

Lucas said nothing.

Claire reached out, touching the edge of his blanket.

"Julian's wife walked out on him years ago, and her parents are using every excuse to sue for sole custody of Leo. If Julian loses his engineering license and his income, they will take his son away. He can't survive that."

Lucas looked at her with cold eyes. "What exactly do you want me to do, Claire?"

"When you write the rescue summary, frame it carefully," Claire said smoothly. "Emphasize that the Orion suffered a sudden engine failure, and that the storm worsened faster than predicted. You don't need to make Julian look reckless."

"He deliberately ignored a level-three storm warning."

"He was trying to meet the company's survey deadline!"

"And three people nearly drowned because of it."

Claire's expression hardened. "Lucas, I'm asking you to consider the man's family."

Lucas looked down at his broken leg, a bitter chill washing over him.

He had dragged himself through rising seawater with a shattered shin. Yet the only thing his wife cared about was shielding the man who caused the disaster.

"Did the engine fail before or after he chose to stay out in the gale?" Lucas asked.

Claire hesitated. "Well... not before, but—"

"Then that is not how I will write the report."

Claire stood up abruptly, her patience snapping. "You're letting personal bias cloud your judgment!"

"I am recording the facts as they happened."

"Julian just made a mistake, Lucas! He doesn't deserve to have his entire life destroyed over one bad call!"

Lucas held her gaze. "He saw the storm warning and still risked twelve lives, Claire. That wasn't a mistake. It was negligence."

Claire turned her face away, letting out a sharp, frustrated breath.

For five years, Lucas had compromised on everything. Whenever she asked him to shift his leave, cancel a weekend trip, or help Julian with a family emergency, he had quietly stepped back to keep her happy.

She had grown so used to his surrender that she truly believed he would compromise his professional honor just because she asked.

"The log will include the broadcast timestamps, the radar tracks, and the rescue timeline," Lucas said evenly. "I won't change a single word."

Claire gripped her bag strap, visibly annoyed as she prepared to leave.

Lucas reached for the glass of water on the nightstand, taking a slow sip.

"There's one more thing."

Claire checked her watch impatiently. "What now?"

"I want a divorce."

The room went completely dead silent.

Claire stared at him as if he had spoken in a foreign language.

"What did you just say?"

"I called Thomas this morning," Lucas said, his tone entirely calm. "He is drafting the agreement right now."

Claire's eyes widened in disbelief, followed quickly by an incredulous laugh.

"You called a divorce lawyer? Over one bad argument?"

Lucas set the glass down. "Over you leaving me to drown."

"I told you why I had to get Julian out first!"

"And you proved who matters to you."

Claire opened her mouth to argue, but Lucas spoke right over her.

"I told you I couldn't climb that ladder, Claire. You promised to come back, and then you boarded a private boat and told my squad the hold was empty."

A rush of color flooded Claire's cheeks.

"Lucas, you're injured and you're emotional. I get it. But throwing away a five-year marriage over bruised pride isn't going to fix anything."

"I am not trying to fix it," Lucas replied. "I am ending it."

Claire's confident posture stiffened.

In every argument they had ever had, Lucas was always the one who yielded. He would cook her favorite dinner, leave a sweet note on her dashboard, or wait outside her office until she forgave him.

He had never once spoken to her with this kind of flat, emotionless detachment.

"Where do you think you're going to go?" Claire asked, raising her chin. "The penthouse is under my name."

"I've already requested a room at the base dormitory. I'll collect my clothes once I'm discharged."

Claire's expression cracked for a split second. "You already arranged housing?"

"Yes."

She stared at him, then shook her head with an exasperated scoff. "This is absurd. You're high on pain medication and you can barely stand on one foot."

"My mind won't change when the cast comes off, Claire."

Before she could answer, her phone began buzzing frantically in her hand.

The screen lit up with Julian's name.

Claire looked at the caller ID, then glanced back at Lucas, tapping the red button to silence the call.

"I have to get back to the office," Claire said, pulling her coat over her shoulders. "I'll come back when you've cooled down, and we will discuss this like adults."

"Have your lawyer contact Thomas," Lucas said.

Claire's fingers tightened around her bag. "You're really going to keep this ridiculous act up?"

"It isn't an act."

She lingered for a moment, clearly waiting for him to soften his stance or ask her to stay.

When Lucas simply looked back at his book, Claire turned on her heel and strode out of the room.

Lucas listened to the sharp click of her heels fade down the hallway.

He would never be the one to call her again.

He reached down, slid the plain silver wedding band off his finger, and set it next to his phone.

He picked up the receiver and called Thomas back.

"Don't wait for her consent," Lucas said into the phone. "File the initial paperwork with the court. Let's get it moving."