William’s Biggest Regret
William stood in the living room, his hands trembling slightly. His wife Linda looked at him with worried eyes, waiting for him to speak. The silence between them was heavy, almost too heavy to bear.
He felt guilt rising in his chest, but he had made up his mind. Or had he?
Linda finally broke the silence. “What is it you wanted to talk about, William?”
William took a deep breath. “Linda… I’m seeing someone else.”
Linda’s face dropped. “What do you mean?” she asked slowly, as if hoping she heard him wrong. “You… you have another woman? Tell me the truth!”
William lowered his head. “I didn’t plan this, I swear. But I love her. She’s young, different… we just connected.”
Linda’s voice rose like a storm. “Do you even hear yourself? We’ve been married for twenty years! We have a daughter! How could you do this?!”
Just then, her phone rang. She answered, trying to stay calm. “Yes?” But her face turned pale within seconds. She hung up, eyes wide with shock.
“That was the court,” she said, her voice shaking. “They’re taking the house! Did you forget to pay the loan, William?! You said you were handling it!”
William stammered, “I—I couldn’t keep up with the payments…”
“We owe $80,000!” Linda screamed. “Are you seriously going to run off with your little girlfriend while your daughter and I end up on the street?!”
She grabbed his suitcase and threw it at him. “OUT! Get the hell out of my house!”
William didn’t say a word. He left that night, slamming the door on twenty years of love, trust, and family.
Six Years Later
The honking of car horns snapped William back to reality. He stood at a crosswalk, staring blankly at the red light. He looked like a man who had lost everything—because he had.
After leaving his wife and daughter, life hadn’t been kind to him. His new relationship didn’t last, he lost his job, and soon, even the apartment he had moved into was gone. He drank to forget, but nothing worked.
Now, he was heading to a job interview at a beef jerky factory. He hoped his experience—though it ended in failure—would count for something.
To his surprise, he got hired as a packaging operator. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was something.
On his third day at work, his manager, Mr. Dunn, walked up to him with a grin.
“William, listen up,” Mr. Dunn said. “The CEO is coming for an inspection today. If you want to move up in this company, now’s your chance to make an impression!”
William shrugged. “I’ll just stick to my job.”
But the factory suddenly buzzed with whispers. Everyone turned to look at the entrance.
William looked too—and nearly dropped the box in his hands.
Walking in, confidently and elegantly, was a young woman in a sharp suit.
“Isabelle?” William gasped. “My daughter?”
She walked up to him and raised an eyebrow. “Dad. Long time no see.”
William stood frozen. “How… how are you a CEO?”
Isabelle crossed her arms. “Wow. Not ‘How are you doing?’ or ‘Are you okay?’ Just straight to how I got successful.” She shook her head. “Don’t let this get personal. I’m here to work. Meet me in my office after lunch.”
Father and Daughter: A Long-Overdue Talk
Later that day, William sat nervously in her office. Isabelle looked powerful, mature, and so different from the girl he left behind.
“You’re not going to ask what happened after you left?” she said. “Well, let me tell you.”
She leaned back in her chair.
“After you walked out, the house was seized. Mom and I only got one-third of its value. She gave me the last of her money so I could go to college. Then she had to move in with Aunt Georgina—far away from me.”
Isabelle paused. Her voice grew softer. “And then came the worst part. Mom almost had a heart attack. The doctors said she had coronary heart disease and might need surgery. It could cost over $100,000.”
William’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t speak.
“I had to choose between going to college or saving her life,” Isabelle said. “So I left school… and started our beef jerky business all over again.”
Six Years Ago
Isabelle sat outside the college admissions office when her phone rang.
“Aunt Georgina? What’s wrong?”
“It’s your mom, honey,” her aunt said. “She had symptoms of a heart attack. She’s stable now, but the doctors said she might need surgery soon. I can help a little, but it could cost a fortune.”
Isabelle closed her eyes and took a shaky breath.
She didn’t have much, but she had an idea. She remembered the old kitchen tools her parents had used. Maybe she could restart the jerky business herself.
She bought a used pickup truck, rented a tiny studio apartment, and one night, she drove to the old family home. It was locked, but she remembered the dormer window William had never fixed.
Climbing up a pipe, she slid through the broken window into the attic. Cobwebs and dust surrounded her. With her phone flashlight, she found a box labeled “KITCHEN.” Inside were her mom’s tools and recipe books. She grabbed a commercial oven too.
She smuggled everything into her truck and drove to an abandoned house nearby. Picking the lock with a hairpin, she crept into the basement and set up her mini kitchen.
At first, the jerky was awful. The taste was wrong. But she kept experimenting.
One night, after trying a new marinade, she took a bite.
“Oh god! This is it!” she cried, jumping up with excitement.
Turning the Dream Into Reality
For the next month, Isabelle emailed big retailers, pitching her product and mailing out samples.
Then one day, an email popped up.
“We believe your dried beef beer snack would be a fantastic match for our consumers…”
She could barely believe it. The company wanted to try her jerky! She quickly produced 1,000 packets and delivered them for testing.
After an hour of waiting, a manager named Chris smiled at her.
“We like it. If you pass our factory inspection, can you produce 10,000 packs per month?”
Isabelle gulped. She had two weeks to build a real factory.
And then another call came. “Your mom’s health is getting worse,” Aunt Georgina said. “She needs surgery within a month.”
Isabelle panicked—but she had one last chance.
She visited Mr. Navarro, her classmate’s wealthy father.
“If you invest in me,” she said, “I’ll give you 35% of the profits.”
Mr. Navarro smirked. “Make it 35%, plus a third of the house sale. Then we have a deal.”
Present Day
Isabelle finished her story, looking her father in the eyes.
“I passed the inspection. Got the check. Got Mom treated. And I bought our house back.”
William could barely speak. Tears welled in his eyes.
“But,” Isabelle continued, “I don’t forgive betrayal. You’re not staying here. Wait for me behind the warehouse.”
Fifteen minutes later, William stood outside. A warehouse worker brought two large boxes. Isabelle walked over, looking calm and confident.
“Open them, Dad,” she said.
Inside were all the old tools—the same ones from their failed jerky business. The same ones she had used to restart her life.
“I think we’re even now,” Isabelle said. “You have everything you need to build something again. I’ve been there. Just… don’t mess it up this time.”
She gave him one last look, then turned and walked away.
William stared at the boxes, then at her disappearing figure. For the first time in years, he felt something new.
Hope.
