His Regret Can’t Bring Us Back Chapter 11
On her first day on the construction project, Nicole was assigned to measurement recording.
She held a measuring rod and a notebook, followed behind a team of workers, and carefully wrote down each set of figures.
The windblown sand was fierce, rattling the notebook pages.
She had to pin the paper down with one hand and write quickly with the other.
“Ms. Bradford, can you see clearly?” Ronald walked over to her and offered a pair of goggles. “It’s windy out here. This will be better.”
Nicole lifted a hand to block the wind and looked up at the half-worn goggles.
There were scratches on the lenses, but they had been wiped clean.
She pressed her lips together. “Thank you, Captain Carlson, but won’t you need them yourself?”
Ronald shook his head. “I’m used to it. You’re new—you need to protect your eyes.”
His tone was natural, without any deliberate show of concern, yet it made her feel steady.
Nicole did not refuse again. She took the goggles and put them on, and her view cleared at once.
She gave him a grateful smile and lowered her head to keep working.
Ronald did not leave right away; he stood beside her and blocked some of the wind and sand for her.
“Today we’re measuring the earthwork volume for Zone 3. It directly affects next week’s construction plan.”
He spoke evenly. “If you record it wrong, it will affect the entire schedule.”
Hearing that, Nicole became even more meticulous.
She crouched down and set the measuring rod close to the ground to ensure the numbers were precise.
Ronald watched her focused profile and, for a moment, did not look away.
Nicole was not quite what he had imagined.
When she worked, she was steady and quiet, never complaining of hardship or fatigue.
He had assumed he would have to teach her for a while, but she learned quickly and well—she was even better than some experienced workers.
Yet whenever he occasionally caught that unconscious dimness and stillness in her eyes, his feelings grew complicated.
What had she… been through?
The morning passed quickly.
At lunch, Nicole sat in a corner of the mess hall, quietly eating a simple meal: two coarse steamed buns and a bowl of cabbage soup with almost no oil.
She finished every last bit in her bowl, silent and intent.
Conor came over with his lunch tin and sat down. “Nikki, are you getting used to the work?”
“Pretty well.” Nicole nodded. “It’s just that the wind and sand really are heavy. My notes nearly got blown away.”
“Ha! You’ll get used to it! When I first got here, I couldn’t even open my eyes!”
Conor laughed loudly at her.
As they were talking, Ronald came over with his lunch tin and sat at the table beside them.
He ate quickly, but not crudely; his movements were clean and efficient.
“There’s going to be a sandstorm this afternoon. We’ll knock off early.” He swallowed a bite of bun and addressed everyone. “Ms. Bradford, you’re new. Rest in the dorm this afternoon—you don’t need to go to the site.”
“I can go.” Nicole lifted her head. “One more pair of hands helps.”
Ronald looked at her for a few seconds, then finally nodded. “Then stay with Conor. Watch your safety.”
At two in the afternoon, the sky indeed darkened.
Gale-force winds whipped up sand that filled the air, and visibility plunged.
At the construction site, everyone rushed to reinforce the temporary sheds and move equipment.
Nicole worked with Conor, hauling sandbags.
She had not fully recovered, yet she gritted her teeth and shouldered half a bag at a time—staggering, but resolute.
“Nikki, are you sure you can do it? If not, let me handle it.” Conor asked worriedly.
“I can.” Nicole wiped the sweat from her forehead and bent down again.
In the distance, Ronald was directing several people as they secured a measuring tower.
When he turned his head, he happened to see Nicole swaying under a sandbag, and his brows tightened slightly.
“Ms. Bradford, come here for a moment.”
He called out.
Nicole set down the sandbag and jogged over. “Captain Carlson, what’s the assignment?”
“You and Conor go over there and help count the tools. Let them carry the sandbags.”
Ronald pointed toward the equipment stacked nearby.
Nicole wanted to say she could keep carrying, but seeing Ronald’s unquestionable look, she still nodded. “All right.”
She turned toward the equipment area. Behind her came Ronald’s voice: “Be careful! The sandstorm is coming.”
No sooner had he spoken than the wind abruptly intensified, whipping up even higher waves of sand until the sky was almost earth-yellow.
“Everyone! Get inside now!” Ronald shouted an order.
People immediately dropped what they were doing and ran toward the nearest shed.
Nicole quickened her pace, but suddenly heard a startled cry.
A young team member slipped and fell, and the steel framework stacked beside him began to wobble dangerously!
She barely thought—she rushed forward and shoved the young man away with all her strength.
But after pushing him aside, she had no time to dodge; the steel framework crashed straight down at her!
“Nicole!” Ronald’s shout came from behind her.
“Nikki—!”
At the same time, Sebastian’s voice rang out as well.
With a thunderous “bang,” Nicole instinctively shielded her head.
Yet the pain she expected never came.
Ronald had wrapped his arms around her and rolled with her through the sand several times, protecting her—while his own back slammed into a sharp rock.
He let out a muffled groan, a sheen of sweat breaking across his forehead.
“Captain Carlson!” Nicole sprang up and bent to check Ronald’s injury.
Blood seeped through in scattered spots on his back, but fortunately it was not heavy bleeding.
The wind and sand grew worse. Nicole quickly worked with the doctor who hurried over and helped lift him onto a stretcher.
Then she gathered her notebook and measuring tools and ran toward the erected shed.
From beginning to end, she did not spare Sebastian, standing rigid nearby, a single glance.
He stood in the storm of yellow sand, watching Nicole hurry away while supporting Ronald’s stretcher.
In that instant, Sebastian felt as though his heart had been seized in a brutal grip, the pain so sharp he could almost not breathe.
“Comrade, are you new? Get into the shed, now!”
A staff member shouted at him.
Only then did Sebastian come back to himself and rush into the nearest shed with the crowd.
The wind and sand hit the rough wooden plank wall and made “pa pa” sounds.
The shed was packed with people. Some stood, some sat, waiting for the sandstorm to pass.
Sebastian found a corner to stand in, but his gaze drifted uncontrollably toward the doorway.
Half an hour later, the sandstorm began to ease.
Nicole came in, her face still dusted with sand; wisps of hair at her forehead were soaked with sweat and stuck to her cheeks.
“Nikki!” Sebastian moved toward her almost on instinct.
Nicole halted and lifted her eyes to him. Her gaze was so calm it did not ripple at all. “Captain Crawford, why are you here?”
That “Captain Crawford” stabbed Sebastian with a sudden ache.
He opened his mouth, struggling to shape the words. “I came to find you. There’s something I want to say.”
“I’m working right now.” Nicole went around him and walked to Conor, who was taking a headcount. “Con, how is Captain Carlson?”
“The doctor says it’s just a superficial wound, but he needs to rest for a few days.” Conor lowered his voice. “Nikki, we really have you to thank. If you hadn’t shoved Owen away, that frame coming down would’ve been disastrous.”
Nicole pressed her lips together. “Captain Carlson saved me.”
“Still, you reacted fast!” Conor grinned. “All right—go wash your face. It’s covered in sand.”
Nicole nodded and walked toward the basin by the door.
Sebastian stood where he was, watching her speak naturally with others, and a strange bitterness rose in his chest.
Here, she seemed more vivid, more at ease, than she had been in New York.
Conor noticed him. “You’re Nikki’s…”
“I’m her…” Sebastian paused, his voice a little rough. “I’m her former colleague.”
Conor nodded in understanding. “So you came to see her? She’s pretty busy right now—you might have to wait.”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait.” Sebastian nodded at once.
Conor glanced at him and said nothing more.
When Nicole came back after washing her face, Sebastian was still standing there.
She gave him a look, did not acknowledge him, and walked straight toward Ronald’s temporary rest room.
“Captain Carlson, how do you feel?” She pushed the door open and asked softly.
Ronald was half reclined on the bed studying blueprints. Seeing her come in, he set them aside. “I’m fine. Just a minor injury. How about you?”
“I’m fine.” Nicole shook her head. “Thank you for saving me.”
Ronald looked at the dimness lingering in her eyes and raised a brow. “That person earlier…”
Nicole was silent for a few seconds. “My ex-husband.”
Understanding flickered in Ronald’s eyes. “If you need time to deal with personal matters, I can approve leave.”
“No.” Nicole lifted her head, her gaze firm. “Work is more important.”
He nodded, “Alright, could you sort out this afternoon’s measurement data?”
“No problem.” Nicole left the room and drew a deep breath.
She looked out the window. Sebastian was still standing there, his tall figure looking especially lonely in the windblown sand.
She glanced only once before withdrawing her gaze and walking away.
That afternoon, Nicole sat in a makeshift office and organized the measurement data.
Sebastian came in at some point and stood behind her, his expression downcast. “Nikki, let’s talk.”
Nicole did not even look up. “Captain Crawford, I’m working.”
“Just five minutes.” Sebastian’s voice carried a rare note of pleading.
Nicole set down her pen and turned to look at him. “What do you want to talk about?”
Sebastian met her calm eyes, and the thousand words he had prepared suddenly had nowhere to begin.
He opened his mouth, and in the end said only one sentence: “I’m sorry.”
Nicole nodded. “I accept your apology. Anything else?”
“Nikki…” Sebastian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “I know I broke your heart. I know I was unforgivably wrong. I’m not asking you to forgive me—I just want to… make it up to you.”
“No need.” Nicole said lightly. “I don’t hate you, and I don’t want revenge.”
“It’s over between us, Sebastian.”
“It’s not over!”
Sebastian grabbed her hand urgently. “Nikki, we have so many years between us—can it just vanish like that?”
Nicole pulled her hand back and looked at him steadily. “Sebastian, do you remember what you told me the year we got married?”
Sebastian froze.
“You said you would treat me well for the rest of my life.”
Nicole’s voice was very soft, yet in the hard, whistling northwestern wind it sounded unusually clear.
“But later, you personally sent me into that bandits’ den, and I lost the baby. When I was lying in the hospital, you were with Anastasia. When I was framed, you didn’t believe me.”
“I…” Sebastian’s face went white. “I didn’t know you were pregnant. If I had known, I never would have—”
“Never would have what?” Nicole cut him off. “Never would have sent me to be a hostage? Or never would have left me alone in the hospital?”
She shook her head, her gaze settling on the snow mountains stretching into the distance. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Sebastian, I’m starting a new life. You should move forward, too.”
After that, she turned back to her work and did not look at him again.
Sebastian stood where he was, watching Nicole’s profile as she lowered her head over the data.
She did not give him so much as another glance.
That calmness frightened him more than hatred ever could.
“Nikki,” he said hoarsely. “Come home with me, okay?”
Nicole’s pen did not pause; she only drew a crisp checkmark in the data column.
She stood, closed the organized ledger, held it to her chest, and only then lifted her eyes to him. “I have a new job now, a new life. It’s good here. I don’t want to go back. And please don’t come and disturb me again.”
With that, she went around him and headed straight for the door.
Sebastian watched her blend into the crowd of people in the same rough work clothes, and when she spoke with others, there was even the faintest, natural hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.
That smile made his eyes sting with pain.
Here, he felt like an abrupt, unwelcome intruder.
And she was living well, far away from him.
That realization was like a dull knife, sawing again and again at his already bloodied heart.
It should not have been like this.
Nikki was his wife—the person he had chosen at sixteen to spend a lifetime with.
How could she… how could she strip him from her life so easily?
A stubborn thought bred wildly in his chest and rapidly occupied his entire mind.
He could not lose her.
No matter what, he was going to take her back.
