My Coldhearted Husband’s Regret

As Veronica had concluded earlier—given Cullen's exceptional memory, recalling her favorite dishes wasn't anything extraordinary. His preparation of these meals was likely just a polite gesture of gratitude for their visit to Cook, nothing more significant than that.

After savoring the meal Cullen had brought, Veronica and Mary remained for another hour before deciding it was time to leave.

Noticing the late hour, Cook didn't try to convince them to stay longer. Instead, she turned to Cullen and said, "You and Sa should head home soon too."

"I will," Cullen assured her. "I'll stop by tomorrow morning to check on you."

The four of them exited the hospital room together, stepping into the elevator as a group.

Once inside, Cullen glanced at Veronica. "Did you drive here yourself?"

Veronica responded with a simple affirmative hum.

While Cullen fell silent, Sabrina suddenly perked up as a thought crossed her mind. "Mom, are you not coming home tonight either?"

"No," Veronica explained. "I'm taking your Granny to her place and staying overnight with her."

Sabrina's eyes lit up. "Then I want to stay at Granny's house too!"

Though Sabrina had grown closer to Cullen recently, in Mary's heart, the child would always be Veronica's daughter first. Hearing Sabrina's enthusiastic request, Mary's face softened into a warm smile. "Of course you can, sweetheart."

With Mary's immediate approval, Veronica didn't object. However, she did point out a practical concern: "You don't have any spare clothes at Granny's house."

Before Sabrina had started spending more time with Cullen, Veronica had regularly taken her to the Murray residence. Back then, she and Poppy had maintained half a wardrobe filled with clothes for the little girl. But over the past two years, those visits had become increasingly rare, and children grow quickly—neither woman had continued updating Sabrina's wardrobe as they once did.

Consequently, there were no longer any clothes that would fit Sabrina at the Murray residence.

"Oh," Sabrina's face fell with disappointment. "Then—"

Cullen interrupted smoothly, "I'll have someone deliver some clothes for her."

Veronica hesitated momentarily but ultimately remained silent.

Sabrina, however, was ecstatic. "Yay! I get to sleep with Mom tonight!"

Outside the hospital, Sabrina happily skipped alongside Veronica toward her car, while Cullen walked to his own vehicle. He retrieved Sabrina's backpack and brought it over to her.

Sabrina took it eagerly, beaming up at him. "Thank you, Dad!"

Cullen gently ruffled her hair, then glanced over at Veronica, who was already seated in the driver's seat. She didn't meet his gaze, instead addressing Sabrina: "Sa, say goodbye to Dad."

"Goodbye, Dad," the child called cheerfully.

"Goodbye," Cullen replied. The moment the word left his lips, Veronica rolled up the window, turned the steering wheel, and drove away.

By the time they arrived at the Murray residence, someone had already delivered Sabrina's clothes as promised.

As Sabrina excitedly ran upstairs, Mary turned to Veronica with a thoughtful expression. "At least he's not preventing you from spending time with Sa. That's something to be grateful for."

Mary had worried that since Cullen had custody, he might restrict Veronica's access to her daughter. If that had happened, their mother-daughter bond would have inevitably weakened over time—a fate too cruel for any mother to bear.

Veronica offered no explanation to Mary. She simply responded with a quiet acknowledgment, reminded her mother to rest early, and headed upstairs.

The following morning, the Murray family gathered downstairs for breakfast with Sabrina. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed as they enjoyed their meal together.

Suddenly, a notification came from the security station at the entrance—they had a visitor.

Veronica glanced at the security monitor and immediately recognized Cullen's car waiting outside the gate.