Paul Anka, an 84-year-old singer-songwriter responsible for generations of iconic music, faces a painful regret he says has haunted him for decades.

In his memoir "My Way," the ailing performer recalls a series of encounters with Dodi Fayed that leave him to wonder if different choices on his part might have changed the course of history, leading up to the 1997 crash that killed Dodi and Princess Diana.

Anka's earliest recollection of meeting Dodi was when the young heir arrived in Los Angeles after his father purchased Harrods. "After his father bought Harrods, this young kid called Dodi Fayed turned up in Los Angeles. Sweet enough guy, but very much a daddy's boy," Anka wrote.

The performer said he became something of a mentor, cautioning Dodi about fast living and drug abuse. "During one of their exchanges, Dodi reached out in desperation," Anka recalled. "I can't tell my dad. Could you just loan it to me for a week?"

Anka's situation worsened when she failed to repay the $150,000, prompting her to reach out to Dodi's father. The following is a relatively neutral statement that captures Anka's residual fear: "He reflected on this moment years later," Anka wrote. "What if I hadn't loaned Dodi the money? What if I hadn't called Fayed? Would Dodi have stayed in LA? Would he – and Princess Diana – still be alive today?"

Anka said Dodi struggled with paranoia tied to kidnappings and high-speed travel. Introducing Anka's observation, a neutral sentence sets the tone: "He described how these tendencies affected Dodi's choices." "One of Dodi's problems was that he was very paranoid... that's why he always went fast whenever he got into a car. Fast, fast, fast," Anka wrote.

"Paul is going to go to his grave with this regret," a source told RadarOnline.

The memoir also includes Anka's reflections on witnessing the self-destruction of icons like Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr. "He shared a stark memory of Presley." "Basically, Elvis destroyed himself," Anka said.

Despite the tragedies he has seen through the years, Anka ascribes his longevity to very stringent health habits and the elimination of stress from his life. "He explained his approach to staying healthy." "I'm in this passage where I don't want any people to put any stress in my life," he said. "Go away! Don't need you. That's the big killer."

Separately, Princess Diana may not have been in love with Dodi Fayed despite spending her final days with him, according to Express. Royal expert Emma Cooper said Diana's "greatest love" was surgeon Hasnat Khan, with whom she had a deep but ultimately impossible relationship due to their different backgrounds and the pressures of royal life.

After their breakup, Cooper explained, Diana "settled" for Dodi because the relationship offered stability, shared status, and a lifestyle aligned with her own, even though her strongest emotional connection remained with Hasnat.