CEO’s Regret After I Divorced (Serena and Ryan) novel Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Chapter 386 I Wanted to Leave Here.

Author’s POV

As Ryan’s car pulled away from the Lancaster estate, an almost suffocating silence settled inside the vehicle.

Ryan had sent the driver away and was at the wheel himself. He didn’t drive fast, but with unnerving steadiness, as if the woman in the passenger seat—her emotions teetering on the edge of collapse—was not a person, but a treasure he had lost and recovered, one he dared not let slip again.

Serena leaned back in her seat, still clutching the hospital documents. The edges of the paper were crumpled from how tightly she held them. She stared at the streetlights and buildings blurring past the window, but her gaze never truly focused.

Everything had happened too quickly tonight, like an avalanche three years in the making, shattering every truth she had ever known.

Cedric was not her savior.The car accident had not been an accident.Rancy was not Cedric’s daughter... but hers and Ryan’s.

Each truth struck her chest like a block of ice, stealing her breath. Though the car was warm, she felt cold all over, the chill creeping up her fingertips and seeping into her bones.

Ryan glanced sideways at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. In the end, he spoke first.

"The hospital is all set. It’s neural stimulation and memory guidance—not actual open‑brain surgery. The doctors said your old head injury already has a chance of healing naturally. We’re just trying to speed up the process and lower the risks." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His voice was low and steady, as if he was deliberately making it sound less frightening.

After a long silence, Serena whispered, "What if I don’t get my memories back?"

Her voice was soft, layered with exhaustion and confusion she could barely hide.

Ryan’s fingers tightened slightly around the steering wheel. After a short pause, he answered, "Then it’s still okay."

Serena finally turned to look at him.

The cold glow of streetlights streamed through the window, gilding the man’s sharp features, making him look even quieter—and more worn—than before. Only then did she notice how obvious the exhaustion in his eyes was, as if every sleepless night over the past three years had settled into those gray-blue irises.

"I’m taking you to the hospital not to force you to remember me, or to make you come back to me right away." Ryan’s tone was calm, almost restrained. "I just can’t watch you trapped in lies anymore, not even knowing who you are."

Serena’s heart fluttered softly.

He didn’t say I love you, or You should come back to me. Yet those words hurt more than any confession. She could hear it clearly—this man had never wanted to chain her with guilt. He only wanted to give her back her choices, completely and unconditionally.

She lowered her head, staring at the crumpled papers in her hand. After a long while, she whispered, "These three years... did you really look for me the whole time?"

The car went quiet for a moment.

Ryan stared at the road ahead, split open by the headlights. His voice dropped to a near sigh.

"Not the whole time."

Serena froze and glanced at him in surprise.

A faint, bitter tug curved Ryan’s lips, barely a smile.

"Every single day." He paused, his throat tight. "The first year you disappeared, I searched almost every hospital, police station, and coastline in London and the surrounding areas. The second year, I expanded abroad. By the third year... many people told me to give up, that you were gone. But something always felt wrong."

His voice was quiet, but each word struck her heart.

"I just felt... if I stopped, I would really never find you again."

Serena’s fingers tightened abruptly, as if something had violently twisted the softest part deep inside her chest.

She didn’t know what to say.

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