The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 116

Chapter 87: A Treasure, My Treasure.

Maybe she’s not there, maybe she’s already asleep. Maybe… I purse my lips.

I knock again.

Silence falls again over the corridor. And for the first time since I left my house, an uncomfortable feeling begins to grow in my chest.

That same helplessness I felt that night, the night Clara left.

I run a hand through my wet hair, letting out a small, frustrated exhale.

“Come on, Clara,” I murmured quietly.

But the door does not open, the seconds pass. The corridor is still dark.

I finally pull my phone out of my pocket. The screen lights up my face for a moment as I look at the time.

Maybe I should go, maybe this was crazy. I put the phone away again, turn slightly, ready to leave. And

then… I hear something.

A soft, metallic sound. The turn of a knob, my heart stops for a second.

Then it beats strongly.

I turn to the door just as it begins to open, and for the first time all night…

I feel like I’m breathing again.

When my arms close around Clara, something inside me breaks… and at the same time it accommodates. I hug her tightly, tighter than I intended. But I can’t help it.

My right hand slides up to her waist, holding her against me, while the other rises behind the back of her neck, burying itself gently in her hair. I pull her closer, as if I need to make sure she’s here… that she is real. And the instant her body is stuck to mine, I feel something I didn’t expect. My heart begins to calm down. The anxiety that had been stirring inside my chest for hours begins to slowly subside, like a storm that loses strength after discharging all its rain.

I take a deep breath, her scent, her warmth.

Clara… I close my eyes for a second as I press her against me, I want to feel her.

I need to feel her, but then I’m aware of something.

My clothes, they’re completely soaked. The moisture from my shirt begins to penetrate her blouse and I feel how the cold water mixes with the heat of her skin.

Even so, she does not turn away. And that small detail makes something inside me tighten even more.

I lower my head a little until I am close to her ear. And the words come out before I can stop them.

“I need you.

My voice sounds lower than I expected, more honest. More vulnerable.

We stay like this for few more seconds, then I force myself to separate a little

Just a little.

My hands are still on her, one on her waist, the other behind the back of her neck, as if she fears that at any moment she could disappear.

I tilt my head forward slightly, my nose brushing against her. A gentle touch.

Intimate.

Clara raises her eyes to look at me and at that moment… Everything inside me collapses.

The warm light from the candle illuminates her face from the side, drawing soft shadows or her cheeks.

Her eyes look huge under that shaky light.

And all I can think of is the same thing that’s been haunting me all night.

How could I not see this before?

My throat tightens.

“Clara,” I murmured.

My fingers tighten slightly at her waist, I watch her for a second longer, trying to find some way to say what I’ve been storing for so long. But there is no elegant way.

Nor perfect. There is only truth. And when I finally speak, my voice breaks.

“Forgive me,” I whisper.

Her eyes open a little wider.

“Forgive me for not knowing that I had a treasure by my side.”

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