The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 136

Chapter 100 Tranquility in the Midcal Chudes:

Clara

I can’t keep eating, I try to do it. I try to follow the quiet rhythm of dinner, the soft sound of the cutlery, the calm that Ethan seems to be feeling… But my mind won’t let me.

Alexander’s words return.

Over and over again.

Tripping over the same stone…

I squeeze the fork slightly between my fingers, breathe, try to ignore it, try to focus on what’s in front of me.

On Ethan, on this dinner, on what I felt when he kissed me outside my office. On what I felt last night.

But I can’t, I finally put the fork on the plate, then the knife.

My hands are clasped on the table, I look up at him.

“What’s wrong?” Ethan asks.

His voice is calm, but I know he noticed the change.

I swallow hard before speaking.

“Why are you really doing this?”

I make a small gesture with my hand towards the table.

Lunch, house, dinner.

All this.

He seems surprised by the question.

“I think I’ve told you that many times.”

I nod..

“Yes… You told me.”

And I value it. I really value it.

“But… what guarantees me that what happened before will not happen again?”

Silence remains suspended between us.

Ethan looks at me intently. And when he finally speaks… his voice is deeper.

More serious.

“I give you my soul as a guarantee.”

I blink slowly.

“My actions as my guarantee.”

I look down for a second, because those words… they weigh. And because it’s not easy to hear something like that from him.

I exhale slowly before speaking again.

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot since last night.”

My fingers intertwine on the table.

“It has been quite strong for my emotional life.”

I raise my eyes to him again.

“I came to New York for my work.”

I pause for a while.

“By self-improvement.”

My lips press together for a second.

I look up at Ethan, he doesn’t seem upset. There’s no anger on his face… Nor frustration.

What I see in his eyes is something different, understanding. And that baffles me a bit.

Because the Ethan I met before… He didn’t usually stay silent listening. But this Ethan does it.

His fingers intertwine on the table as he watches me.

“I understand,” he says finally.

His voice is low… Calm..

“I understand that you are afraid.”

My fingers brush the edge of the plate.

“It’s not just fear,” he murmured.

He tilts his head slightly.

“It’s the fear of coming back,” he continued, “and not being happy.”

The confession comes out softer than I expected, because that’s what really scares me.

It’s not just Ethan, it’s the possibility of returning to an emotional place where I once felt alone.

Where I felt invisible, where I was gradually fading away. I take the fork again.

Almost as an automatic gesture, I cut a small piece of pasta.

I bring it to my mouth as I think, the conversation isn’t over. He only changed pace.

“When I left here,” I say after swallowing, “I had to rebuild myself”

My eyes lift up to him.

“I had to learn to live without you.”