The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 14

Chapter 10: Back to New York-2

I took a deep breath. was not the woman who left. I was the one who had learned to hold on.

“Let me think about it,” I said finally.

That night, alone in the new building, I walked through the empty hallways. The echo of my footsteps reminded me of something important; now, I made the noise.

I stopped in front of the window. The city was shining, familiar, powerful. I thought about everything I had gone through to get here. In what it hurt. In what it cost… Returning was not giving up, it was choosing without fear.

I rested my hand on the glass and made a silent decision. This tirpe, the past wasn’t going to dictate my future. And if New York insisted on reminding me who I was… I would show him who I am now.

New York has always had a particular way of receiving me; the noise, the speed, the constant feeling that

everything is happening at the same time and that standing still is a way of disappearing. As soon as I got out of the car and my feet touched the sidewalk, I felt it. Not like a blow… like an ancient certainty

awakening.

The air was different. More loaded with stories.

I took a deep breath before entering the building where the contract would be signed. Not because I hesitated, but because I knew that this step was not only professional. It was symbolic.

Returning to this city meant facing memories that hadn’t brought with me.

The meeting was flawless. The lawyers, assistants, documents perfectly ordered. Alexander by my side, attentive but respectful, letting me lead every point. As I was reviewing the final clauses, I noticed something curious, my hands were not shaking. I read each line calmly. I asked. I adjusted. I negotiated… When I signed, I didn’t feel euphoria. I felt something deeper… Weight.

The real weight of a decision that cannot be easily undone.

“Welcome to New York,” Alexander said as we shook hands.

I smiled barely. It was not a welcome… it was a comeback.

I left the building minutes later, with the folder under my arm and my mind strangely silent. I walked a few steps aimlessly, letting myself be carried away by the city. The yellow taxis, the hurried people, the buildings that seemed to never end.

Everything was the same, but I wasn’t. I stopped at a traffic light, staring at my reflection in a shop window. The woman looking back at me wasn’t the one who had lived here before. This one walked with her shoulders slightly hunched, always preoccupied with other people’s schedules, with commitments that

weren’t hers.

4 Chopte Tu Akk New York 2

Lwalked upright. Present.

That night, from my hotel room, I understood the inevitable.

It was not enough to come and sign, it was not enough to supervise from afar. Sinclair & Co. needed a real presence in New York. And was that presence.

The confirmation came the next day, during a more intimate, less formal meeting. Alexander was direct, as always.

“This doesn’t work if you come once a month,” he said. “We need you to be here. That you make decisions from the field.”

I nodded slowly.

“How long?” I asked, though I already knew the answer.

“Whatever is necessary to consolidate the headquarters. A year, maybe more.”

I was silent.

Living here again was not a logistical detail. It was accepting that the past could cross me on any corner.

That names, places, familiar faces could reappear without warning.

But it was also accepting something just as important… running away was no longer an option… nor a

need.

“I’ll stay,” I said at last.

Alexander watched me intently, as if evaluating more than just a business decision.

“That changes a lot of things,” he replied.

“I know,” I said. “That’s why I do it.”

The following days became a controlled whirlwind. Office search. Meetings with local teams. Personnel selection. Every step was loaded with intention. I didn’t want to replicate exactly what I had built in my city; I wanted to adapt it without losing essence.

We found the building on a gray afternoon. Spacious… Luminous. With windows that looked at the city as a permanent challenge.

When I walked in, I knew that this would be the place.

“Here,” I said. “This is where it all begins.”

Signing the contract for the space was different. More intimate, more definitive. There was no applause or unnecessary witnesses. Just me, a pen and a clear feeling in my chest.

I was staying.

That night I walked alone through the streets, aimlessly, without fear. I recognized corners, cafes, facades that had once seemed foreign to me and now were just that… buildings.

Chapter 10 kb Mew York P

The past no longer had the same weight. Not because It had disappeared, but because I had grown up around it.

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