The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 172

Chapter 121–Nesklace for Clara 2

Chapter 121: A Necklace for Clara.–2

I hear her footsteps on the other side. And when she opens the door… everything becomes clear again.

“Hello…” she says, with that smile that I never tire of seeing.

“Hello,” I reply, returning it to her.

I don’t expect too much.

I go in, close the door behind me. And I look at her for a second longer.

“I brought you something.”

I lift the small box. She frowns slightly, curious.

“You didn’t have to-”

“I know,” I interrupt her gently. “But I wanted to.”

She moves closer.

“What is it?”

I open the box in front of her, her eyes drop. And stop.

The brilliance of the diamond catches the light… but it is her expression that matters to me.

“Ethan…”

She doesn’t finish the sentence, but she doesn’t need to.

I take the necklace carefully.

“May I?” I ask

She nods, turning slightly. She puts her hair up and that gesture… so simple… she lets me see it.

Her neck, her skin. I take a deep breath.

I gently place the necklace around her, letting the clasp click into place.

My fingers barely brush her skin, and I feel her bristle.

It took me a second before I pulled away.

“They say that the diamond,” I begin, in a low voice, “represents that which does not break.”

She stands still, listening.

“What happens by pressure… by time… for everything… and it is still going strong.”

I slide my fingers gently down her shoulder, turning her toward me.

“I wanted to give you something that said that,” I continued. “That what we have… isn’t fragile.”

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klace for Clara -2

My eyes are fixed on her.

“That is still here.”

There is a silence, but it is not empty. It’s filled with everything we’re not saying.

She touches the necklace gently. As if she felt more than the stone.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers.

I smile, but it’s not because of the necklace. It’s because of her.

“You make it look like that.”

My hand goes up to her face, stroking her cheek with my thumb. And at that moment… There is no doubt. There is no fear, only this certainty that grows more and more inside me.

I lean her slightly towards me, and kiss her softly.

But with all I want to say to her without words, because if that necklace means anything… This is it.

That I don’t intend to let go of her again, I don’t leave her after the kiss.

I stay there, close. Too close to pretend this is casual.

My hand is still on her cheek, my thumb caressing her skin gently, almost unconsciously.

She lowers her gaze for a second… Touch the necklace again. And then she looks at me.

There is something different in her eyes, it is not just desire. It’s not just honey, it’s… something deeper.

More serious.

“Ethan,” she says quietly.

“Yes?”

I don’t know what she’s going to say. But my chest tightens, just the same.

She takes a breath.

“I feel like,” she begins, “we’re moving forward.”

I nod slowly.

“Yes, we are.”

I don’t deny it, I don’t minimize it. Because it would be lying to myself.

“And I like it,” she adds.

That… It loosens my chest a little, but not completely. Because what comes next… I feel it.

It’s in her tone, in the pause.

Chapter 1214

for Clara

“But it scares me, too,” she confesses

There it is, really. The real… The one that neither of them watted to say out loud.

I look down for a second, breathe. Because it scares me too, of course. But I am not saying it.

Not like this, not today.

I look up again and really look at her.

“Me too,” I finally admit.

Her expression barely changes.

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