The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 18

Chapter 13: The Event, Part 1.

Clara

The meeting had been going on for almost two hours when it happened.

We were sitting around the glass table, open shots, projections on, figures that no longer intimidated me. The second headquarters was beginning to take shape, not only as an ambitious idea, but as a real,

concrete project, with clear dates, teams and responsibilities.

“The location is strategic,” said one of the architects. “New York demands presence, image, solidity from day one.”

I nodded slowly.

New York was unforgiving. I knew it better than anyone.

Alexander Connor was sitting across from me, relaxed, confident, with that natural confidence of

someone who knows he belongs anywhere he steps. Young, brilliant, dangerously charming if one was not

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attentive. We had built a solid, professional alliance, based on respect and shared vision. Nothing more.

Nothing less.

“If we want to open on schedule, we need to close the home team this week,” he added, looking at me.

“You decide, Clara. This company bears your name, your vision.”

That still surprised me sometimes.

That someone would say my name like that, without someone else’s surname, without a shadow.

“We will,” I replied. “I didn’t come here to doubt now.”

It was then that my assistant approached discreetly, leaning towards me.

“Excuse me,” he whispered, “this came for you.”

I took the envelope without giving it too much importance at first. Thick paper. Elegant. Recognizable

r even before you read it.

I opened it. And I felt that little turn in my chest that I didn’t expect.

Official invitation to the Annual New York Business Summit. My name, complete. Not as a companion, not as a “wife of”… Not as a social appendage.

As founder and CEO of Sinclair & Co.

I smiled. I couldn’t help it, for an instant, everything I had worked on, lost, rebuilt, seemed to line up on a

single point. Such invitations did not come by chance. They were recognition. Validation. Definitive entrance to a circle that I had previously only observed from a distance.

“Good news?” Alexander asked, curious.

Chapter 13 The Evony, Call 1

“Very good,” I replied, handing him the card.

He read it, raised an eyebrow, and smiled approvingly.

“Wow… if I’m not mistaken, it’s the first time you’ve been officially invited. Congratulations, Clara. That’s big.”

Surely he already received his invitation, that was obvious.

Was it big? Yes, it was. I knew it. It’s not just a piece of paper, this says I’m doing things right and that I’m getting noticed. But then… I thought about it and my smile faded.

That event brought together the most influential businessmen in the country. Old names. Historical companies. Faces I knew all too well, and among them… Ethan.

My smile tightened barely. Enough for Alexander to notice.

“All right?” he asked.

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure it was entirely true.

“Yes. I just… I didn’t expect it to be so soon.”

I didn’t say more. It was not necessary.

I looked at the card again and didn’t let what hadn’t happened torment me, I just smiled.

The rest of the meeting continued between decisions, dates and agreements. The expansion continued to advance, unstoppable. So do I. Or so I wanted to believe.

The day of the event came faster than I imagined. Too fast. I didn’t see the days go by, but among so

much work, it’s impossible.

I found myself in front of the dressing room mirror, looking at a dress that I would never have chosen before. Dark. Structured. Elegant without asking permission. It wasn’t delicate. It was not complacent. It

was imposing.

I saw it in a store in the morning, I went to buy a dress because I didn’t come prepared to attend an event of this level. It was strange, it seemed like fate, to receive the invitation at a time like this and being in this city, it was as if life had accommodated everything for me to be here..

I looked at the dress again and smiled, it was perfect… How I needed to feel.

Before, I had worn my hair with light, soft sheens, almost trying to illuminate something I didn’t know how

to hold. Not this time.

I went to a beauty salon and ordered something different:

“Full brown,” I said to the stylist. “No contrasts.”

I wanted depth, firmness… Visible roots.

While the dye did its work, I thought about how symbolic it all was. It wasn’t just an invitation. It wasn’t just

Chapter 13.4fferent Part 3

an event. It was a version of me who had never walked through those rooms alone… until now.

When she finished, I looked at myself again, and I recognized myself.

I was not the woman who had come to New York years ago believing that love could be built as an agreement. I was not the silent wife who facilitated, organized, and sustained without being seen.

I was someone different.

This image showed how I felt now and what I wanted to reflect. This was a necessary change for me… for someone who had survived the fall and had learned to get up with more weight of her own.

I took a deep breath, maybe he would be there… Maybe not, but for the first time, that wasn’t what defined my presence.

I took my coat, my invitation, and I left that room, I came out ready, ready to be noticed by everyone, for what I am, for what I have built.

Fate had decided to cross paths again, and this time… I didn’t arrive accompanying anyone. I was coming for myself, and that already felt like an achievement.

I got in my car and drove to the venue where the event would take place. I checked the time and knew I was running out of time. I knew that my visit to the hall would take up time, but I didn’t care, i needed it.

I arrived at the place and the valet took the keys to my car, I left with my invitation and walked on a carpet. Outside the place there was press, I felt the flash of the cameras illuminating my gaze, my eyes, my face…

I was smiling subtly as I advanced until I reached the entrance, a man took the invitation, removed the

cord and let me pass. As I walked, I heard the noise of that place, voices, laughter, soft music and the sound of glasses. I didn’t know what awaited me that night, but I wasn’t afraid, I wasn’t nervous. It’s like I’m

ready for anything.

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