The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 197

Chapter 138: Back Home, Part 1.-1

Clara

I don’t remember making many decisions tonight.

It’s strange… Because I usually do everything with control, with clarity, measuring each step.

But now… no.

Now I just follow, follow Ethan, follow his voice, follow his hand. I follow that “let’s go home” that still resonates inside me as something I didn’t expect… but that I needed.

We left the apartment and I don’t look back.

I can’t, I don’t want to. ‘Cause I know that if I do… if I see that open door again, that space where a few minutes ago I felt that someone was watching me, that someone was there… I’m going to break. And I don’t want to do it… Not now.

Not when I’m barely managing to stand up.

The elevator goes down silently, my hand is still inside Ethan’s. Firm, warm, present. And that… that

sustains me.

We don’t talk, we don’t need to. Because all I need now are not words.

It is this, his closeness, his calmness, his way of not letting go.

As we step out into the parking lot, the cold air hits my face. I breathe, but it is not a complete breath. It

is… choppy.

As if my body still doesn’t understand that it’s over, that there’s no one there anymore. That I’m safe now.

Ethan opens the car door. He looks at me.

“Get in.”

I nod, I obey. Not because I have to… but because I don’t have the energy to decide otherwise.

I settle into the seat, close the door. And for a second… I close my eyes.

Just a second, but that’s enough. Because I see him again.

The kitchen, the light. That movement, that body, that man.

My breath stops, I open my eyes suddenly… No, no, no.

“Clara…”

Ethan’s voice brings me back, I look at him.

He’s on the other side, he hasn’t started the engine yet. He’s watching me intently, carefully.

Chapter 138 Home. Part 1 1

I’m fine,” I say.

It’s a lie. I know it, he knows it too. But he doesn’t contradict me.

He just nods.

The engine starts, the car moves. The city flashes before my eyes… but I don’t really see it.

I’m somewhere else, at another time. At that moment when everything changed.

My hand closes in on itself, and then… I feel it. His hand reaching for mine.

He takes it, squeezes it gently. And something inside me… go down a little.

Just a little, but enough.

“It’s over,” he says, without looking at me. “You are with me.”

Cla

And that phrase… It’s not just anything. It doesn’t sound empty, it doesn’t sound automatic. Sounds… real.

I rest my head against the backrest, look out the window.

The lights fade, my mind tries to calm down. I try to tidy everything up, but it’s difficult.

Very difficult… Because there is something that does not fit. Something I can’t understand.

How did he get in?

That question comes back, again and again. Like an uncomfortable echo.

The building has security, controlled accesses. Cameras.

None of that failed. Nothing… And yet… That man was inside. Inside my house.

My stomach contracts.

“Ethan…”

My voice comes out low.

He turns his head slightly.

“Yes?”

I doubt. But I say it.

“How… How did he get in?”

Silence settles in for a second.

“I don’t know,” he finally replies. “But we’re going to find out.”

His tone changes, it becomes firmer. More… cold.

“I’m not going to leave this like that.”

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