The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 221

M

& Chapter 154 Prom Man to Man and Clara

+25 Points

Chapter 154: From Man to Man… and Clara.-1

Ethan

I knock on the door three times… Not gently, maybe a little aggressively and firmly. That’s exactly how I feel right now.

My pulse is not racing… But he is not calm either. It’s that middle point where everything in you is on alert, as if something is about to break, even if it doesn’t yet.

I wait a second, two… I am attentive and I do not hear anything.

I tilt my face to the door, hear a small movement and take a deep breath.

And in that minimal space… Her name is already in my mouth. Clara… Ready to say it as soon as the door opens. Ready to see her. To confirm that she is okay. To look her in the eye and understand what the hell

is going on.

But the door opens… And it’s not her, it’s him. Alexander.

For a second… nothing happens, literally nothing. Time stops in a strange way, as if my mind needs to rearrange the reality in front of me before reacting.

I look at him; white shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. The first buttons open, too comfortable, too…

installed. And then… withouting

permission… An image crosses my head.

One night, roses, door closing, them together. My fists clench themselves.

wine. A

It’s not a decision,

I clench my jaw, swallowin

whatever is trying to come out of my chest ahead of time.

No, I’m not going to react like that. Not here… Not without knowing.

Alexander is the first to speak.

“Ethan,” he says, as if he didn’t expect to see me, but without losing that controlled tone of his. “What are you doing here?”

His voice is calm, too “close” And that… It bothers me more than it should.

I look straight at him, without taking my eyes off him for a second.

“I’ve come to see my wife.”

I don’t raise my voice, I don’t need to.

The words come out clear, firm… and with a burden that needs no explanation.

The silence that follows… it is tense. Heavy… I can see the small change in his expression.

It’s not significant, not obvious to anyone. But I notice it, because I’m looking at him as if I’m trying to see

M

< Chapter 154-Hem Man to Man and Clara-1

right through him.

“Clara is not available at the moment,” he replies.

+25 Points

And there… Something inside me becomes more tense. Not because of what he says, but because of how he says it.

As if he had some kind of right to answer for her.

I take a step forward, not invading, but shortening the distance.

“I didn’t ask you,” I say.

My voice lowers a tone.

“I asked for Clara.”

His eyes don’t leave mine. And for a second… This is no longer just uncomfortable, this is something else.

“She’s in the shower,” he finally says.

And that simple phrase… That damn phrase… It makes something pound in my chest.

Not because it’s illogical, not because it can’t happen. But because of the context, because of how I got

here.

By the call, by the silence… For him… opening this door

My mind is trying to connect pieces, too many pieces, too fast. But I force myself not to react.

Not to get carried away by the first thing that my

breath.

“I’m going to wait.”

to build, so I take a deep, slow and calm

It’s not a suggestion, it’s a

decision. Alexander doesn’t move from the door right away.

As if he were evaluating something, as if he were measuring how far he can or cannot go.

And that… I don’t like it at all.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he says.

I let out a low, humorless laugh.

“Curious,” I reply. “Because I didn’t come here to ask for your opinion.”

Silence again, but this time… shorter. Finally, he steps aside.

Not completely, but enough. So, I enter. And as soon as I walk through the door… I feel it.

I don’t know how to explain the atmosphere… But it feels different.

It’s not just any hotel room; it’s a lived-in space.

?

Chapter 154-Prem Man to Man and Clara 1

+25 Points

There are things from Clara, her bag. Her suitcase open on a chair, a garment of her folded on the bed.

My gaze goes through everything in seconds, absorbing, analyzing. And trying… of not drawing

conclusions.

But it is difficult, very difficult.

I hear the sound of water from the bathroom, the shower. I close my eyes for a second, just one.

Comments

LUCK DRAW

Vote

88

+25 Ponty

Chapter 154-Frem Man to Man and Clara-2

Chapter 154: From Man to Man… and Clara.-2

To stabilize myself, to prevent this from becoming something it isn’t yet.

When I open them… he’s still there, standing, watching me.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he says.

I look at him.

“I didn’t think I’d find you here either.”

Direct answer, no frills.

He nods barely, as if confirming something he already knew.

“The trip changed at the last minute,” he explains. “The project required it.”

I clench my jaw.

“It’s curious that Clara hasn’t told the person she lives with.”

I don’t say “couple”. I don’t say “husband.”

I say something clearer, more real. More… mine… Clara.

His expression barely changes, another minimal crack.

“It wasn’t my decision to inform you,” he replies.

“But it was your decision to come,” I return.

And this time… The air feels heavier, more charged.

I take one more step inside the room, not as an invasion. But as someone who belongs and who has the right and knows it.

“How long have you been here?” I ask.

“Since this morning.”

The answer comes quickly, without hesitation. And that… it does not reassure me.

On the contrary, I nod slowly, processing.

“Interesting.”

I don’t add more, because if I do… it probably crosses a line. And I don’t want to.

The sound of the water stops, we both hear it. And for a second… Everything changes.

Because now it’s not just him and me, now… She’s about to leave.

I feel my heart beating faster, not from fear, not from doubt. But from what’s to come. From what I need to

+25 Points

Chapter 154-Frem Man to Man and Claia-2

see in her face, in her eyes.

The bathroom door is still closed, but I know that at any mornent… It is going to open.

I look at Alexander once more. And this time… There’s nothing disguised in my voice.

The door to Clara’s room opens. And everything else… It stops mattering for a second.

Clara comes out and with it the scent of her perfume, as if it enveloped her.

She wears a loose dress, cream… Simple, smooth… and completely her. Her hair is still slightly damp,

falling over her back. But that’s not what hits me.

It is her expression.

4

She stops short when she sees me, her eyes wide… surprised, completely disoriented. And there it is.

That reaction is not fake.

“Ethan,” she whispers.

My name in her voice… I should calm down.

But it doesn’t, because there’s too much going on around that moment, too many unanswered questions.

Her gaze is lowered… And she sees the suitcase in my hand. And then she understands.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” she says.

There is no reproach, there is no annoyance. Just surprise and something else.

Something that I can’t quite decipher, I hold her with my gaze, firm.

“But here I am.”

I don’t give any more explanations, not yet. Because I didn’t come to justify myself, I came to understand.

The silence between us lasts barely a second… Because Alexander speaks.

“We are not finished.”

His voice cuts the moment, cold, precise.

As if this were an interruption, as if I… were the interruption.

My jaw tenses, and then I see it. Not him… But where he looks. The balcony.

I follow his line of sight… and there they are, papers, open folders. Two laptops lit on the table, documents organized… not random. Not sloppy.

Work, real work, important work.

My gaze lingers there for a few seconds longer than necessary, processing, organizing.