The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 242

Chapter 170: Seed Sown.

Vanessa

I smile, of course I smile. It’s what I do best, it’s what I’ve always done.

I hold onto that smile as I get up from the table, as i grab my bag, as I feel Clara’s gaze still on me… steady, confident, different. Different from how I remembered it.

“Take care of what you have…” I say, without looking at her. And I walk slowly, without haste.

Each step measured, elegant, impeccable. As if nothing had happened, as if that conversation had meant absolutely nothing. As if it hadn’t touched me, as if it hadn’t… made me uncomfortable.

I push open the café door and the cold air hits my face. I keep walking, one… two…. three more steps

And then… the smile disappears. It falls away, it shatters.

My brow furrows, my lips tighten, and I feel something inside me contract with a force I can’t hide.

“Bitch…” I murmur, barely audible.

The word escapes on its own, heavy, acidic. More directed at what I felt… than what I said.

I clutch my bag tighter than necessary, I don’t stop, not yet. I keep walking, but no longer with the same calm. My steps are quicker, heavier. Because… it didn’t go as I wanted. Not completely.

Clara didn’t react as I expected, she didn’t hesitate, she didn’t break down. She didn’t feel small, and that…

bothers me. More than it should.

I take a deep breath, trying to regain control. But it’s not easy. Because yes… yes, I had intentions. Of course I did. I wasn’t kind, it wasn’t an innocent gesture, it wasn’t a coincidence. None of that.

I close my eyes for a second as I walk, remembering that moment at the event. The glass in her hand, her confident posture. That air of a woman who thinks she has everything under control. And then I saw it, the necklace… That damned necklace, the same one, the very one I had suggested. The very one I owned. The very one I helped choose… And in that instant… I understood everything.

I didn’t need Ethan to say anything, I didn’t need anything more…

r

I clench my jaw, because it wasn’t just any old thing. It wasn’t just another piece of jewelry, it was a symbol. A meaning. I didn’t think it would affect me so much to see it around her neck. One that I myself explained to him, one that he… accepted. One that now… she wore on her chest.

I let out a low, bitter laugh.

“How ironic…”

Yes, it was me. I was the one who guided him. The one who gave him the idea, who led him right there. And yet… it wasn’t for me.

Chapter 17 Sown

Cla

Hkeep walking, slower row. Because the memory… weighs heavily. Because there are things that aren’t said… but they stay with you. I didn’t plan that moment at the event, no. But when I saw her… when I saw the necklace around her neck… I knew had a chance. And I took it, of course I did.

I approached her, smiled, and toasted. And I spoke. I told her the meaning, the same one. Exactly the same. I didn’t improvise, I didn’t hesitate. And then… the final touch, the decisive blow. I pulled out mine, just because. I had it too. Because chance… doesn’t exist. It never has for me… Things happen for a reason, and if that moment came… it was because it was meant to be used. To sow seeds, not hatred, not

direct conflict. That’s crude, that’s easy. No… what I wanted to sow was doubt.

That small… silent… persistent doubt.

The same kind that breaks relationships, the same kind that wears you down. The same kind that, little by little… destroys everything from within.

The same one… that once tore them apart.

I finally stop on the sidewalk, look ahead, but I don’t really see anything. I just think. About her, about her gaze today. About her confidence, about how she spoke to me.

“It showed me who you are.” I repeat her words in my mind, and I barely smile. But this time… it’s not a

pretty smile. It’s something else, sharper.

“You’re not as naive as I thought…” I whisper. That changes the rules, but not the game. Never the game….

Because this… isn’t just about Ethan. It was never just about him, it’s about what he represents. About what he chose, what he left behind. And what… he still doesn’t understand.

I take a deep breath, regain my composure. I straighten my shoulders. Calm returns, slowly. Control… Always control.

“The necklace didn’t affect you…” I murmur to myself. I shake my head gently. “Of course it will.”

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