The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 243

Chapter 171: Coincidences Don’t Exist.

Vanessa

Acting normal… is an art. And I’ve mastered it.

I walk through the office doors with my usual elegance, my impeccable poise, as if nothing had stirred inside me in the last few hours. As if that conversation with Clara hadn’t left a trace. But it did, of course it

did. It’s just not something you can see. It’s something you keep inside…. and use at the right moment.

I walk down the main hallway, greeting everyone I pass with a slight nod… Soft, cordial, measured smiles.

Everything in its place. Until I reach his office, Ethan… The door is ajar.

I see him before he sees me. He’s sitting at his desk, focused on his computer. His posture is firm, his expression… serious. Focused. He’s always been like this when he works. And for a moment… for a fleeting second… I remember. But I don’t stop there; I didn’t come here to reminisce.

I gently knock on the door.

“May I?”

He looks up, and there it is. It feels strange to do that, to knock on the door… That subtle change when he recognizes me isn’t rejection. But it’s not closeness either; it’s… controlled distance.

“Of course,” he says.

I go in.

“It’ll only be a moment,” I add, walking casually inside.

He nods, barely glancing back at his screen, and that… gives me an advantage. Because he’s not expecting

anything.

“I saw your wife today,” I say, as if it were a casual comment. Without any weight, without any apparent

intention. But it’s there… It always is.

He doesn’t look up immediately.

“Yes?” he replies. Simple, direct.

“Yes,” I continue. “She invited me for coffee.”

I pause briefly.

“How kind of her… very courteous.” I say it with a touch of irony, subtle. Barely perceptible, but enough for someone who knows how to listen. Except… he doesn’t. Or doesn’t want to.

“Yes,” he says then, without looking up. “She’s a very kind woman.”

I blink once. That wasn’t what I expected.

I smile slightly, tilting my head.

<Chapter 12-Commeidenses Dan’t Exist

“What a surprise…” I add. “She didn’t tell me she was meeting you.”

There… he looks up, finally. His eyes meet mine, and I hold ffrem.

“I didn’t know,” he says. Simple, without tension. Without suspicion… Or… pretending very well.

I move a little closer, not too far. Just enough.

“I think your wife and I could be very good friends… don’t you think?”

Claim

Silence. And this time, yes… I see it… That pause, that second where his gaze barely shifts. Where he understands, not everything. But enough, because he knows. He knows that’s not true, he knows it can’t be true. He knows that between Clara and me… there’s no room for that kind of relationship.

He looks up completely now. He’s really looking at me. And in that instant… I’m not playing alorie anymore.

“Did something happen between you two?” I ask. Direct, but with a light tone. As if it were curiosity, as if it

didn’t matter. But it does matter.

He leans back slightly in his chair.

“Something like what?” He looks away, of course he does.

“I don’t know…” I reply. “A conversation… something awkward…” I leave the sentence open and incomplete,

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