The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 290

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<Chapter 202-Misunderstanding, Part 2-1

Chapter 208: A Misunderstanding, Part 2.-1

Ethan

I didn’t leave that office feeling calm, not even close.

I remember perfectly how I arrived… With a different energy, a different intention. I had her phone in my pocket and a pretty simple idea in my head: to see her, surprise her a little, kiss her… even if it was quick, even if it was just a moment between meetings. That was enough, that’s what made me want to go.

The receptionist let me in without a problem. They know me. They know who i am. Everything was… normal. Too normal.

On the way, I ran into her assistant. She smiled, friendly as always.

“Mrs. Sinclair is in the boardroom,” she told me. “She just finished a meeting.”

I nodded.

I thought she was alone, I thought I would go in, that I would see her gathering papers, checking something, focused as always… and that she would look up when she saw me. That she would smile, that I would approach her, that I would kiss her. Something simple, something just between us. But no… I opened that door… And what I saw was something else, it wasn’t a kiss. It wasn’t anything scandalous, it was… a hug.

A hug, nothing more. But it’s not “nothing more.” Not when it’s him, not when it’s Alexander. Not when it’s that kind of closeness… that trust… that moment that doesn’t belong to me. I didn’t see how long it lasted, I don’t know what caused it, I don’t know if it was brief or if it was longer than it should have been. But I saw it, and that image… That damned image stayed in my head all day. All damned day….

Now I’m home, sitting in the dining room. Waiting. The table is set. Everything is ready. Like always when I know we’re going to have dinner together. But today… it’s not “like always.”

I look at the clock, then at the door, then at the clock again.

I take a deep breath, but it doesn’t completely calm me down. Because it’s not anger I feel. It’s something else, it’s discomfort, it’s… something I can’t shake from my chest.

I trust Clara, that’s not up for debate. But trusting doesn’t mean not feeling. And what I felt today… I didn’t like it, I don’t like it.

I didn’t have any meetings today, I was at home, I just wanted space to think and speak assertively about what I had to say regarding my concerns.

I hear the door open, my shoulders tense slightly. And then she comes in, Clara. As always; beautiful, natural, familiar.

She approaches me without hesitation and places a soft kiss on my lips.

“Hi…” she murmurs.

I return the kiss, but it’s not the same. She notices. Of course she notices.

Chapter 208-Misunderstanding, Pari 2-1 “Everything alright?” she asks.

I nod slightly.

“Yes.”

A half-lie, we sit down.

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The food arrives, the silence… too. She starts serving herself normally, but I can see she’s gauging the atmosphere. Waiting, she knows something’s up. And I don’t want to keep dragging this out. Not today, no after thinking about it all day.

“I didn’t like what happened today,” I finally say.

My voice comes out more serious than I expected, and she looks up. She’s not surprised, she just… nods slightly.

“I figured…”

I fix my gaze on her.

“I don’t like that kind of closeness with Alexander.”

Silence… a long silence, but she calmly puts down her silverware.

“Ethan…”

“I understand you work together,” I continue. “I understand you share projects, decisions, time…” I pause. “But that doesn’t mean anything goes.”

She frowns slightly.

“It was a hug, Ethan.”

“Yes,” I reply. “And I didn’t like it.”

My tone is firm, not aggressive. But of course.

“It was a moment of celebration,” she adds. “We wrapped up a huge project, it was something important… What I told you in…”

r

“And that justifies that kind of closeness?”

She looks at me, a little more serious now.

“It wasn’t anything inappropriate.”

I let out a small, humoriess laugh.

“From your perspective.”

I feel something starting to tense between us.

“If you celebrate fifty achievements… is that fifty hugs?” I ask.

She blinks, clearly uncomfortable.

< Chapter 208-Misunderstanding, Part 2-1

“It’s not like that.”

“But it was like that today.”

“To

day was a specific moment…”

“With him.”

There it is, I’m not saying it any louder. But I am being more direct.

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