The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 315

Chapter 228: It Was What It Was.

Alexander

I wake up alone. The room is silent, tidy, spotless… as if nothing had happened here a few hours ago. I lie there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling, my hands behind my head, my breathing steady.

I don’t feel guilty, nor confused. Much less regretful. It was what it was. Two adults trying to extinguish something they were carrying inside. Nothing more.

Vanessa came to this room filled with rage, rejection, a need to feel desired after the blow Ethan dealt her by firing her from his company. I received her, filled with frustration, with that bitter feeling I get from knowing that Clara keeps choosing another man over and over again. We used each other.

The word might sound cruel, but the cruelty lies in disguising things. We used each other, and it worked.

I close my eyes for a moment and exhale slowly. Now I understand better something I already sensed last night. I understand why Ethan never looked at her with the eyes of a wife. Not because Vanessa isn’t attractive-she is. She has a body that draws you in, a beauty that captivates you at first sight, and an energy she knows how to ignite.

She’s one of those women who easily awaken desire, who know how to read tension and fuel it. But there’s something beyond the physical when a man thinks about staying. And that… I didn’t see it. I didn’t see calm, I didn’t see a home, I didn’t see depth. I saw hunger, I saw ego, I saw competition. I saw a woman accustomed to chasing what she doesn’t have, more interested in winning than in building.

I saw a woman driven by lust, and it’s not that I don’t like passion in bed-of course I want my future wife to desire me-but… if that’s how she acts with me, whom she barely knows, what can you expect? Where did her modesty go? She didn’t even try to hide it. For a night… for a fling… for an escape… yes. For a shared life, for true loyalty, for peace… no. And if I saw it in a matter of hours, Ethan must have seen it years ago.

I sit up in bed and run a hand over my face. I don’t judge her; that would be hypocritical. I’m not exactly ap easy man to love either. I’ve turned emotions into strategy too many times. I’ve tried to control what should feel. I’ve confused possession with love more than once. That’s perhaps why I understand her.

Vanessa doesn’t love cleanly; she loves obsessively. And obsession rarely ends well.

I get up, go to the bathroom, shower, and let the cold water finish sorting my head.

When I get out, I’m back in what I know how to handle: discipline, routine, control, Impeccable suit, white shirt. Watch on my wrist, shoes gleaming. The man the world recognizes, not the one who shared a bed last night with a wounded woman.

I go out into the hallway, adjusting my shirt cuff, and I find her. Vanessa is coming from the guest room, still wearing yesterday’s clothes.

Her hair was haphazardly pulled back. No makeup. Her face still a little tired. And yet she held her head high. I respect that too.

She looked at me as if last night had been just another meeting

and

Chapter 223-t Was What It Was

Good morning.”

Her tone was natural, almost elegant. As if nothing had happened.

I nodded.

“Good morning.”

We looked at each other for a second. Neither of us said anything; there was no need. Mature people don’t always need to state the obs, I gestured slightly toward the stairs.

“I’ll have someone tak

She shook her hea

“It’s not necess

I nodded with Not becaus Last nigh

I wat

dr

B

a taxi.”

n’t ask her to stay, I didn’t invite her to breakfast, I didn’t offer her coffee. de, but because I understand better than most where certain things end. at, too, is respect.

e exit with a determined stride. She’s recovered some of the dignity she’d been he just needed to remember that she could still elicit a reaction from someone. reshold, I speak.

to do?”

arely turns her face toward me. For a moment, the practical woman returns. The one who thinks about her next move.

my lawyer to review the papers Ethan gave me.”

anything more, I don’t offer her any help. I don’t ask if I’ll see her again. She doesn’t ask anything

d that confirms that we both understood the agreement without needing to sign it.

opens the front door till for a few seconds

work. Because w

d, even though s

ver. She leaves without looking back: F he house, Then I grab my keys and

ays known how to keep moving

LUCK DRAW >

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And