The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 323

Chapter 235-Who Am I Without Him?

Chapter 235: Who Am I Without Him?

Vanessa

Alexander looks at me and says nothing, so I’m forced to repeat the question.

“Fine,” I murmured, lifting my chin, even though inside I was shattered. “So tell me how to wait… how do that without going crazy?”

Alexander didn’t answer right away; he just stared at me from the armchair, with that unbearable calm seemed like a natural provocation for him.

He held the glass between his fingers, one leg crossed over the other, his shirt collar barely open after having taken me as if I were a pause between meetings. And maybe that’s what I was… A pause, nothin more. The thought struck me violently.

He placed the glass on the table and leaned forward.

“First… stop acting like a defeated woman.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“Pardon?”

“You heard me.”

His tone didn’t rise an inch. He didn’t need to to strike.

“You walk into Ethan’s office defeated. You mention Clara defeated. You talk about that wedding as if you’ve already been buried alive.”

I stood up immediately.

“You’re a son of a bitch.”

He stared at me without moving.

“And you’re predictable.”

Rage made me stand and take two steps toward him.

“You know nothing about what I’ve been through.”

“I know enough.”

He stood up then. The height difference forced me to raise my head higher.

“I know you’ve spent years orbiting a man who never asked you to stay.”

The words cut me.

“Shut up.”

“I know you confused closeness with possibility.”

Chapter 235 Whe-Am Without Him?

Shut up.

“I know that every time he didn’t choose you, instead of leaving… you stayed closer.”

pushed him in the chest, he barely moved.

“Shut up!”

He glanced down at my hand resting against his shirt, then looked back at me.

“See? This is it.”

I pulled my hand away as if it burned.

“Reaction. Impulse. Drama. Noise.”

His jaw tightened slightly.

“And while you’re making noise, Clara is building.”

I froze. That hurt more than anything else, because it was true. Clara wasn’t chasing, Clara was moving forward. I wasted away watching.

Alexander slowly circled the table, picked up the bottle, and poured himself another glass of wine as if he hadn’t just broken me.

“If you want to wait without going crazy… learn to lose.”

I let out a dry laugh.

“Great advice.”

“It’s excellent advice.”

He took a sip.

“Lose Ethan.”

I glared at him.

“He was never mine to lose.”

“Exactly.”

He fixed his gaze on me.

“And yet you act like a widow.”

I felt the urge to smash the bottle over his head. But I remained still, listening. Because a wretched part of me knew I needed to hear him.

“Lose the fantasy,” he continued. “Lose the idea that you’re owed something for having waited. Lose the narrative of the self-sacrificing woman.”

He placed the glass on the table.

Chapter 235 Whe-Am Without Him?

“No one rewards that.”

I took a deep breath to keep from crying.

“You’re cruel.”

“No. I’m being clear.”

He moved closer slowly.

“Cruel was the time you gave yourself to an illusion.”

My eyes began to burn; I hated him… I hated him because he was saying things my pride had been avoiding for years.

“And you?” I attacked as best I could. “What do you know about not being able to have someone?”

For the first time, something changed in his expression, small, subtle. But real.

“More than you think.”

“Clara.”

It wasn’t a question; he held my gaze. He didn’t answer immediately.

“Clara is an admirable woman.”

“You desire her,” I said, my eyes fixed on his.

“I respect her.”

“You desire her,” I repeated.

He moved a little closer, close enough to be intimidating.

“And yet you won’t see me groveling for her.”

I swallowed.

“Because you do have pride.”

“No. Because I have boundaries.”

That left me speechless.

Alexander took my chin between his fingers, not tenderly, not violently, just with control.

“Listen to me carefully, Vanessa.”

His voice lowered, becoming more dangerous.

“A man or a woman can desire the impossible. It happens.”

His fingers released my face.

“The pathetic part starts when they turn that desire into their identity.”

Chapter 235-Whe Am 1 Without Him?

He took a step back; I was breathing heavily

“So what do I do?” I finally asked, almost in a whisper. It was the most honest question I’d asked in ye

He watched me for a long moment, then gestured around the apartment.

“Get your life in order.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“Start small if you’re incapable of starting big.”

He pointed to the empty glass, the unfolded blanket on the sofa, the shoes by the entrance, the papers the bar.

“Get this in order. Then your schedule. Then your finances. Then your body. Then your mind.”

His voice didn’t change.

“A woman busy building herself up doesn’t have time to obsess over a man busy living.”

I felt something break inside me, not as a tragedy. As a revelation. Because I did have time, too much time. Time to look at other people’s schedules, time to imagine scenarios, time to suffer in places where I wasn’t invited. Time to wait.

Alexander took his jacket from the back of the chair.

“If you do that… maybe one day Ethan will see you differently.”

My heart reacted before mine did, but he finished immediately.

“And by then you won’t care anymore.”

Silence… The entire apartment seemed to hang suspended. He walked toward the door.

I spoke before he left.

“Why are you helping me?”

He didn’t turn around right away. When he did, his eyes held that same elegant coldness.

“Because I’m bored by wasted people,”

He opened the door.

“And because if you’re going to be around… I prefer a less pathetic version of you.”

He left… Just like that. No goodbye, no looking back.

The door closed, and the sound pierced my chest.

I stood motionless for several seconds. Then looked around: the glass, the rug… The rumpled cushions.

My robe was open on one side. My whole life felt like a worn and abandoned room.

Chapter 235 Who Am I Without Him?

I went to the hall mirror and looked at myself… Beautiful, yes. But tired… Empty in places that makeup couldn’t cover.

I moved closer.

“Who are you when you’re not waiting for Ethan?”

The question came from my own lips. didn’t know how to answer it. And that was more terrifying than losing him.

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