The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 347

< Chapter 257: I’m Happy With Little.

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Chapter 257: I’m Happy With Little.

Vanessa.

I woke up before my alarm went off, not because I’d slept well… but because I’d barely slept at all. The ceiling of my room was my only companion for hours. Alexander’s words were still there, stuck like needles that just won’t come out.

I close my eyes for a second as I stand in front of the bathroom mirror.

I take a deep breath. I look at myself… I’m… fine. My face looks normal. There are no visible traces of last night’s disaster. My eyes aren’t as puffy as they should be. My skin is still flawless. My hair falls perfectly over my shoulders. No one would guess that inside I’m a wreck, and that… that’s what I do best. Fixing up my appearance to hide what I can’t handle on the inside.

I pick up my makeup brush and carefully apply it to my skin.

“Come on…” I say to myself softly. “Today is just a normal day.”

Normal… As if I hadn’t been emotionally dragged along for years by a man who doesn’t love me, as if I hadn’t spent the night crying on my living room floor, as if it didn’t hurt to breathe when I think of him.

I finish getting ready, choosing a sober, elegant outfit. Professional. Exactly the woman everyone expects to see when I walk into that company. The right woman, the strong woman, the woman who has everything under control.

I barely smile at my reflection in the mirror.

“Perfect.” A lie… But convincing.

The building looks the same as always, imposing, cold, familiar. I walk through the entrance with my usual confidence. I nod to those who look at me. Some respond, others observe me with that curiosity they don’t voice, but that you can feel. They know… Not everything… but they know something has changed.

I get on the elevator. This time I’m alone, and the silence weighs more than any awkward conversation. When I get to my floor, I walk straight to my office.

I drop my bag on the desk, organize some papers, check my schedule.

Breathe. It works. You’re good at this, you’re excellent at this. Work… control… structure. That’s when I know who I am, that’s when I’m worth something.

Chapter 257: I’m Happy With Little

I grab some documents that need to be signed and head out, walking toward his office. My

pulse quickens a little… as always, no matter how many times I’ve seen him, no matter how many years have passed. It keeps happening.

I knock on the door.

“Come in.”

I walk in and there he is, Ethan. Impeccable, serious, focused. Gorgeous… damn it.

He looks up at me.

“Vanessa.” Just my name. Nothing more, nothing less.

I approach him with the documents in my hand.

“I need your signature on these reports.”

My voice sounds… normal. Controlled, professional… Perfect.

I stand beside him, close enough. Close enough to feel his presence, close enough to… try

something.

I slide the papers in front of him and, as I lean in slightly, let my arm brush against his. It’s minimal, subtle contact. Almost imperceptible, but for me… it’s everything.

I wait a second, two, three. Nothing. He takes the pen without looking at me much, signs. Turns the page, signs another. No reaction, no tension. There is… nothing. As if I didn’t exist, as if my skin meant absolutely nothing to him.

I swallow.

“Would you like some coffee?” I ask, trying to sound casual.

He doesn’t even look at me this time.

“No, thank you.”

Direct… Polite, and distant. I nod as if it doesn’t matter, and gather the documents.

“Perfect.”

I turn around, walk to the door, and leave. I close it.

I return to my office with measured, controlled steps. But inside… something falls apart. Again.

I slump into my chair and stare straight ahead. Empty.

<Chapter 257: I’m Happy With Little.

“He doesn’t love me,” I whisper.

It’s not a doubt, it’s a fact. And yet… Even so, I can’t stop.

A few minutes pass. I hear movement outside; Ethan’s assistant enters his office. I shouldn’t

care, but I listen.

“Sir, shall I bring you your coffee?”

And then…

“Yes. One cup.”

My chest tightens, I close my eyes.

“As always,” he adds. “No sugar. Strong.”

A small silence, enough. If he wants coffee… If he wants coffee, he wants it. But not from me, not from my hands, not from my attempt. Not… anything that comes from me.

I let out a low, bitter laugh.

“Of course…” I murmur. “Of course not.”

I lean back in the chair and stare at the ceiling. And then Alexander’s voice returns.

“Love yourself a little more.”

I close my eyes tightly.

“I think you’re right…”

My voice barely comes out.

“I don’t love myself even a little.”

Because if I loved myself… I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be looking for excuses to touch him, I wouldn’t be waiting for a glance that never comes. I wouldn’t be measuring every gesture as if it were a sign, I wouldn’t be… settling.

I take a deep breath.

“I don’t love myself…” I repeat.

Because all the love I have… I gave it to him. All of it. Without measure, without limit, without condition. And I left nothing for myself. Nothing.

Chapter 257 Fm Happy With Little

I look at my perfect, well-cared-for, firm hands. But empty.

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“And yet…” I whispered. “I can’t let him go.” Therein lies the truth. Raw, naked, shameful. I can’t, I don’t want to. I don’t know how. Alexander was able to let go, Alexander decided, Alexander grew tired. Not me, I’m still here. Waiting, dreaming, clinging on. Ridiculous.

I get up from my chair and walk to the small mirror in my office.

I look at myself.

“What’s wrong?”

The woman in the reflection doesn’t answer, she just stares at me. With those eyes that no longer hide anything.

“Why can’t you leave him?”

Silence. And then I understand. It’s not that I can’t, it’s that I don’t want to lose the chance. Even if it’s minimal, even if it’s absurd, even if it’s nonexistent. I prefer this… to having nothing. I prefer his elegant rejections… to his total absence. I prefer crumbs… to hunger.

I close my eyes for a second. And when I open them… I’m no longer crying.

“They’re just crumbs…” I murmur.

I tilt my head slightly.

“Maybe so.”

I take a deep breath, straighten my shoulders.

“But I’m happy with that.” The sentence hangs in the air, and for the first time… I’m not sure if it’s true… Or if it’s just the only thing I have left to keep from completely breaking down.

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