The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 37

Chapter 24: More Than a Friendship?-2

And I noticed it….I noticed it in the way he leaned his body towards me when someone spoke too loudly, in how he lowered his voice when he explained who was who, in how he looked at me before answering for me… just to make sure I was comfortable.

We were talking to a small group when someone approached him excitedly.

“Alexander,” the man said, patting him on the shoulder. “It’s been years since we coincided in an event like

this.”

Alexander smiled matter-of-factly.

“Time passes quickly,” he replied. “I’m glad to see you.”

The man looked at me then, without disguise. He evaluated me for just a second, just enough to smile

later.

“And she’s your girlfriend?”

The question fell with a dangerous lightness.

I felt the immediate change in Alexander. It was not abrupt, but it was perceptible. A minimal pause. An extra second before answering.

“No,” he said. “She is my business partner.”

His voice was firm, but there was something… a nuance. Nervousness? Caution?

The man raised his eyebrows, surprised.

“Oh,” he smiled. “I thought you two were together. You’d make a lovely couple.”

I didn’t know what to say. Nor did I want to rush to correct anything.

Alexander just smiled, with impeccable courtesy, and diverted the conversation to another topic. The man

left shortly after, leaving us alone again, surrounded by soft music and other people’s conversations.

“I’m sorry,” Alexander said then, leaning a little toward me. “Sometimes people assume things.”

“There’s nothing to feel,” I replied. “It didn’t bother me.”

And it was true.

We walked to one of the side stairs, where the noise of the living room was a little diluted. Alexander held out his hand without looking directly at me.

“Be careful,” he said. “The steps are somewhat narrow.”

I took his hand. And it was not a theatrical gesture, it was natural… Necessary.

His contact was warm, firm, respectful. He didn’t squeeze me. He didn’t pull me. It was just there, holding

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me up as I climbed. But even when we got to the top, he didn’t let go of my hand right away.

t didn’t rush to remove it, we stopped in a quieter area, near a window from where the city could be seen

illuminated. The noise of the event was left behind, reduced to a distant murmur.

“Are you getting tired?” he asked.

“No,” I answered. “In fact… I feel good here.”

Alexander smiled. A different smile from the one she had worn all night. Less professional. More…

personnel.

“I’m glad,” he said. “I don’t always enjoy these events, but with you it’s been different.”

I looked at him, curious.

“Why?”

He leaned lightly on the railing.

“Because I don’t have to pretend that I care about impressing anyone.”

That made me smile.

He then spoke of his family. From his father, who had been demanding but fair. From a mother who had always pushed him to trust people more. Of brothers with whom he did not see as often as he would like.

He didn’t say it to impress. There were no exaggerations or poses. Just honesty.

“I don’t usually talk about this at events like that,” he admitted. “But with you… I don’t know. It feels easy.”

And it was.

I found myself telling him things, too. Not of the past that hurt, not of what had been, but of what I was building now. Of what it meant to be in that world again, but from another place.

Alexander listened. He really listened. He didn’t look around looking for another, more interesting conversation. He did not interrupt. He did not correct.

When he finished speaking, he looked at me in silence for a few seconds. Then he said, in a low voice,

“I can’t believe Ethan Blackwood would let a woman like you lose, Clara.”

The phrase was not launched with anger or mockery. It was… genuine.

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