The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 429

Chapter 338 Is She Protecting Herself From Me?

Chapter 338: Is She Protecting Herself From Me?

Ethan

I haven’t left, not for a single second. My body hasn’t left this hospital… but a part of me is still trapped in that room.

In that instant, in that look of hers… devoid of me. I’m sitting in one of the chairs in the hallway, elbows on my knees, hands clasped, staring at a point on the floor that means nothing.

I don’t think, or at least I try not to. Because every time I think… I go back to the same thing.

To her saying she doesn’t want me there, to her voice calling for her mother, to her rejection.

I close my eyes for a second and breathe. But it doesn’t help.

The air comes in… but it doesn’t calm anything. I hear footsteps, I look up. It’s her mother.

She’s coming toward me with a tired expression, but more serene than before.

That should reassure me, but it doesn’t.

I stand up immediately.

“How is she?”

My voice comes out faster than I expected, and she stops in front of me.

“She’s… calmer.”

I nod… I swallow.

“Did she ask about me?”

The question escapes me. And the moment it does… I regret it.

Because I already know the answer: she hesitates. And that’s enough.

I lower my gaze.

“I figured…”

“Ethan…” she says gently. “She’s confused…”

I let out a humorless laugh.

“Confused…”

I repeat the word as if it doesn’t fit what I’m feeling.

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Chapter 338 is She Protecting Herself From Me?

“Yes…”

But I don’t say anything else, because if I keep talking… I’m going to break down again.

At that moment, I see the doctor approaching. The same one, the one who’s been going in and cut

of the room. My body tenses automatically.

I need answers.

“Doctor.”

I take a step toward him.

“I need you to explain me what’s happening.”

My voice isn’t aggressive… but it is firm, tired. Desperate.

Clara’s mother stands beside me. The doctor nods.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

He gestures to a more secluded spot in the hallway, and we walk a few steps. When we stop… I look him straight in the eyes.

“My wife doesn’t recognize me.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement.

One that’s hard for me to say. The doctor nods calmly.

“Yes.”

That “yes”… It hurts more than I expected.

“Why?”

My voice is low, but heavy.

“Why does she remember everything… except me?”

A brief silence… The doctor clasps his hands in front of him.

“Clara has a memory impairment that isn’t total,” he explains. “It’s what we call partial or selective memory loss.”

I frown.

“Selective?”

“Yes,” he continues. “Her brain has preserved structural information: identity, profession,

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Chapter 338 Is She Protecting Herself From Me?

“Yes…”

But I don’t say anything else, because if I keep talking… I’m going to break down again.

At that moment, I see the doctor approaching. The same one, the one who’s been going in, and cut

of the room. My body tenses automatically.

I need answers.

“Doctor.”

I take a step toward him.

“I need you to explain me what’s happening.”

My voice isn’t aggressive… but it is firm, tired. Desperate.

Clara’s mother stands beside me. The doctor nods.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

He gestures to a more secluded spot in the hallway, and we walk a few steps. When we stop… I look him straight in the eyes.

“My wife doesn’t recognize me.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement.

One that’s hard for me to say. The doctor nods calmly.

“Yes.”

That “yes”… It hurts more than I expected.

“Why?”

My voice is low, but heavy.

“Why does she re

Chapter 338 Is She Protecting Herself From Me? knowledge, even much of her life history…”

He pauses.

“But it has blocked out more… recent events. From what we were able to conclude a moment

ago.”

I feel something inside me tense.

“Recent… events?”

“Exactly.”

I stare at him.

“Then…” I swallow. “Why that of all people?”

My voice barely cracks.

“Why us?”

Our relationship

The doctor doesn’t answer immediately. And that silence… That damned silence again.

“In many cases,” he finally says, “when there is significant physical trauma like what she suffered… the brain can react by protecting itself.”

I frown.

“Protecting itself?”

“Yes.”

He takes a second before continuing.

“Blocking memories associated with intense emotional burdens.”

And there… I understand, or at least… a part of me does.

My jaw tenses.

“Our separation…”

I murmur.

The doctor nods slightly.

“It’s possible that that event was emotionally significant enough to become… fixed.”

I close my eyes for a second and feel the blow.

Chapter 338: Is She Protecting Herself From Me?

“So…” my voice lowers. “For her… that’s the last thing.”

“Probably.”

I open my eyes.

“And everything that came after?”

Silence.

“It’s not available at this time.”

My breathing becomes heavier.

“No…”

I shake my head.

“It can’t just be that…”

I look at him more intently.

“We… rebuilt something…”

My voice cracks.

“We got married again…”

I clench my jaw.

“We were fine…”

My chest rises and falls sharply.

“We were happy…”

The word catches in my throat.

“We were trying… to start a family…”

I look down.

“Why is that?”

The doctor remains calm.

“Because the brain doesn’t work linearly in these cases.”

1 look up.

< Chapter 338: Is She Protecting Herself From Me?

mechanism.”

Defense… The word hits me hard.

“Defense against what?”

My voice is more broken now.

“Against myself?”

The doctor doesn’t answer directly.

“Not necessarily against you… but against what you represent.”

I feel a void in my stomach.

“So…” I whisper. “I am the memory… that hurts.”

No one answers, but it doesn’t matter. I know… I feel it.

The silence confirms it.

I swallow hard.

“Will she remember?”

The question barely comes out, almost like a plea.

The doctor takes a deep breath.

“We can’t guarantee it.”

That answer… isn’t enough. It never is.

“What does that mean?”

My voice tightens.

“It means that every patient is different,” he explains. “Some recover their memory in days…”

He pauses.