The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 448

Chapter 348: I’m Staying Here.

Vanessa

I leave the building, adjusting my sunglasses, and walk briskly. My mind is elsewhere…

Since leaving the hospital, I haven’t been able to think about anything else. Clara is alive….

Alive and doesn’t remember.

A smile threatens to appear again, but I have to suppress it.

It’s not the time, not here.

I walk toward my car, taking the keys out of my bag. My intention was simple.

To drive near Ethan’s mansion, to see if I could spot anything… A movement, a vehicle, anything.

I need to know what’s happening. I need to know if Clara is still in the hospital or if she’s already been released… I need answers.

That piece of information I already knew, the press hadn’t reported, and I don’t understand why. Although, I suppose something like that must affect her company, right? The CEO of a company has amnesia… what a story.

I open the car door and then I hear an engine. I frown. A vehicle pulls up nearby.

My heart leaps slightly. I recognize that car immediately. No… no… Not now.

Shit.

I try to back away, return to the building, disappear. But it’s too late.

“Vanessa!”

My father’s voice echoes through the parking lot.

I freeze, my shoulders tense. I close my eyes for a second, damn it.

I slowly turn around again, and there he is. He gets out of the car, slamming the door. His

face is red, furious.

Much angrier than I expected.

I watch him approach, each step feeling like a threat.

“Dad…”

Chapter 348 I’m Staying Here

I don’t even get to finish. The slap comes first, sharp… violent.

+25 Points

My head snaps to the side. The blow freezes me. For a second, I don’t even understand what happened.

Slowly, I bring a hand to my cheek. It burns, it burns terribly.

I look up and my father is breathing heavily. He’s never hit me before… Never.

And that’s why the impact isn’t just on my skin, it’s in my head, in my pride, in everything.

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

His voice is thick with rage.

“Who do you think you are, ignoring my calls?”

I don’t answer.

“Who do you think you are, ignoring my messages?”

He keeps walking.

“I’ve come to this damn apartment time and time again… I’ve called you, I’ve texted you. And you… you… you disappear like some rebellious teenager. Your mother’s tired of calling…”

My hand is still pressed against my cheek. I don’t say anything. Because I know that anything I say will only make things worse.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

His voice echoes between the buildings.

“What are you doing with your life? What are you planning to do? What’s your plan? Do you even have one?”

Each question is another blow.

“You left the company, you lost your job. You locked yourself away here, you disappeared. And then you ignore me, like I’m some piece of shit.”

I barely shake my head, but I still don’t speak.

“Answer me!”

His shout makes me shudder, people start to stare.

That seems to enrage him even more.

Chapter 348 I’m Staying Here.

+25 Points

I won’t be able to watch over him, I won’t be able to know… I won’t be able to get close, I won’t be able to do anything.

And then… The lie appears.

So easy, so natural. As if I’d been waiting for it.

“I already have a job.”

The words come out before I can think them through.

My father remains still.

“What?”

“I have a job.”

For the first time, I look him directly in the eye.

“I got hired.”

He frowns; he clearly doesn’t believe me.

“Where?”

My heart races, and I improvise.

“At a consulting firm. I’m working on a project, that’s why I’ve been so busy.”

The lie grows on its own.

“And that’s why I can’t leave.”

My father stares at me for a long time, too long. As if he’s trying to pierce me with his gaze.

“And why didn’t you tell me?”

I swallow.

“Because I knew you wouldn’t believe me, because every time we talk, we end up arguing.”

His expression changes slightly, not much… but enough.

He knows he’s partly to blame for that, and I take advantage of it.

“I wanted to prove I could do it on my own, but I knew you’d get angry because you just want me to come back home. I… I wanted to do things right, by myself… It’s not that I don’t want to return to your company; it’s just that… I wanted you to see that I could find something on

Chapter 348 I’m Staying Here

my own–that I didn’t depend on the family business.”

My voice even sounds sincere, almost impressive.

My father keeps watching me, sizing me up. Weighing every word.

“And what’s the name of that company?”

+25 Points

Damn it, I was expecting that question. I blurt out the first name that comes to mind, one common enough, boring enough… real enough.

He keeps looking at me, says nothing, everything is silent, awkward… until, finally, he sighs.

“I’m going to find out.”

My stomach sinks.

“Dad…”

“No.”

He raises a hand.

“If you’re lying to me…”

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