The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 83

Chapter 61: A Warm Hug.–1

Clara

+25 Points

A few days have passed… Not many. But enough so that silence ceases to be scandalous and becomes something constant, almost installed on the walls of the house.

Ethan is still here. He moves naturally through the corridors as if he had never left. He works from the living room or from the garden, with a laptop resting on the wrought iron table that was always under the lemon tree; He speaks little, intervenes only when necessary, takes care of calls that I don’t want to

answer. It solves things that I don’t have the strength to face.

I watch him more than I should.

That morning I see him through the window. He is sitting in the garden, phone in hand, concentrated. His

slightly furrowed brow when he listens, his straight posture, the way he makes decisions without

hesitation.

I remember when that firmness made me feel safe, something stirs inside me.

It’s not outright love, it’s not clean nostalgia. It is something more complex.

It’s acknowledging that that man, the one out there solving problems as if the weight of the world didn’t

affect him, was my home for years.

And now he’s here… without me having asked for it.

The doorbell rings, I am startled.

Someone opens the door and then I hear his voice… Alexander.

I’m not surprised to see him. He has been correct these days. Short messages. Discreet calls. Measured

presence.

“How are you?” he asks me as soon as I let him in.

The question is simple, but it is always difficult to answer.

“Better… I guess.”

We walked to the living room. We talk first about the inevitable, the company, some pending, the contract

in New York, decisions that cannot be postponed much longer.

Its tone is professional. Of course… Efficient.

It has always been like this, then silence settles between us. A different, more personal one.

“I wish I could be closer these days,” he finally says.

I look up at him.

“You’ve been,” I reply.

163

Chapter 61A Warm Hug 1

Shake softly.

“Not in the way I would have liked.”

+25 Points

I follow his gaze, he is looking towards the garden. Ethan is there, standing now, walking slowly while

talking on the phone.

Alexander looks at me again.

“It’s difficult to compete like this.”

Blinking.

“Compete?”

“There is history,” he says with a calmness that is not indifference, “There’s a past. You two share ties that I

don’t have… nor will I ever have.”

I feel a tension run down my back.

I didn’t expect him to say it out loud.

“What exactly do you mean?” I ask, though I know the answer.

He holds my gaze.

“Because when I look at you with him close, I understand that there are things that are not erased just because time passes.”

I don’t like the direction the conversation is taking, not now, not here.

“This is not the time to talk about it,” I say softly, but firmly.

There is a second of silence.

Alexander lowers his gaze.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Sorry.”

And he really says it, he does not insist, he does not pressure. That disarms me a little! We continued

talking for a few more minutes, trying to return to safe ground, but something has already changed. Something was said.

I feel Ethan’s gaze before I see him. I raise my eyes to the garden and find him watching us from afar. Not

with reproach. Not with a harsh gesture.

Just attentive, as if measuring distance. Alexander notices it too.

He stands up.

“I don’t want to bother,” he says.

“You’re not bothering us,” I respond automatically.

२

Chapter 61A Warm Hug 1

But I’m not sure it’s true.

+25 Points

When we head out into the garden, Ethan has already finished the call. He calmly puts the phone away and

walks over.

The tension is subtle, there are no sharp words. Only contained energy.

Alexander extends his hand to him first. Ethan accepts it without hesitation.

A firm grip, too firm.

“Thank you for being here,” Alexander says with impeccable politeness.

“Sure,” Ethan replies. “It is the minimum.”

They hold their gaze for a second longer than necessary.

There is no smile, there is no open challenge. But there is no neutrality either.

Alexander looks at me.

“We’ll talk later.”

I nod.

I accompany him to the door and when he gets back into his car, I stay for a few seconds watching him

walk away.

Chapter 61: A Warm Hug.–2

When I return, Ethan is no longer in the garden. I climb the stairs almost by instinct.

+25 Points

The door to his room is ajar, I see him inside, with his back turned, taking off his jacket with controlled, too

controlled movements.

I don’t dare to go in, I stay in the hallway, with a strange feeling squeezing my chest.

Alexander is right about something.

There is history, there is a past, there are connections. But there are also wounds.

And I don’t know if what is stirring in me these days is love… or simply the echo of what we once were.

All I know is that, for the first time since Dad died, grief is no longer the only thing weighing on me. Now

there is also confusion.

I knew it was going to happen at some point. Nothing is permanent. Not even his constant presence these

days.

The call came in the middle of the afternoon. I was in the room, pretending to read some documents that

I couldn’t process. Ethan was in the garden again, as if that space had always belonged to him.

I saw him tense as soon as he answered, I didn’t need to listen to the whole conversation to understand it.

It was urgent work.

His tone changed. He became more direct, more businesslike, more distant. The Ethan who does not

hesitate. The one who resolves.

He entered the house a few minutes later.

“I have to go,” he said with that serenity he always uses when he doesn’t want to upset anyone.

I felt something in my chest.

A small, unexpected contraction… As if my body reacts before my mind.

Of course he had to leave, he has a company. Commitments. The contract in New York. The world does

not stop because my father has died.

“All right,” I replied.

And I meant it.

But it didn’t prevent that feeling from staying there, uncomfortable, as if something was out of alignment.

He said goodbye to my mother first. He hugged her respectfully, carefully. He assured her that he would continue to take care of everything necessary. She thanked him with a look that said more than I wanted to analyze.

Chapter 6 LA Warm Hug 2

Then he picked up his jacket, his phone, his keys.

Each movement seemed more definitive than it probably was.

He walked to the deer I followed him almost reflexively.

I didn’t know if I wanted to accompany him or just confirm that he was really leaving.

He opened the front door! Afternoon light entered the hall.

He stopped. He turned slightly towards me… I don’t know who took the first step.

Maybe both.

But suddenly we were face to face, too close to feign distance.

There were no ready words, no prepared speech.

Just that feeling in my chest growing. And then he hugged me.

It was not a formal hug, it was not the correct hug that is given out of commitment.

It was warm, firm… Different.

+25 Points

His arms wrapped around me with a confidence that completely disarmed me. Instinctively I moved

closer. I rested my cheek against his chest and felt his deep breathing.

There was no tension, there were no reproaches, no shouts piercing through us from some corner.

Only… calm. And that baffled me.

Because I know who’s holding me, I know our story. I know what it hurt, and yet, in that instant, all I feel is

tranquility.

Warmth… A strangely familiar feeling.

I close my eyes without realizing it. His hand moves gently over my back, a slow, protective, almost

reverent gesture.

And in the midst of the duel, the pending decisions, the tension with Alexander, everything that is not

resolved… I find refuge in the least logical place.

In his arms, that scares me a little. Because it shouldn’t be so easy to feel peace there.

He separates slowly. Enough to look at me.

His eyes are serious, but soft.

“I’ll call you when I arrive,” he says,

I nod. I don’t trust my voice.

He hesitates for a second longer, as if he wants to say something extra, but he holds back. And he leaves.

The door closes with a low, definitive sound.

<Chapter 61A Werm Hug 2

Istand there for a few seconds, motionless. And then I realize something I didn’t expect to admit.

The house feels bigger. Colder

As if the air had changed as soon as he crossed the door. I hug myself without thinking about it.

I still feel the warmth of his arms around my body.

Comments