The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 91

<Chapter 69–True Limits

Chapter 69: True Limits.

Ethan:

+25 Points

The water in the pool is cold this morning. I dive in the same way. I need the rough feeling. The blow that

awakens more than just thoughts.

I swim from one end to the other with long, controlled movements. It has always served me. When I can’t order the head, I order the body.

But neither the rhythm nor the water can extinguish the image of Clara sitting in front of me saying:

“Your lack of limits.”

I climb out of the pool and lean against the edge, breathing heavily. The sun begins to rise and the

reflection on the water forces me to squint.

I wipe my face with a towel and pick up the phone I left on the table next to the lounger.

I dial my assistant.

“Good morning, sir,” she replies immediately.

“I need you to buy a bouquet of red roses. Not something discreet. I want it to be a big bouquet.”

There is a minimal pause.

“To send today?“.

“Today. And I want to add a handwritten note. I’m going to stop by the office in an hour to drop it off.”

Brief silence on the other side.

“Perfect, sir.”

I hang up, I look at the water.

I’m not going to make small gestures, not this time.

go into the outdoor shower and let the water fall on me again, colder now,

As I change, I think about the exact words I’m going to write.

I don’t want something generic, I don’t want something that sounds like superficial conquest.

I want it to ring true.

In my office, they deliver the bouquet before noon. It is imposing.

Intense, open, perfect red roses. I watch them for a moment… I was never the man of flowers, mistake.

I take a thick, white card, I write slowly. Not in a hurry, not with automatic correction.

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Chapter 69 Troe Limits

My real handwriting.

“Clara, I don’t want to go back to being the man who made you feel invisible.

I don’t want to compete with anyone, I want to learn to deserve you.

I will not give up on you.”

-E.”

I read the message twice. It’s not perfect… But it is honest.

“Take it to Miss Clara Sinclair’s office,” I tell my assistant. “Have it delivered directly to her office.”

She nods.

nerves

As she takes it away, I feel something strange. Expectation, ne

Like I’m twenty years old again.

+25 Points

The day progresses with meetings that I barely hear. I look at my phone more times than I would admit.

At twenty past one, I can’t resist. I am writing to her.

“Are you too busy?”

Three minutes, nothing. Five, nothing.

I breathe.

After eight minutes the answer arrives.

“In a meeting. Is everything okay?”

I smile barely. All good.

I write:

“Yes. I just wanted to know how you are.”

Another few minutes pass.

“Good. I received the flowers.”

My pulse quickens slightly.

“Did you like them?”

Three dots appear. They disappear… They reappear.

“They are beautiful. Thank you.”

It is not effusive, it is not cold. It’s Clara.

Chapter 69 True Limits

Lwrite:

“It’s just the beginning.”

This time it takes longer to respond.

When she does, she just says

“Ethan…”

And nothing else. But that “Ethan…” it says a lot.

+25 Points

I call her later. Answer the third tone.

“Yes?”

Her voice is professional. She’s in the office.

“I just wanted to hear you.”

A little silence.

“Were you always like this and I didn’t notice it?” she asks in a tone that mixes irony and something softer.

I smile.

“I’m learning.”

“I see that.”

“Did you eat?”

“Yes, Ethan.”

“Sure?”

I hear her exhalation.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Another silence… Not uncomfortable, dense.

“Thank you for the flowers,” she says finally, more quietly.

“They are not because of the past. They are for the future.”

She doesn’t respond to that, but she doesn’t hang up.

We talked for a few more minutes about trivial things… Work.

A pending report, an upcoming meeting.

୮

<Chapter 69–Troe Limits

Nothing intimate.

But I don’t need intensity now, I need consistency.

+25 Points

Later, almost at the end of the day, I check some documents when the door opens.

No touching.

Vanessa enters with her usual confidence, firm heels on the wooden floor.

“We need to review the final report before sending it,” she says as she sits across from me without waiting

for an invitation.

And there. That’s when I remember it.

“Your lack of boundaries.”

I look up slowly.

“Vanessa.

She leaves the folder on the desk.

“Yes?”

I hold her gaze.

Not aggressive, not brusque.

Of course.

“When you go in, I want you to knock on the door.”

She frowns.

“What?”

“I want you to knock on the door before you go in.”

She blinks in confusion.

“I’ve never had to announce myself to enter your office.”

“From today on, yes.”

The silence thickens.

“What’s wrong with you?” she asks, leaning back slightly in his chair.

I keep the tone neutral.

୮

“Nothing is wrong with me. That’s how it should be. Everyone announces themselves before entering because I may be busy.”

4:0

Chapter 69 True Limits

She watches me carefully. Analyzing.

“Busy with what?”

“Whatever,”

I don’t explain more, I don’t justify I don’t smile, I just hold.

Vanessa slowly shakes her head.

“This is new.”

“Yes.”

“Does it have anything to do with Clara?”

There it is, direct.

I look at her without hesitation.

“It has to do with me.”

She leans back in her chair, crossing her legs.

“Ethan, we’ve worked together for years. I don’t understand this sudden change.”

“It’s not sudden. It is necessary.”

Her expression changes slightly.

Less safe.

“We have always been confident.”

“Trust does not eliminate limits.”

The phrase falls firm.

Silence.

For the first time since I’ve met her, Vanessa doesn’t seem to have an immediate answer.

She finally gets up.

“Good,” dhe says with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll knock on the door.”

“Thank you.”

She walks towards the exit, this time stopping before opening.

She looks at me one last time.

“You’re not acting like usual.”

“Exactly.”

+25 Points

<Chapter 69 True Limits

It comes out.

And this time she closes the door behind her, I’m left alone in the office.

Silence feels different Cleaner… It was not a dramatic scene.

It wasn’t an explosive matchup, it was a simple limit. Necessary.

+25 Points

I pick up the phone again, I don’t write to Clara. Not yet, but I feel something I haven’t felt for a long time.

Coherence.

If I want to get her back, it’s not enough to kiss her, it’s not enough to send flowers.

I have to change patterns, cut what I used to allow. And today was the first step.

I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to be lukewarm again. I’m not going to let her sit in the background

again.

If I have to start by marking how people enter my office…. then I’ll start there.

Because this time I’m not fighting for pride. I’m fighting for her.