The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 383

Chapter 292 Decision Made I’m leaving

Chapter 292: Decision Made… i’m leaving.

Alexander

The suitcase lies open on the bed, jet black, austere, functional. Like everything else in my life. I fold a shirt with almost automatic precision and place it inside. Then another. Then a pair of pants Everything tidy. Everything under control…

At least… on the surface.

Because inside, nothing is tidy, but that doesn’t matter. It never has mattered; control isn’t about

what you feel, it’s about what you show.

I close the dresser drawer with a firm movement and stand for a few seconds, staring at the

empty space. My apartment feels… different, cold, colder than usual… As if it no longer belongs to

me, as if I’m already leaving it behind even before I’ve left.

Hlet out a slow sigh.

“Good…” I murmur to myself, it’s the right thing to do, to leave, to let everything cool down. To disappear for as long as necessary.

Before everything explodes.

I grab another shirt, but before I can fold it… I hear the door open. I don’t need to turn around to know who it is, the rhythm of her footsteps. The way she walks in unannounced.

Vanessa.

I clutch the fabric between my fingers for a second before letting go.

“You just show up unannounced.” I say without turning around.

“You’re not answering…”

She looks at my face and furrows her brow. I think she’s noticed the marks that son of a bitch Ethan left. However, her attention shifts to something else.

Her voice is heavy, tense. I hear her stop, and then… Silence. That kind of silence that falls when

someone sees something unexpected.

“What is this…?”

Now I turn around.

She’s there, standing in the doorway. Her eyes scan the suitcase, the clothes, the organized mess. And then they return to me.

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Chapter 292: Decision Made. I’m leaving,

Chapter 292: Decision Made… I’m leaving.

Alexander

The suitcase lies open on the bed, jet black, austere, functional. Like everything else in my life. I

fold a shirt with almost automatic precision and place it inside. Then another. Then a pair of pants. Everything tidy. Everything under control…

E

At least… on the surface.

Because inside, nothing is tidy, but that doesn’t matter. It never has mattered; control isn’t about

what you feel, it’s about what you show.

I close the dresser drawer with a firm movement and stand for a few seconds, staring at the

empty space. My apartment feels… different, cold, colder than usual… As if it no longer belongs to

me, as if I’m already leaving it behind even before I’ve left.

let out a slow sigh.

“Good…” I murmur to myself, it’s the right thing to do, to leave, to let everything cool down. To disappear for as long as necessary.

Before everything explodes.

I grab another shirt, but before I can fold it… I hear the door open. I don’t need to turn around to

know who it is, the rhythm of her footsteps. The way she walks in unannounced.

Vanessa.

I clutch the fabric between my fingers for a second before letting go.

“You just show up unannounced.” I say without turning around.

“You’re not answering…”

She looks at my face and furrows her brow. I think she’s noticed the marks that son of a bitch Ethan left. However, her attention shifts to something else.

Her voice is heavy, tense. I hear her stop, and then… Silence. That kind of silence that falls when

someone sees something unexpected.

“What is this…?”

Now I turn around.

She’s there, standing in the doorway. Her eyes scan the suitcase, the clothes, the organized mess. And then they return to me.

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Chapter 292 Decision Made I’m leaving

“What are you doing?”

The question comes out lower, more confused.

I hold her gaze for a few seconds, without hesitation.

“I’m leaving.”

Ch

The impact is immediate; I see it on her face, in the way her lips barely part. In the way/her brow

furrows.

“What do you mean you’re leaving…?”

I don’t answer right away; I simply go back to my suitcase and keep packing.

“That’s it.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Alexander…” Her voice changes, firmer, more urgent. “No, explain it to me properly.”

I stop, I breathe. And this time I do look her straight in the eye.

“I have nothing to do here.”

Silence falls between us. Heavy.

“And your job?” She asks. Almost as if she can’t process the rest.

I let out a short, humorless laugh.

“I quit.”

Her eyes widen.

“What?”

“I quit.” I repeat, more clearly. More coldly.

ין

I walk to the other side of the room, grabbing a few more things I don’t really need. Just to keep

moving.

“Things got out of hand.” I say. “Clara and I had some issues, she took it all to the meeting. A whole

circus, a drama that could screw me over… besides..” I pause. “Ethan came looking for me.”

That snaps her out of it.

“What?”

I glance at her.

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< Chapter 292 Decision Made. I’m leaving

“Yeah.”

“So?”

“And guess what?”

I run a hand over my lip, where the mark of the blow still lingers. No need to explain further.

Vanessa is silent for a few seconds, processing. Trying to piece it all together.

“So… you’re leaving?”

Her tone changes; it’s no longer just surprise. There’s something more, something that’s starting

to tense up.

I barely nod.

“Yes.”

“Like that?” She asks. “Just like that?”

“There’s nothing more.” I reply curtly.

She takes a step toward me.

“You can’t do that…”

I look at her now, directly.

“I already did.”

“No!” Her voice rises. “You can’t just walk away when things get complicated.”

I clench my jaw.

דיין

“I’m not walking away… I’m trying to avoid getting screwed over. Because if that happens, my

professional life is screwed. I’d rather take a damn break.”

“Oh, really?” She laughs, but it’s not a real laugh; it’s bitter, almost broken. “So what do you call this

then?”

She gestures to the suitcase, the room. Everything.

“Strategic planning?”

I don’t answer right away, because I know what she’s doing. She’s pushing, looking for a reaction.

“It’s called making smart decisions,” I say finally. “Preventing things from getting worse.”

She shakes her head

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Chapter 292 Decision Made I’m leaving

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.” She repeats it louder. “It’s called running away.”

The word hangs in the air, heavy, direct…

My eyes lock onto hers.

“Be careful what you say.”

She takes another step, closer.

“Why? Does it hurt?”

Her gaze is defiant now.

“Because it’s the truth, Alexander.”

I clench my teeth.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course I do.” Her voice trembles, but doesn’t break. “You’re leaving because you couldn’t handle

them. Because you lost, because Clara didn’t choose you.”

That… That really hurts. More than any punch, but I don’t show it. I can’t.

“It has nothing to do with that.” I say coldly.

“It has EVERYTHING to do with that.”

She answers immediately.

“You’re leaving like a coward.”

The silence that follows is… thick.

Dangerous…

I stare at her, unblinking.

“You should do the same.” I say, quietly, in a controlled tone.”Leave. Stop wasting your time at a

company where they don’t want you, where they don’t value you, where they just…” I pause. “They

use you.”

She remains still, for a second, two.

“No.” She says finally, firmly. “I’m not you.”

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Chapter 292. Decision Made. I’m leaving

I watch her.

“I’m not going to run away.” She continues. “I’m not going to hide.”

“That’s not hiding.”

ram

“Yes, it is.” She interrupts me. “And I’m not going to do it. Because unlike you…” Her voice barely

lowers, but grows more intense. “I am willing to fight.”

I look at her for a few more seconds, assessing her, sizing her up. And then… I let out a small smile. Almost imperceptible.

“Then fight.”

I grab my suitcase and close it with a sharp movement.

“But don’t expect me to stay and watch you lose. Because you’re fighting alone, you have

imaginary enemies.”

Twalk toward the door, past her, but before leaving… I stop, without looking at her.

“This isn’t my game anymore.”

And this time… I don’t turn around, I leave the apartment. Leaving her behind, leaving everything

behind, or at least… That’s what I try to believe…

“Alexander, please.”

“Vanessa, are you willing to stay?”

She doesn’t say anything, she just… just… takes a step back, reaches the door, and says: “Good

luck then, Alexander.”

I didn’t say anything, I just watched her leave. There’s no way I can change my mind, no way… for me to stay here. To see her continue her life at the company, to see her go on as normal with him,

to see her get married, to see her stay at the company and see them all move on… while I’m

screwed, being singled out, being judged… and even less so for them to see me fall.

B

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