The CEO's Regret: Darling, Don’t Leave Me novel Chapter 397

Chapter 306 Ultimatum, Part 2

Chapter 306: Ultimatum, Part 2.

Vanessa

My father doesn’t move from his spot, he’s still there, in front of me like a wall, like a constant judgment I can’t escape.

And I… I’m still standing, feeling small. More than I’d like to admit.

He takes a deep breath, as if he’s holding back, as if he’s carefully choosing what to say.

“I’ll give you ten days.”

I look up, confused.

“Ten days to decide what to do with your life.”

I blink…

Ten days, it sounds short, it sounds like pressure, it sounds like him.

“I hope this time you’re smart enough…”

His tone doesn’t change, it remains firm, harsh.

“I hope you rethink your path… And that you tell me what you’re going to do.”

My throat goes dry.

“Otherwise…”

He pauses, and there he is.

“I’ll come for you.”

I feel the blow, direct.

“Because, even though I want to leave you here…”

His eyes lock onto mine.

“I can’t.”

Silence.

“You’re my daughter. What will people say?”

That sentence… That damned sentence…

It doesn’t sound warm, it doesn’t sound protective. It sounds… forced, like a responsibility he can’t

Chapter 306 Ultimatum, Part 2

let go of. Not like something he’s choosing.

I look away again.

“Try to get this organized.”

He says, looking around; I follow his gaze.

The bottles, the mess, the chaos.

“The way this place is…”

He continues.

“…that’s how your head must be.”

I press my lips t

“If you can’t

because he’s right. And I hate that he is.

in those ten days…”

His voice

“You’re

I swa

“1

way.”

e company.”

ause. The one that always precedes something worse.

ay.”

y?”

bice lower than I’d like.

t hesitate.

still using my money…”

ys bluntly.

hout having earned it.”

el something in my chest tighten.

en after you left the family b

mphasizes.

ر

Chapter 306 Ultimatum, Part 2.

“To go with him.”

I close my eyes for a second, there he is… Again, Ethan.

Always in the middle, always as evidence of my mistake.

“So don’t get confused, Vanessa.”

His voice is low, but still powerful.

“You’re not here because you can be. You’re here because I allow it.”

The silence falls heavily.

My eyes feel hot, but I’m not going to cry.

Not in front of him.

“You have ten days.”

He repeats it as if h

o remember.

“After that…”

He shrugs slig

“I decide.”

And th

Th

ts me the hardest. That in the end… It doesn’t matter what I want.

e else deciding for me.

s toward the door, and I don’t stop him.

because I have nothing to say. When he reaches the exit… He stops for a

g at me.

me come after you.”

And then… He leaves.

r closes, and the sound… It echoes louder than it should.

alone again, amidst the cha

around, slowly, heavily

thumb over it

ence. Amidst everything I am now.

‘s, to that empty ring finger.

O

if

Chapter 306 Ultimatum, Part 2.

But no… Nothing.

“Ten days…”

I murmur, and this time… It doesn’t sound like an opportunity, it sounds like a countdown.

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Chapter 307 I’ll Leave

Chapter 307: I’ll Leave.

Vanessa

Three days have passed… Three damn days since my father stood in this doorway and gave me an ultimatum as if I were a failing business.

Ten days, seven now… Seven to decide what to do with my life, seven to stop being this.

I stare at the ceiling again. I’ve spent more time staring at this damn ceiling than doing anything useful.

And the worst part is… I know it.

I know he’s right, I know he’s right, I know… even Alexander was right.

I close my eyes tightly… That voice returns.

“You have no self-respect.”

I clench my teeth.

“Shut up…” I mutter, but my own mind won’t shut up.

I sit up on the sofa, pushing aside an empty glass that almost falls to the floor. Everything is the same as it was days ago.

Bottles, clothes, silence… Me. Always me in the middle of this mess.

“Now what?” I say to myself quietly.

Because that’s the real question. It’s not Ethan, it’s not Clara, it’s not the company.

It’s me. Me with nothing… If my father takes my money… I swallow hard.

The idea hits me harder than I want to admit.

“What would I do? Where would I go? Who am I without it?”

Because the truth is uncomfortable. I’ve never had to worry about it, never.

It’s always been there: the money, the security, the name. And now… Now all of that has an expiration date.

Seven days… I let out a dry laugh.

“Pathetic…”

I run a hand through my hair. My head hurts, everything hurts.

O

J