The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

Derek POV

She looked away, refusing to meet my gaze. Around us, Boston winter had transformed the street into a postcard scene. Snowflakes began to fall, delicate and silent, catching in Eleanor’s hair like tiny stars. The streetlamps cast golden halos through the gentle snowfall, illuminating the frost-covered branches of the old maple trees lining her street. A car passed by, its headlights briefly highlighting the conflict written across her features.

“That’s not fair,” she whispered, her breath forming clouds in the frigid air between us.

“Just answer the question.”

The silence stretched between us, filled only with the soft percussion of snowflakes landing on our coats and the distant hum of traffic. The world seemed to hold its breath, wrapped in winter’s quiet embrace.

Finally, she looked up at me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“Yes,” she whispered, the word barely audible. “I loved you.”

Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by determination. “You loved me.”

“Past tense,” she emphasized, finally pulling her hands free. “I loved you, but that was before. Before you made it abundantly clear

that I wasn’t what you wanted.”

“And if I told you that I was wrong?” I reached out, gently cupping her face in my hands. Her skin was cold from the winter air, but soft beneath my fingers. “If I told you that I’ve been an idiot, that I wasted three years running from something I should have been

running toward?”

Eleanor’s expression softened for a moment, her lips parting slightly as if to speak, before hardening again. She swallowed hard, and I watched the movement of her throat. “It’s too late, Derek. I don’t love you anymore.”

But there was a tremor in her voice that gave me hope. I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her. She fit against me perfectly, just as she always had. “If you loved me once, even for a second, I can’t let you go.”

She didn’t resist, but she didn’t return the embrace either, standing stiffly within the circle of my arms. I could feel her heart racing, matching the rapid beat of my own. I released her slightly, just enough to look into her face, but kept my hands on her shoulders.

‘I know I hurt you,” I said quietly. “I know I failed you in every way that matters. From the moment you came into our home, I felt something for you – something I didn’t want to acknowledge. My father told me you were to be my sister, and I knew nothing could happen between us. So I pushed you away. I buried whatever I felt under hobbies, work, countless girlfriends.”

Eleanor’s eyes widened slightly at my confession, her lips parting in surprise. I continued, the words pouring out now, unstoppable.

I was a coward, Eleanor. When we were forced to marry, I was angry

–

not because I didn’t want you, but because I’d spent years

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Chapter 127

convincing myself I couldn’t have you. And then, when you were finally mine, I didn’t know how to handle it. So I ran. To London.

Away from you.

I took a deep breath, my heart pounding against my ribs. “I only realized what I’d thrown away when I was about to lose you

completely. I’ve been such a fool. The thought of you with someone else – with James, or anyone – it’s driving me insane.”

Eleanor’s expression was unreadable in the dim light, but I could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest, the way her fingers curled

and uncurled at her sides. “What exactly are you asking for, Derek?”

“A chance. I brushed a strand of hair from her face, letting my fingers linger against her cheek. Despite the cold, her skin felt alive

and vibrant beneath my touch. “Let’s start over. Get to know each other, not as two people forced into a marriage, but as two people

who chose each other. Like we never had the Wells family arranging our lives.”

She was silent for a long moment, her eyes searching mine. I could see the conflict there, the uncertainty. For a moment, I thought

she might agree, might give us the chance we deserved. The snow continued to fall around us, creating a private world of white,

each flake glistening under the streetlights like diamonds scattered across the darkened street.

Then she slowly shook her head, stepping back from my touch. ‘No, Derek. What’s done is done. We missed our chance.”

“It’s never too late, I insisted, reaching for her again. “Not unless I’m dead, Eleanor. It’s never too late for us.”

“I don’t love you anymore,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time, though I could hear the slight quaver beneath the certainty. “I

can’t go through that pain again.

“You don’t have to love me,” I said, desperation edging into my voice. ‘I didn’t love you when we first married either.”

“And look how well that turned out. Eleanor’s laugh was hollow, brittle. “We need to let each other go, Derek. It’s the kindest thing

we can do for each other now.”

She turned away from me, walking toward her front door with measured steps. I couldn’t let her go, not like this. In three quick strides, I caught up to her, wrapping my arms around her from behind. She stiffened in my embrace, but I held on, burying my face

in her hair.

“Please,” I whispered against her neck, feeling her pulse race beneath my lips. “Don’t walk away from us.”

For a moment, she stood perfectly still, and I felt a glimmer of hope. Then her hands came up to grasp my forearms – not to hold

me there, but to firmly disengage my embrace.

‘Let me go, Derek,” she said, her voice steady despite the tears I could now see glistening on her cheeks. “Let’s free each other. It’s

the kindest thing we can do.”

She pulled away from me, and this time I didn’t stop her. I stood frozen, watching her retreat, feeling as though something vital was

being torn from me with every step she took.

Eleanor. I called after her, one last attempt. But she didn’t turn around, didn’t hesitate. The door closed behind her with a quiet finality, leaving me alone on the snow covered street, the winter wind cutting through me like a knife.

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Chapter 127

I stood there for what felt like hours, staring at the closed door, willing it to open again. But it remained shut, the warm glow of lights inside a cruel reminder of all I had lost all I had thrown away.

Finally, I turned and walked back to my car, the cold seeping into my bones in a way that had nothing to do with the December air.

I’d laid toy heart bare, exposed my vulnerabilities in a way I never had before. And still, it hadn’t been enough.

But as I started the engine, a stubborn determination took root within me. Eleanor had loved me once. She could love me again.

This wasn’t over – not by a long shot. I would give her the space she needed for now, but I wasn’t giving up.

Because despite everything, I knew one truth with absolute certainty: Eleanor Wells was still mine. And I would move heaven and

earth to remind her of that fact.

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love