The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 154

Chapter 154

“When you left for London,” I continued, the words burning in my throat, she completely fell apart. Every day, she questioned

whether she was good enough, whether she deserved to be loved. She lost twenty pounds in two months because she couldn’t eat.

She stopped designing new arrangements. She stopped living.”

My voice began to shake despite my best efforts to remain composed. “One night… I found her… The memory was so vivid, so horrifying that I had to close my eyes briefly before continuing. She had swallowed an entire bottle of sleeping pills in her

bathroom. If I hadn’t gone to check on her that night because she wasn’t answering my calls…”

Tears filled my eyes, hot and unwelcome. I blinked them back furiously, refusing to break down in front of him. “Do you know what it’s like to see your best friend lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to tubes? To sit there night after night, wondering if she’ll ever

wake up? Do you?”

Derek s face had drained of color, the usual healthy tan replaced by an ashen pallor that made his blue eyes seem unnaturally bright. His fingers gripped his coffee cup so tightly I thought it might shatter in his hand. A drop of coffee spilled over the rim, staining the pristine cuff of his white shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s not possible,” he said hoarsely, his voice barely audible over the ambient café noise. “She never told me… Why didn’t she-

“Of course she didn’t tell you,” I said bitterly, leaning forward. “You’re Derek Wells. The last thing she ever wanted was to appear weak in front of you.” I emphasized his name like it was something distasteful. “The man who has everything, who could replace her

in a heartbeat.

I don’t believe this,” he said, but his eyes told a different story-there was recognition there, and dawning horror. “If it were true, why didn’t anyone tell me? Her doctors, her friends… someone should have-

“She was still taking medication to prevent a relapse when you came back, I interrupted, holding his gaze steadily. “These aren’t things she’d share with you. She’d rather die than have you see her as broken.”

His hand trembled slightly as he set down his cup, coffee sloshing over the rim. Pain and guilt flashed across his face, momentarily stripping away the polished veneer of Derek Wells, financial prodigy, revealing something raw and human beneath.

“So I’m warning you now,” I said firmly, my voice regaining its strength. “Stay away from Eleanor, or we might all lose her forever.”

Derek suddenly stood up, the movement so abrupt that his chair scraped loudly against the floor, drawing curious glances from nearby tables. His expression was a complex mix of shock, self-loathing, and something else-a fierce determination that made my

stomach knot with unease.

I opened my mouth to continue, to drive my point home, but he was already striding toward the door, his tall figure cutting through

the crowded café like a blade.

‘Derek! I’m not finished! I called after him, half-rising from my seat.

He pushed through the door without looking back, the bell jingling violently as he disappeared into the dark Boston night,

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Chapter 154

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snowflakes swirling in his wake.

&

I sank back into my chair, suddenly exhausted, unsure if I’d made things better or infinitely worse. The café continued its evening rhythm around me-espresso machines hissing, conversations flowing, lives moving forward-while I sat frozen in uncertainty.

“God, Ellie,” I whispered to my empty coffee cup, tracing its rim with my finger. “I hope I didn’t just make everything worse for

you…”

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The CEO’s Unspoken Love