บททั้งหมดของ CEO's Regret - Losing Valentina: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

November 2023 - Pearsons PublishingNash"I've been wondering... if I asked to kiss you right now, what would you say?" I murmured.Valentina froze, a deep, crimson blush creeping up her neck and flooding her cheeks. She looked startled, almost offended, but her eyes didn't move from mine. "You... you would be disappointed," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I arched a brow, leaning in. "And why is that?" "Because I... I wouldn't be very good at it," she admitted, her gaze dropping to my tie. "I don't really know how." She looked mortified. "I've never kissed anyone before."Something primitive unfurled inside me. Mine. The thought arrived so suddenly it startled even me. I lowered my forehead to hers. A surge of heat flared in my gut. How the fuck could this gorgeous girl not have been kissed before? Where all the men she knew blind or gay?But that anomaly fell to the wayside because I was ridiculously pleased at the thought. The admission of her innocence was more e

NashThursday - 31 March 2025 - Midas Media Head OfficeThe ambush came after a board meeting that had dragged on for nearly three hours.Father had attended in person, which usually meant everyone walked on eggshells until he left. By the time the meeting finally adjourned, most of the executives had fled the building as though escaping a natural disaster.Mason and I had retreated to my office. His feet were propped shamelessly on my desk while I loosened my tie, already looking forward to blowing off steam at the gym before grabbing dinner.“Leg day?” Mason asked.I grimaced. “I think you just enjoy watching me suffer.”“I won't deny it’s one of life’s simple pleasures.” he grinned.I snorted. “You're a fucking undercover sadist.”The knock never came. The office door simply swung open. Both of us looked up. Father.I frowned. We’d assumed he’d gone home an hour ago. It was already close to six.He stepped inside, his gaze immediately landing on Mason’s polished shoes resting comf

NashThursday - 31 March 2025 - Midas Media Head OfficeI shook my head at my father slowly. “You really don’t know her.”“I know women.” He shot back. His voice was full of certainty. “They all want something.” Then he delivered the blow that made my stomach sink. “If she was so different...” He spread his hands. “...why did you keep her a secret? You never introduced her. You never took her to functions. None of us ever met her. Because you never acknowledged her publicly.”His eyes locked onto mine. “Because deep down...even you knew exactly what she was.”The words hit like a fist. Because...He wasn’t entirely wrong. Not about Valentina. But about me. I’d found a woman unlike anyone I’d ever met. A woman who stood head and shoulders above every casual arrangement I’d ever had. And despite recognising she was different... I’d still placed her inside the exact same box.Another contracted arrangement. The NDA. The apartment, the allowance. Set boundaries. No future. No promises. N

Gordon Blackthorpe31st March 2025 - Blackthorpe Estate, Upper East SideI poured myself a double Macallan and downed it neat. The whisky burned all the way down, but I barely noticed. It may as well have been cheap rotgut for all I cared. Tonight I wasn't drinking to appreciate eighteen years of craftsmanship and smoky perfection. I was drinking because I was furious.I poured another double and carried the crystal tumbler to my study. The familiar scent of polished mahogany and leather usually calmed me. Tonight, it did nothing.I lowered myself into the wingback chair behind my desk, the leather creaking beneath my weight, and stared out over the manicured gardens lit up by flares in late evening.Every inch of it represented decades of sacrifice, ruthless decisions and calculated risks. It represented control. Tonight, for the first time in years...I felt it slipping. I stared out at the perfectly manicured grounds now lit up with garden flares, my grip tightening around the glas

ValentinaTwo Years Ago – Friday 6th March 2024 - En Route to JFK AirportThrough teary eyes, I watched my uber pulled up to the kerb. The Uber driver stepped out and loaded my luggage into the trunk before opening the back door for me. "JFK?" he asked kindly. I nodded mutely.The warmth inside the car made everything worse somehow. As if the comfort and sanctuary of it was mocking the coldness and isolation that was already wrapping itself around my soul.As we pulled away from the curb, I looked up automatically toward the towering penthouse windows high above the city.Dark. Empty. No sign that once I had lived and loved there. My vision blurred again instantly.With every block we put between us, it felt as though another piece of my heart was being left behind.The ache became unbearable.I wrapped my arms around myself as if I could somehow hold together everything that had just shattered.I couldn't.The first sob escaped before I could stop it.Then another. Soon my entire bo