All Chapters of Hate To Love: The CEO's Regret: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

UnspokenLAURA’S POVI hadn’t slept.The clock on my nightstand glowed a soft 3:12 a.m., and I was still lying there, eyes wide open, sheets tangled at my ankles.My mind kept circling back to the rose. The note. Richard’s arms around me.Not because of what had happened.But because of how it made me feel.Off balance.I wasn’t supposed to feel anything anymore. Not for him. Not for anyone.I had trained myself to walk through fire and not flinch. But lately, it felt like every glance—Elijah’s silences, Richard’s kindness, even Liam’s steady presence—was peeling back a layer I didn’t want exposed.I turned over and stared at the ceiling.Who was listening?Who put that recorder in Elina’s bear?And why?I’d broken it. But that didn’t mean the secrets were gone. If anything, it only confirmed one thing:Someone close to me had betrayed my trust.Again.****By morning, I was already dressed and in the kitchen, nursing a lukewarm cup of tea I didn’t really want. The sun hadn’t risen ye

LAURA'S POVMy body tensed beneath Elijah, still warm from what we’d shared, but my mind was no longer on the sheets tangled around us.“Elijah…” I whispered, breath catching. “There’s someone outside.”He sat up, instinct sharp in his eyes. I slipped from the bed, pulling his shirt over my body as I moved to the window.And that’s when I saw her.Scarlet.Crouched in the garden.The moonlight revealed just enough—her silhouette hunched near the rose bushes, digging with her hands, trying to bury something.“Scarlet?” I called, knocking on the glass.She froze.But she didn’t turn.She didn’t even flinch.“Scarlet!” I shouted again.Still no response.She dropped whatever she held and bolted—melting into the shadows of the trees like she’d never been there at all.“Elijah!” I spun. “It was Scarlet—she was hiding something.”“I’ll alert the guards,” he said, already halfway to the closet to grab a shirt.I reached for my phone.But it buzzed before I could dial.Unknown number.I hesit

Fires in the KitchenMELINA’S POVScarlet stood by the rusted balcony railing like she owned the damn sky. That smug expression hadn’t changed—neither had her arrogance. She looked out over the parking lot like it was her kingdom, lips twisted into a smirk that made my blood simmer."You tarnished my name," I said, my voice thick with betrayal. “You let them believe I ran off with you. That I betrayed Laura, betrayed Elijah... like I was some coward.”She turned slowly, one manicured brow arching with mockery. “Did I say you did? Or did people just assume the worst and I... let them?”“You didn’t correct them,” I snapped, stepping closer. “You knew what people would think. You wanted them to think that.”Scarlet took a lazy step forward, arms folding over her chest like she had all the time in the world. “Why would I correct them, Melina? It served me. And let’s not pretend—you were already halfway out the door. I just opened it wider.”The fire inside me cracked open like a damn faul

Paper ChainsLAURA’S POVThe silence after Ivy’s departure was deafening. It wasn’t the kind that echoed; it was the kind that pressed on your chest like a weight you couldn’t lift.I stared at the contract on the bed—the one that shattered whatever fantasy I had built in my head. The brown envelope, sealed with cruelty and truth, sat between Elijah and me like a wall neither of us could tear down.I didn’t move.Neither did he.“I forgot,” he finally said, voice low, hoarse.“You forgot,” I echoed, my tone flat. “You forgot that I was just a name on a paper.”He stepped closer. “It wasn’t like that.”“No?” I stood, the sheet falling from my lap. “Then what was it like, Elijah? Enlighten me. Because from where I’m standing, it looks like I was your charity case. The woman you married to fix a scandal, to calm your grandfather, to protect your damn empire.”He winced at that. “That’s not true anymore.”“But it was true once. And that’s what matters.” My voice cracked. I hated the way i

The Weight of Walking AwayLAURA’S POVThe motel room smelled like damp linen and old cigarettes, but it was better than my mansion that brought memories of the nights I swept after prison.It was the kind of place no one asked questions. Just handed over the key with eyes that didn’t care who you were or why you were running.I sat by the window, hugging my knees, watching the rain streak down the glass like the world itself was grieving with me.I hadn’t heard from him.Not once.No calls. No texts. No “come home.”And maybe that was the cruelest answer of all.Because I hadn’t left hoping he’d chase me.But part of me… still wanted him to.I curled tighter into myself.Was this what freedom felt like?Empty. Cold. Lonely.The soft knock on my door startled me.I stayed frozen. Silent.The knock came again—more insistent this time.I crept toward the door and peered through the peephole.Richard.A breath escaped me.Of course it was Richard.I opened the door slowly. “How did you f