All Chapters of The CEO Who Won’t Let Me Go: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"Why don’t you want to come with us, Zoe?" my sister asked again, peppering me with questions while I pinned her hair into an elegant updo. "All you have to do is put on one of my dresses, and you'd look gorgeous.""Maybe. But my friends are waiting for me at the club, and I don't want to bail on them," I said, giving her a small, smug smile.The mirror attached to the vanity reflected two complete opposites.Valeri was light. I was darkness.Somehow, though, our parents had gotten our hair colors backwards.Valeri was a tiny brunette with a delicate figure, her soft curves hidden beneath a beautiful burgundy dress from some designer brand I didn't recognize. Fashion had never really been my thing. Every conversation about it made me feel like an idiot. I could admit her dress was gorgeous, but to me, it was way too proper.I had more curves, wider hips, and no desire to hide any of it. My short black dress looked, in my mother's words, "like something a cheap slut would wear."Natura

The awful feeling finally started to fade, but a few drops of the spilled drink had stained my dress. They were barely visible, but I knew they were there. My hands hadn’t escaped either—they were still sticky in the most humiliating way.Locked away in the ladies’ room, I tried to clean myself up, already knowing I wanted to go home. That rich asshole had looked at me like I was something disgusting stuck to the bottom of his shoe, then acted like I wasn’t even worth a response. Way to ruin an evening.My phone rang inside my purse, and I grabbed it while still holding the hem of my dress under the hand dryer."Zoe, when are you coming home?" Valeri’s excited voice burst through the speaker.I pulled the phone away for a second and glanced at the time. Yeah. I’d been here long enough."Soon, I think. Judging by your voice, meeting your fiancé went well?""Better than well! Zoe, he’s gorgeous. Seriously, you should’ve seen him. He’s so polite, so sweet... and the way he looked at me..

AlanSaturday morning’s meeting hadn’t just gone badly—it had been a complete disaster. Dragging a man out of a warm bed on his day off was never a good idea, no matter how important the issue was. The new employees were turning into one problem after another, and apparently even weekends weren’t off-limits anymore.My phone buzzed in my pocket, cutting through the mess of thoughts in my head."Rinat, did you get her name?" I asked without wasting a second. As if work wasn’t enough of a headache, now I had personal problems too. All because I’d been an idiot who couldn’t keep his hands to himself."Alan, come on, we all have... needs. I didn’t sleep at all last night. I sat outside that damn room the whole time—""Spare me the details. Just tell me you got her name and address. She told you when you drove her home, didn’t she?" I snapped. I needed to get rid of the guilt that had been hanging over me since morning."She took off. The second I stepped away for a minute. Then security c

With strict parents, constant surveillance, and a healthy fear of the secrets hidden inside this house, I had never told any of my so-called friends where I lived. So I spent several blissful days at home, locked away in my ridiculously expensive bedroom, surrounded by silence and peace, devouring one book after another. The books didn’t just help pass the time—they kept me from tearing myself apart.“What a bastard Edgar is,” I muttered, slamming the book shut for the third time. “She loves you, and you’re still running after that stuck-up princess? And what the hell is wrong with her? Does she have no self-respect at all? That piece of trash found out she was pregnant and still went right back to living his perfect little life!”“Are you talking to yourself again?” my sister asked, sticking her head into my room and looking around at the disaster zone.“You’re impossible to talk to about this stuff,” I grumbled. If Valeri read anything at all, it was probably scientific journals or

The clear, crystalline crash rang through the air. Exactly what victory should sound like. I yanked the bottom glass free and barely jumped back in time before the entire champagne tower collapsed in a sparkling avalanche. The man ended up knee-deep in broken crystal and sticky champagne, while my former friend was buried almost to her neck. For the first few seconds, I watched them carefully. I really hoped I hadn’t actually hurt either of them. A dripping-wet Kriss climbed to her feet and stared at me like she’d just seen a ghost. The man looked at me too. With the exact same murderous expression he’d worn when I dumped a milkshake all over him. Only this time, I had absolutely no intention of apologizing. Someone in the crowd laughed. Right. Time to play innocent. I gasped dramatically, rushed over to Kriss, and grabbed her arm. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I have no idea how that happened. Are you okay?” Kriss looked as shocked as if it had started snowing in the middle o