All Chapters of The CEO Who Won’t Let Me Go: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

This felt too perfect to be real. A brand-new apartment in the heart of the city, an incredible view—and they weren’t even asking for rent the first few months? Yeah, no. Something was off. I wasn’t naïve enough to believe there wasn’t a catch.Boris’s friend kept glancing around like he was waiting for a cue, and every time I asked something, he looked at Boris instead of answering himself.“I really love the place,” I said after one too many awed looks around and a couple of involuntary sighs at the gorgeous interior, “but I don’t think it’s right for me.”Boris arched a brow. His friend looked even more rattled.“Maybe there’s something you’d like changed—I can take care of it right away,” the man rushed out, launching into a list of increasingly absurd ideas. Apparently, I didn’t like the huge bed in the bedroom? He could replace it. And then he just… kept going.“I like everything,” I said evenly. “I’m just not comfortable with the price. I’m old enough to know nothing comes for

A rush of excitement hit me the second I opened my eyes in my own apartment that morning, flooding through me like an avalanche. It didn’t settle low in my stomach—it bloomed in my chest instead. Bright, light, almost giddy. For the first time in what felt like forever, everything heavy in my head just… lifted.I was on my own now.An adult.Fully responsible for myself.Time to dive into this new life and—…figure out how to cook, because I was starving.On today’s agenda: meet the landlord, do another round of shopping, and maybe—just maybe—start looking into job options. Which meant I needed actual food in my system if I planned to survive the day.“How do you even work?” I muttered at the stove.It looked less like an appliance and more like some kind of medieval torture device. The sleek surface was covered in touch buttons that made absolutely no sense to me. My brain short-circuited just looking at it.Fine. Internet it is.A few minutes later, I managed to turn it on.Victory.

I wanted to say no—but this was about my sister. What if he’d finally come to his senses and decided to turn this fake engagement into something real? Valeri was crazy about Alan. If this made her happy, I could deal.“Fine,” I said, careful. “But only for my sister.”“Then maybe you’ll tell me what she likes. That would be… useful going forward.”Hearing something like that from him felt wrong. Still, I had to admit—he knew how to throw me off. He wasn’t grabbing me, wasn’t cornering me, wasn’t pushing. No threat. Just a quiet, almost normal kind of interest in his fiancée.And that somehow felt worse.There was a faint trace of his cologne in the air. It hit me before I could stop it, dragging up memories I really didn’t want. My stomach tightened. I forced myself to breathe through my mouth.We walked slowly down the corridor, and I made myself focus. Valeri. Think about Valeri.“She’s really into fashion—trends, designer stuff,” I started, then stopped mid-step. Something clicked.

My hands started to shake for no reason at all. Carefully, I touched my split lip, acutely aware of his gaze—those sharp, green eyes locked on me. That’s when it hit me just how unusual Alan’s eyes were. There was something about him that pulled you in—something intense, almost hypnotic.Handsome? No. That didn’t even come close. Boris was handsome. Alan… Alan was something else entirely. Striking in a way that didn’t follow any rules. His short, perfectly trimmed beard suited him too well, and those thick dark brows only added to it. There was a contrast in his features that shouldn’t have worked—but somehow did. When he smiled, I could easily imagine women melting all around him. And when that warmth vanished… yeah, I was pretty sure people got nervous.Right now, he looked like he hadn’t decided yet—somewhere between annoyed and amused.The blood was already gone, the cut cleaned and treated, so I stepped back quickly. I gathered the scattered supplies and shoved everything into th

AlanWhat I was seeing made no sense. None.A tall, broad-shouldered man in his mid-forties was holding my Zoe like she was the most important thing in his world. I kept turning it over in my head, trying to make it fit into something logical—but it just wouldn’t.Zoe wasn’t the kind of girl who latched onto rich older men for money. Not even close. She came from a wealthy family. She’d never needed anything like that.“Konstantin,” I said, forcing my voice steady, even though just seeing him next to her was already getting under my skin. “Do you know my fiancée’s sister?”I needed to know. I had to. The not knowing was driving me insane. I’d only just managed to get that damn burning in my chest under control every time Boris Uleev came up—and now this.My fingers twitched with the urge to grab the hand resting so casually on Zoe’s shoulder and pull her away from him.“Yes,” he said, glancing at her.Zoe lowered her eyes, a soft blush touching her cheeks.I would’ve kept looking at h