All Chapters of CEO's Regret - Losing Valentina: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

2 years ago - Friday 6th March 2024 NashThe navy ring box felt too light and small for the weight of the message it might carry.For a moment I simply stared at it. The same box she'd held in trembling hands six days ago. The same box I'd knocked out of her hand and rejected.Slowly, I flipped it open. My breath caught. Nestled inside wasn't just the ring. Instead, a thicker heavy white gold men’s chain lay coiled against the black velvet lining. Expensive. Elegant. Understated. Very much something I would wear.Hanging from it were two pendants. The first was the titanium Celtic promise ring. The intricate black scrollwork stood out against the silver metal. It was beautiful. And I would have known that if I had acknowledged it Saturday night.Beside it hung a jagged half-heart. Broken. Separated. Missing it’s other half. The symbolism wasn't exactly subtle. A bitter laugh escaped me. The irony wasn't lost on me.She'd returned my answer in physical form. The ring. The broken heart

Sing Sing Maximum Security Facility - January 28th, 2026Claire EllersonI had represented murderers before. Drug lords. Politicians. Corporate criminals. Men capable of extraordinary cruelty.But not a single one of them unsettled me the way Leighton Reid Calloway did. The fact irritated me.I was one of the most sought-after criminal defence attorneys in New York. I didn't frighten easily. Yet every time I sat across from Leighton, some primitive instinct whispered that I should leave.Immediately.The reinforced glass separated us in the visitation room at Sing Sing Maximum security Facility. One of the most dangerous prisons in the country.And somehow it still didn't feel like enough.Leighton sat opposite me in a prison-issued gray uniform. Not yet twenty-seven years old. Handsome enough to be a movie star. Sharp cheekbones. Dirty blonde hair. Pale blue eyes.The kind of face that made people trust him before they should. The kind of face women noticed. The kind of face that sho

Two years ago – Friday 20 March 2024NashIt was another Friday. Another week-end without her….I made no effort to clear up my desk, after all what was I rushing out for. It was about five fifteen when there was a knock on my office door. "Come in." I said.The door opened and Mason walked inside. His eyes swept the office then landed on me. "You look like shit, Nash."Arsehole. The thought was automatic. Normally it would have irritated me, I would have a smart comeback ready. Today I barely had the energy.I glared at him. What caught me off guard was that he didn't look smug. He looked concerned. Actually concerned. "What do you want, Mason?" I asked tiredly.He took a seat without being invited. Typical. But then again, he was one of the few people in the world who could get away with it.Our hair might be different. Our colour too. But there was no denying we were related…closely. The resemblance was there.Almost matching height. Both built. Same sharp features. Enough similari

Present day – JFK. Arrivals. Terminal 4 - 6th Febuary 2026 EthanTwenty minutes. That’s how long her planes been on the ground and I’ve checked my watch three times in the last sixty seconds. I run a hand through my hair, half frustrated, half worried. “What the hell was taking so long?”Two months. Sixty-two days since I last saw her and six years since we brought a scared half-broken, sixteen year old girl into our house and lives. Six years of loving Valentina in silence because to everyone else, she’s our baby sister. To me, she’s been the air I couldn’t breathe without.I glanced toward the arrivals gate again. Nothing. A steady stream of travellers continued pouring through. Businessmen dragging expensive carry-ons. Families reuniting. Tourists looking confused.Still no Valentina. Still no sight of the five foot nothing little Venus.I exhaled and shoved my hands into my pockets. When Livvy had called asking if I could fetch Valentina from the airport, I'd agreed before s

Two years ago – Friday 20 March 2024NashThe envelope sat between us like it contained state secrets.Maybe it did. At least where I was concerned. Because somewhere inside was the answer to a question that had consumed me for the better part of two weeks.Who was Valentina Rossi when she wasn't with me?Not the woman in my penthouse. Not the woman in my playroom. Not the woman who I had thought painted as a hobby.The woman before me. The one I had never bothered to know.Mason nudged the file toward me. "Open it."My fingers suddenly felt clumsy. Ridiculous. I negotiated billion-dollar deals without blinking. Yet a manila envelope had me nervous. I broke the seal.The first page contained a school photograph. Valentina. Younger. Maybe twelve. Hard to tell as she had always been so tiny. Her burgundy curls were in two braids. Her smile smaller. More cautious.And Jesus Christ...She looked so thin. I frowned. Mason noticed immediately. "What is it?" I turned the file toward him. His