The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 45

The CEO’s Regret: His Lost Wife’s Secret Twins

Chapter 45

I should go back inside. Emma would wonder where I went. The others would notice my absence. Matthew would probably make some

snide comment about me chasing after the help.

But my feet wouldn’t move.

Those photos you saw.

I remembered them. Every single one. Aria in various dance poses, some blurry from movement, some perfectly still. She’d been younger

in most of them. Nine, maybe ten. Wearing clothes that didn’t quite fit right. Dance clothes she’d probably borrowed or bought

secondhand. Dancing in a room that was too small for the movements she was attempting.

But her face in those photos-

Christ.

She’d been happy.

Completely, utterly happy.

Someone whose childhood home is expendable.

I turned back toward the club. My guests were inside. Emma was inside. This was just business. The carriage house was structurally

unsound. Emma needed a studio. It made sense. Perfect sense.

So why did my chest feel tight?

Why did my hand still burn?

I pulled out my phone. Stared at it. Put it back.

Aria thought I’d planned this. Thought I’d gone to the carriage house to evaluate it for demolition. To take inventory of what needed to

be removed before construction began.

Had I?

No. I’d wanted to see where she grew up. Wanted to understand why she’d chosen to live there instead of taking one of the staff apartments at Morgan House. Why she preferred that cramped space to anywhere else.

But when Emma mentioned needing a studio-

The carriage house had been the obvious choice. Best location. Best light. Best bones for renovation. The structure needed work anyway.

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Chapter 45

Might as well tear it down and build something proper.

I hadn’t thought about Aria’s reaction.

Hadn’t thought about what it would mean to her.

Hadn’t thought about those photos on her wall.

You saw someone playing dress-up in Emma’s shadow.

My jaw clenched.

That wasn’t what I’d thought. Not exactly.

But I had compared them. Standing in that room, looking at those photos, I’d thought about Emma’s training. Her academy years. The way

she moved like physics didn’t apply to her.

And Aria-

Aria was self-taught. Copying Emma’s movements from videos and memory. Her form wasn’t perfect. Her technique had gaps. She’d never

had proper instruction. Never had the resources.

But in those photos, she’d looked-

My phone buzzed. Emma’s name on the screen.

Where are you? Everyone’s asking. Matthew is being insufferable.

I stared at the message.

Everyone was asking. Emma was asking. Matthew was probably enjoying my absence. I should go back. Should smooth things over. Should

explain what happened.

Instead, I looked in the direction she’d gone.

She was wrong about one thing.

When I’d looked at those photos, I hadn’t seen someone playing dress-up.

I’d seen someone who’d taught herself to fly in a room barely big enough to spread her wings.

Someone who’d worked harder than anyone I knew to be half as good as Emma made it look.

Someone who’d never had a proper teacher but somehow learned anyway.

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Chapter 45

And now I was tearing that room down.

My phone buzzed again. Then again.

I turned it off.

Then I headed back inside, because that’s what I did. What I’d always done. What I was supposed to do.

Emma would be waiting. The investors would want reassurance. The evening would continue without interruption.

But my hand still burned where I’d held her wrist.

And I couldn’t stop seeing her face when she’d said you saw someone playing dress-up in Emma’s shadow.

That wasn’t what I’d seen.

But maybe it should have been.

Maybe then this would be easier.

The door to the club felt heavier than it had before.

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