The CEO's Regret: His Lost Wife's Secret Twins novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73

EMMA

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I pulled the covers over my head and let out a muffled sob. Not too loud-just enough for Blake to hear when he walked in. The sheets did

their job perfectly.

His footsteps approached. Right on schedule.

“Hey.” That gentle tone again. The one he used when he thought I was fragile. “Is the pain bad?”

“I’m not crying. I cracked my voice on each word. Years of stage performance made this easy.

The blanket peeled back slowly. I’d prepared well-mascara smudged down my cheeks, eyes red from the drops I’d used five minutes ago. I looked up at him through swollen lids.

God, men were predictable.

“The doctor said if I don’t rest properly…” I let my voice break. “I might never be able to dance again.”

His jaw tightened. That protective instinct kicked in immediately.

He still thought he owed me. Beautiful.

The truth? Aria was the real victim. She got trapped under debris in that Manhattan fire ten years ago. Her spine took the actual hit while Blake lay unconscious beside her. She stayed awake through all of it, rambling about her dancing dreams through smoke and terror.

‘Dancing is my salvation,’ she’d whispered, voice raw from screaming. “It’s the only thing that makes me feel alive.”

Melodramatic, sure. But it worked on Blake. Even unconscious, her desperation somehow reached him. That’s why he went soft whenever dance came up around her.

Too bad for little Aria that I’d stolen everything. Her story, her rescue, her connection to Blake-I took it all and made it mine.

“Blake.” I squeezed his hand. “What if I’m like this forever? What if I can’t even walk properly, let alone perform?”

“That’s not going to happen. His grip tightened on mine.

“You don’t know that.” Fresh tears came easily. The drops were still working. ‘I can barely sit up without your help. I’m still in agony. I’m completely useless.”

“Stop that.” He shifted closer on the bed. Got him. “You’re not useless. You’re incredible. All these years, pushing through every setback, every flare-up. I should have paid better attention.”

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13:56 Mon, Jun 15

Chapter 73

The guilt card worked every time.

:.

“I know you’ve been busy.” I turned away, putting on a wounded expression. “With the company. With other things.”

He knew I meant Aria. That muscle in his jaw twitched-his tell when something bothered him but he wouldn’t admit it.

He d been avoiding me since I came back from Europe. Time to find out why.

“You’ve been distant,” I said softly. “Ever since I returned. Like we’re strangers now.”

“We re not strangers.” Firm voice, but I caught the edge. “We’ll never be strangers, Emma.*

But we weren’t what we used to be either.

I needed to push harder. Test the limits. See exactly where I stood in his priorities.

“You know what’s silly?” I gave him a watery smile. “I couldn’t sleep last night because I kept thinking about those coconut cookies.”

Blake went completely still. Interesting reaction.

“What cookies?”

“From the picnic.” I added a wistful note to my voice. “I saw Aria making them and I just… I remembered how you used to love mine. How we’d share them during late study sessions at Yale.”

His expression darkened. Not what I expected.

Did something happen with those cookies?

“I know it’s petty.” I picked at the hospital blanket, feigning embarrassment. ‘But coconut cookies were our thing. Our special memory from before… everything changed. And seeing her make them, probably after asking about your favorites…”

‘Emma-

“I’m being stupid, aren’t I?” I looked up at him through my lashes. The vulnerable look that usually melted him Getting upset over cookies. You must think I’m pathetic.”

“You’re not pathetic.” But his voice had changed. Gone cold, sharp. “Did Aria make those cookies because you told her to?”

Wait, what?

That wasn’t the reaction I’d been fishing for. I’d expected comfort, maybe an admission that he d asked Aria to make them. Instead, he sounded… suspicious.

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13:56 Mon, Jun 15

Chapter 73

Of me?

*I… might have mentioned that you liked them.” I scrambled to recover. “But Blake, that’s not the point-

“Did you tell her about the fire too?” His eyes turned to ice. Pure ice. ‘About us being trapped together?”

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