The CEO’s Unspoken Love (Eleanor and Derek) novel Chapter 221

Chapter 221

Derek POV

Back at home, I watched Eleanor pack her weekend bag while I pretended to check our camping equipment.

She moved with an unconscious grace, folding clothes with practiced efficiency, occasionally pushing that stubborn strand of hair behind her ear only to have it fall forward again moments later. The simple domesticity of the scene made my chest ache with happiness I’d never thought possible.

When she disappeared into the bathroom, I carefully tucked the ring box into a hidden compartment in my backpack. My hands trembled slightly-not from weakness, but from the weight of what I was planning. This ring represented everything I should have offered her from the beginning: honesty, commitment, and a love that had nothing to do with family obligations.

Our evening routine had become one of my favorite parts of the day. Eleanor curled up with a book while I reviewed work or the financial news, occasionally reading passages aloud to each other. Tonight, she’d made her signature pasta, the garlic and herbs filling the kitchen with a homey aroma that made the house feel more lived-in than it ever had before.

Later, as we sat on the couch, Eleanor reading while I pretended to review work emails, I found myself stealing glances at her. The lamplight caught in her hair, creating a halo effect that made her look almost ethereal. Her fingers absently stroked the worn cover of her book, her lips moving slightly with certain passages as if tasting the words. I set my laptop aside.

“Do you ever regret it?” I asked quietly. “Selling the flower shop?”

Eleanor marked her place in her book and looked up, her eyes-those bottomless pools of warmth I could drown in-meeting mine with characteristic directness. “Where did that come from?”

“I just wonder sometimes if you did it because you felt responsible for me after the accident.”

She set her book down completely, turning to face me. A small crease appeared between her brows-the one that always showed when she was considering something important. “Derek, I made that choice because I wanted to be with you, not because I felt obligated. The shop was just a business. You’re my life.”

The simple certainty in her voice made my throat tighten. How had I ever deserved her?

“Remember when your family used to make us all go camping every summer?” she asked, rolling down her window to let the fresh air in. The wind caught her hair, sending it dancing around her face. With the sun behind her, outlining her profile in gold, she looked impossibly beautiful-carefree in a way I rarely saw in the city.

“God, those trips were something else, I laughed. ‘Remember when Alexander tried to prove he could start a fire without matches and nearly burned down half the forest?”

“And your mother’s face when she saw her designer hiking boots covered in mud!”

“Father actually enjoying himself once he was forced to disconnect from work for forty-eight hours.”

We continued trading memories, carefully avoiding the tension that had characterized our relationship for so long. Today wasn’t about the past-it was about our future.