The CEO's Regret: You made me your lie, I become your Loss-Chapter 98: Sad news

He didn’t wait for her to take it. He slid off the bench to kneel in the narrow space of the boat, his large hands reaching for her foot. He lifted her heel onto his knee, his thumb tracing the sensitive skin of her ankle with a slow, agonizing deliberation.

"I told you I’d be careful," he whispered, his eyes locking onto hers as he fastened the clasp. The metal was cool, but his touch was a slow-burning fire. "But looking at you like this, in this light... It’s getting harder and harder to remember that promise. You have no idea what you do to me, Amara."

He didn’t move back to the bench. He stayed there, his hands sliding up to her calves, his gaze unblinking. The sun finally dipped below the line of the buildings, plunging the canal into a deep, romantic violet.

Amara reached down, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him up until their faces were inches apart. "Then don’t remember it," she breathed. "I didn’t marry a man who makes promises he can’t keep, but I also didn’t marry a man who’s afraid of his own shadow."

Julian let out a low, predatory growl of a laugh, his mouth seeking hers in a kiss that tasted of the sea and a thousand unspoken desires. The boat rocked gently under them, a small, private world drifting through a city that had finally gone quiet.

The morning was meant to be a sanctuary. Julian had spent the early hours preparing a breakfast in bed that was more like a feast: tropical fruits, pastries still warm from the local bakery, and a single, deep-red hibiscus tucked into the fold of Amara’s napkin.

Both of their cell phones remained dark and silent on the nightstand, a mutual pact to let the world wait.

Amara was propped up against the pillows, her hair a messy silk halo, laughing as Julian tried to balance a tray and a glass of chilled juice at the same time. The air in the suite was soft, smelling of vanilla and the sea.

Then, the shrill, mechanical ring of the hotel landline sliced through the intimacy.

Julian’s brow furrowed. No one was supposed to have this number except the front desk for emergencies. He set the tray down on the edge of the mattress and reached for the receiver, his thumb still tracing the line of Amara’s ankle where the new gold chain shimmered.

"Yes?" he answered, his voice smooth and relaxed, a lingering smile still tugging at the corner of his mouth as he looked at Amara.

As the voice on the other end spoke, the warmth drained from Julian’s face. It wasn’t a slow fade; it was an instantaneous hardening, as if he had turned to stone.

His hand tightened on the receiver until his knuckles turned a sharp, skeletal white. His eyes stayed locked on Amara’s, but the playfulness was gone, replaced by a dark, shimmering intensity that made her breath hitch.

He didn’t speak for a long minute. He just listened, his chest barely moving, his gaze unblinking and predatory. Whatever was being said on the other end of that line was dismantling the peace they had built over the last forty-eight hours.

"Okay," Julian finally said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, razor-thin whisper. "Thank you?"

Another pause. Amara sat up straighter, the silk sheet slipping slightly as she reached out to touch his arm. His skin was cold.

He hung up the phone with a deliberate, haunting click. He didn’t move for a moment, his hand still resting on the cradle.

The sun was still shining, and the hibiscus was still red, but the atmosphere in the room had shifted from a honeymoon dream to something sharp and clinical.

He finally looked at Amara, his expression softening just a fraction, though the shadows remained in his eyes. He reached out, his fingers grazing her cheek with a touch that was suddenly, fiercely possessive.

"Julian?" Amara whispered, her heart beginning to thud against her ribs. "What is it? What happened?"

Julian leaned forward until his forehead rested against hers, his breath hitching. He didn’t look away from Amara, but the fire in his eyes had been extinguished, replaced by a hollow, aching grief for the woman he knew was about to have her world shattered.

"Amara," he whispered, his voice cracking for the first time since she’d known him. He didn’t wait for her to ask again.

He moved onto the bed, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her with a strength that was both protective and desperate.

He buried his face in her neck, his breath hot and ragged. "That was the estate. There’s no easy way... God, Amara, I’m so sorry.

He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, his thumbs wiping away the confusion before the tears even had a chance to form. "It’s your mother. Madam Pedro... she’s gone."

The word dead hung in the air like a physical weight. The tropical sun outside, the scent of the hibiscus, the shimmer of the gold anklet..it all turned gray in an instant.

Amara felt the air leave her lungs. The "forever" they had been building in this suite, the slow mornings and the steamy bathtub promises, felt like they belonged to a different lifetime.

"No," she breathed, her voice small and fragile. "She was fine. We talked before the wedding. She was smiling, Julian. She was..."

Julian didn’t try to explain the how or the why yet. He just held her, his chin resting atop her head as she began to shake. The honeymoon hadn’t just ended; it had been severed.

"We’re going home," Julian murmured, his voice firm and commanding even through his own grief. "I’ve already got the pilot filing a flight plan. We’ll be in Verenza by sunset." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The room that had been a sanctuary of intimacy was now a flurry of grim efficiency. Julian moved through the suite, throwing their clothes into suitcases with none of the care they’d shown the day before.

He stopped only once, picking up the silk evening gown from the floor, the one he’d slid off her with such worshipful, slow-burning intent against the oak door.

He folded it silently, his jaw set tight. The honeymoon was over, and the man who had promised not to hold back was now bracing himself to be the only thing keeping Amara upright as they returned to a house of mourning.