Sleeping With The CEO-Chapter 278: Safe Place

Derek made his way out of Emily’s apartment building, not really seeing or hearing anything. He was barely even aware of the ground beneath his feet as he walked. There was a near constant buzzing in his head, like somehow he was continuing to function, while a beehive had made a home for itself inside his cranium. Everything hurt and nothing made sense. They had been doing good. In fact, they had been doing better than good. Derek had been so sure of himself and where he saw the relationship between him and Emily going, that he had been ready to bare his heart.

To tell her that he loved her. How had he gone from that? To a man barely able to tell where he was. It did not make sense. It did not make any sense at all.

The logical side of him dictated that he investigate. Find out why, how, and when, Emily had suddenly just changed her mind about everything. Going from wanting to be around him all the time, the two of them cuddling, kissing, and just about doing anything in their power to make sure that they were together whenever they could be. To not wanting anything at all to do with him.

Those were the things that Derek’s logical mind wanted him to do. But that side of him was nothing more than a voice dying in the background. Derek was hurting, and he was hurting a lot.

It was not a physical ache but an emotional one. And his heart was demanding he feel it.

Pushing the emotions at him with such force, that it was drowning out everything else. Who had time to think logically when it felt like your whole world was falling apart? Who had time to ask when, why, how? When it felt like their heart was being torn right out of their chest, and being stomped on.

Whoever that person was, it was most definitely not Derek.

His heart was breaking and that was all that mattered. The reason why was simple.

Emily did not want him.

Why she did not want him? The world would figure it out for itself. Derek was too busy nursing his wounds to care about that.

He did not remember making it to his car. But he must have at some point because he blinked, and realized that he was in it and probably had been for a while. He had the engine on, and even his seatbelt was safely secured. But Derek had no idea how that had come to be.

Shaking his head, he took one last look at Emily’s building. Staring upwards with the hope that maybe, even if it would be impossible given the height. He would look up, and see her looking down at him. But all that he saw when he raised his head was nothing more than just windows and balconies.

No Emily in sight.

Taking one deep shuddering breath, Derek took off. It would do him no favors to keep hanging around. He might have been heartbroken, but he was not stupid. The way that Emily’s mother had looked at him when he had been trying to see her daughter. He would not put it past her to call the police on him. Stalking did not look good, no matter who was doing it. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

As Derek drove further and further away, he could not help but notice all of the bars that he passed along the way. Having to grip the steering wheel tight and do his best to focus on the road ahead. The temptation to stop and go in, getting stronger, the further away from Emily’s apartment he got. Derek was not one for alcohol, especially when he was having trouble. He was one of those people who believed that problems were best approached with a sober mind. When you got drunk just because you were having issues, you were not actually solving anything.

At the end of the day, your problems would still be there waiting for you. The only difference would be that you would have to deal with them while also having to deal with a massive hangover. It was a waste of energy and Derek had never understood people who associated drinking with solving problems.

But now...

With his heart torn into a million pieces, he was beginning to see the allure of alcohol. And that scared him. He had faced many battles in his life, but not once had he thought of getting wasted as an answer. The fact that his problems with Emily were affecting him to the point that he was even thinking of doing something so out of character, was terrifying for him.

Derek was a strong man, as he had been raised to be. But even he knew that if he went to the penthouse and tried to be on his own at that moment, there was no way he would be able to resist the temptation to drink and he was scared that the moment he took that first sip. It would be game over for him. There would be no getting out of it. That was how badly he just wanted to numb his pain. So instead of heading to his penthouse, Derek aimed the car in a different direction.

Leaving the city all together.

He was a grown man, long past the age of running to his mother to hide behind her dress whenever things got too difficult for him. But feeling as down as he did. She was the only person in the world that Derek could think of.

His mother was comfort, she was safety...

Security.

All of the things that he’d had with Emily, things that he’d thought he could make more permanent. But clearly that would not be happening. And so he sought refuge in the one place that he knew he would always be safe. He had not announced that he would be coming. So he was fortunate to find his mother there.

In fact, she met him at the garage. Something that Derek found odd. But it was easy to brush aside. Especially when she just took one look at him. And instead of their normal polite greetings, she drew him into a hug.

"Oh, Derek, are you all right? You look a bit pale. Are you coming down with something?"

She asked her palm over his forehead, and Derek gave her a sad smile, shaking his head slightly.

"No mother, I am all right. I just need a place to regroup for a bit. I have an issue that I’m dealing with,"

"Oh, an issue?" His mother said, not quite meeting his eyes.

"Is it anything that I can help with?" Again Derek shook his head.

"No, this is something personal. I just needed to get out of the city to clear my head a bit," He told her.

She stepped back.

"The manor is a good place to recuperate. Forgive my prying, but a little birdie at the company told me that your personal assistant quit," Derek took a startled breath, pain lancing right through his chest and making him stagger. He barely managed to keep standing, his hand falling on the roof of his car and he held on for dear life.

His mother stopped talking, seeming shaken herself.

Again, she would not meet his eyes.

"You already know about that," Derek managed to rasp, failing to sound normal. Luckily, his mother did not seem to notice the weakness in his voice. She just nodded.

"I hope you do not feel that I am overstepping, but I have already found a replacement, somebody suitable. After all the trouble you went through last time, I think this one will be a good fit. Her name is Madeleine." His mother said.

A replacement so soon. It did not sit right with Derek, but what choice did he have.

Madeline, Mandy, Jessica, whoever they were, it would not matter. They would not be Emily.

"Just do whatever you want, Mother. A PA is a PA. I do not care," With that, he walked past her and deeper into the manor, feeling as though he were a thousand years old.

He did not notice the regretful look that briefly flashed in his mother’s eyes.

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