Chased By My Billionaire Ex-husband

Claire’s POV

"Baby, wake up and have some soup," Evander’s low, hoarse voice broke through my light sleep.

I groaned softly, my body feeling heavy and sore. Blinking my eyes open, I muttered, "How did I fall asleep?" I tried to sit up, but a sharp ache shot through me, making me wince in pain. Then, the memories of last night crashed into my mind.

Fuck.

My gaze darted to the wall clock—it was already 7 a.m. The damn beast. He tortured me the whole night after feeding me.

"Let me help you." Evander set the soup aside and gently supported me as I struggled to sit up. I shot him a glare.

"Look what you have done to me!" I huffed as I pouted in frustration. My entire body felt like I had run a marathon— no, fuck that, an endless marathon.

Evander chuckled, his deep eyes gleaming with amusement. "What?" he teased, tilting his head. "You provoked me, remember?"

"That was just a little teasing," I grumbled, sinking back against the pillows.

His smirk widened as he leaned in, his warm breath tickling my ear. "And I just gave you a little punishment."

I shot him another glare, but he only laughed, reaching for the soup. "Come on, baby. You need to regain your strength... for later."

My cheeks burned, and I swatted his arm. "Wh... What are you thinking now!" I said and covered my chest in protest.

"You love it, don’t you!?" Evander asked as he smirked.

I groaned, leaning back against the pillows as I shot Evander another glare. "I can’t believe you did this to me," I huffed. "I can’t even move properly!"

Evander chuckled, completely unbothered, as he picked up the bowl of soup. "I warned you, baby," he said with a smirk, stirring the spoon in the broth. "You kept testing me. What was I supposed to do? Let you off easy."

I pouted, crossing my arms, or almost I did, because even with that little moment made my muscles ache. "A normal person would have had some self-control!"

His smirk dropped slightly as his eyes darkened. "You really think I can have self-control when it comes to you?" His voice was lower now, laced with something dangerous. "You are mine, Claire. Do you understand that?"

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden intensity in his gaze.

Evander scoffed and leaned in, tracing his fingers lightly over my collarbone. "You push me, you tease me, and then you expect me to hold back? Not happening, baby." He tilted my chin up, making sure I met his eyes. "You belong to me. Every inch of you."

Heat rushed to my cheeks. "You sound so unreasonable."

Evander smirked, brushing a featherlight kiss along my jaw. "Damn right, I am." His lips ghosted over my skin, sending shivers down my spine. "And last night, you didn’t seem to mind my lack of self-control."

I gasped, shifting away back from him, weakly. "Stop bringing that up!"

He chuckled, clearly enjoying my embarrassment. "Why? You weren’t complaining when you were screaming my name!"

I grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked him with it. "Evander!"

Instead of dodging, he caught my wrist and pulled me into his arms, his grip possessive. "Keep that up, and I might just take you again right here, right now!" he murmured against my ear.

My breath hitched, my body betraying me as I felt the warmth of his embrace. "I– I am sore, you monster," I grumbled, trying to wriggle away.

Evander only held me tighter with a satisfied smirk on his lips. "Good. That way, you won’t forget who you belong to." He said and finally stepped back as he gently fed me soup.

"You know what I thought when I first saw you back in the country?" Evander said out of the blue, making me look at him with wide eyes.

"Wh... What?" I asked as I genuinely curious. What had been going through his mind when he first saw me? For me, it had been a storm of emotions—hatred, revenge, and a flicker of longing for him that I refused to acknowledge. Though now, I regretted the hatred and revenge. But him? What had he been thinking?

Evander leaned back with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "To be honest, the moment I saw you... I wanted to kidnap you and take you back home and..."

"Wait a minute," I cut him off, raising a hand. "If you have forgotten, let me remind you— you did actually kidnap me and take me home with you!"

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "Ah... I actually did! I mean, after all... I had other heinous plans."

My jaw dropped at his words. "He... Heinous plans? Seriously?" My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "How could you even say that?"

"Why not?" Evander scoffed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I wanted to talk to you and tell you how much I loved you. If you agreed, then fine. Otherwise..." He paused, a sly smirk creeping onto his face. "I would have locked you up in a room and kissed you until you agreed."

I stared at him dumbfoundedly. "And you did that too!" I rolled my eyes, snatching the soup bowl from his hands. "Like hell, Evander! You are talking as if you didn’t do all those things to me!"

He had the audacity to laugh after what he did to me, tears forming in his eyes. "Well, it worked, didn’t it?"

"Worked?" I shot him a glare, my cheeks burning. "You did every possible thing to make me hate you."

"And yet, here you are," he said softly, his tone shifting. His gaze held mine, and for a moment, the air between us became hot once again.

I looked away, grumbling under my breath. That bastard. He always knew how to get under my skin. But despite everything, I couldn’t deny the way my heart raced when he looked at me like that.

Evander reached out, gently taking the soup bowl back from me. "You know," he said, his voice low, "if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing."

I huffed, crossing my arms. "Of course you wouldn’t because you are a beast!"

He grinned, unbothered. "Maybe. But I am your beast."

I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my lips, no matter how much I tried to fight it. Damn him. Damn him for making me feel this way.

"Ahem!" I looked away from him, my face heating up.

Gosh! If I kept staring at him any longer, I might just pounce on him like I did last night—and at this rate, I would be crippled for a month, even for months!

"I... I need to go to work!" I blurted out, attempting to get out of bed. But the moment I moved, a sharp ache shot through my body again, making me wince. Damn it, Evander!

"Wait." Evander reached to the table and picked some pills from the tray, and placed them in my palm.

I frowned as I eyeedit suspiciously. "What is this?"

"Ah... Don’t get the wrong idea!" He immediately raised his hands in defense, his expression oddly nervous. "It’s just a painkiller."

I squinted at him as I tilted my head. "But I didn’t say anything..."

Why was he explaining himself so much? I thought that’s when a memory flashed through my mind.

Back then, after every time we slept together, he would always give me a pill. I had assumed it was to prevent pregnancy... and that was why I was afraid to tell him about my pregnancy. I wanted to break the news about our baby until it was too late for him to demand an abortion, as I desperately wanted a family.

My grip tightened around the pill as an uneasy feeling settled in my chest. "Di... Did you give me these painkillers in the past too?" My voice was quieter and almost hesitant to ask him this question

Evander scratched the back of his head, looking guilty. "Well... yeah."

My heart clenched.

"But listen," he added quickly. "Caspian was the one who gave them to me. I... asked him to recommend one for you... you know, because of how rough I am." He smirked slightly, then softened. "I just didn’t want you to be in pain."

I stared at him, trying to read his expression. Was he telling the truth? Did he care for me so much to this point that he even asked Caspian to recommend a painkiller for me?

Evander reached out and gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Claire, I swear, they are just painkillers. No side effects, no hidden motives. I just..." He exhaled, his fingers lingering against my cheek. "I didn’t want to hurt you!"

My chest tightened at his words.

I wanted to be mad. I wanted to throw the pill at him and tell him I didn’t need his concern. But the way he was looking at me with sincerity in his eyes—made it impossible.

"Take it," he coaxed. "Let me take care of you, baby."

I swallowed hard before finally popping the pill into my mouth and washing it down with a sip of water. "You better make it up to me," I muttered.

Evander’s lips curled into a slow, teasing smirk. "Oh, I will."

I don’t want you to make up to me anymore! I would be the one doing this since I had misunderstood you and made you look like a monster!