Chased By My Billionaire Ex-husband

Evander’s POV

I really wanted to throw Susan out of the room, along with everyone else present in the hall. All of them felt like unnecessary obstacles in a moment that should have been about Claire and me. But I held myself back. I decided to let Claire handle it instead. Watching her in action, standing her ground with that sharp wit and calm demeanor, was mesmerizing.

I watched her closely as her gaze briefly shifted to me. Her expression was still unreadable, but I thought I saw a flicker of something. Was it amusement? Or maybe just satisfaction at seeing Susan getting embarrassed by her own words? Either way, it was a rare glimpse of emotion, and it only made me admire her more.

Susan, however, wasn’t ready to back down so easily. She took a step back and tried to compose herself, and then stammered, "I... I don’t know what you are talking about," she said in a weak and low tone, which I had never imagined from her.

"Oh," Claire replied as her tone was light and indifferent. "Then I must have misunderstood. My apologies."

Her words were simple but brutal, leaving no room for further argument. But it seemed Susan wasn’t ready to admit defeat.

She stepped forward. It seemed her confidence was slowly returning, and she reached out to grab my hand. The moment her fingers brushed against mine, I swiftly pulled away.

"Kindly, do not touch me," I said firmly, my voice cold and unyielding.

Susan froze, her hand hanging awkwardly in the air as I turned to glance at Zaniel, who was watching the scene unfold with a confused expression.

"How many times do I need to tell you?" I said, My patience was already wearing thin. "I don’t need this kind of drama in my life! My wife is already angry, and you are out here making it worse with these ridiculous public stunts!"

The room grew silent. Claire’s head tilted slightly, her expression finally shifted... closer to surprise.

Susan’s face turned pale as I continued, my tone unwavering. "Yes, I said that someone was important to me. But that was directed toward my wife, not you. Susan was nothing more than my ex-secretary during Zaniel’s absence, and after that, we had no relationship whatsoever. I don’t know where these stupid rumors came from, but they need to stop."

I shot a sharp glare at Zaniel, who looked taken aback, clearly unsure of what to say. "Zaniel, I trusted you to handle things in my absence, but this—this mess—is unacceptable."

That year, just before I got married, Zaniel had been assigned to oversee a major project in Africa as a form of punishment from my mother. He had done an exceptional job there, which I respected, but he had no idea what had truly been going on in my life.

Back then, Zaniel only knew that I was hurt because Claire had left. He never understood the depth of my feelings for her or how much I had hurt her in return.

And now, even with Claire standing right here, I was sure Zaniel still didn’t know that she was my wife.

I glanced back at Claire, who remained composed, her eyes now fixed on me. Her calm demeanor only made me more anxious, wondering what she was thinking. Did she see through my words? Did she understand that everything I had just said?

Susan opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her off with a glare so sharp it silenced her immediately.

"Enough," I said. "This is not the time or place for your games, Susan. Leave. Now."

Her lips quivered, but she didn’t argue. She glanced at Claire, perhaps hoping for some kind of support, but Claire didn’t respond to her. Finally, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the hall. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

For a moment, the room went quiet, but the tension between Claire and me didn’t fade. It lingered like a heavy cloud, making it hard to breathe.

Zaniel broke the silence. "Boss! Are you saying... you are still in love with your wife? Is that why you keep rejecting Susan?" He asked, looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

I glared at him for saying something ridiculous. "Still in love?" I repeated, my teeth clenched. "There was never a moment I wasn’t in love with her! I made a mistake, and she left me because of it. But I am going to fix it. I will make things right, and she will come back to me. I will make sure of it."

Zaniel blinked, startled by the sharpness in my voice. He seemed unsure whether to say more but stayed quiet this time.

"Do you really think it’s that simple?" Claire asked as her voice was low but steady. "Do you think you can just decide to fix things, and everything will go back to normal?"

Her words hit me hard, but I wasn’t in the mood to give up. "No," I said firmly. "I know it’s not simple. I know I can’t undo what happened. But I am not giving up on us, Claire."

""Whatever!" she muttered, but I heard her loud and clear. Without another glance, she turned to Damian and said her goodbyes to him, and walked away, leaving him staring at me with wide eyes.

"Damn it, man!" He cursed under his breath, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out of the audition hall. Once we were outside, he rounded on me, his face flushed with anger and confusion.

"What the hell was that all about!? What were you trying to do with Claire? And what was that nonsense about not giving up on her?" His questions came one after another, his voice sharp and demanding. This time, though, I wasn’t going to hold back or hide the truth.

As I took a steady breath, I looked him straight in the eyes. "Claire...she is my wife," I declared firmly, my voice holding a warmth that I couldn’t mask.

Damian’s face twisted in shock. "What did you just say!?"