Chased By My Billionaire Ex-husband

Claire’s POV

I was already losing my mind after telling Evander that I needed time. Now, trapped in this cramped space with him, our breaths mingling, I could feel the tension in the air, thick enough to cut through. My pulse raced as the closeness between us overwhelmed my senses, and I couldn’t think straight.

But what caught me completely off guard was the way he leaned in and, in that low, husky voice and asked if he could kiss me.

My body froze on the spot. I couldn’t process what to say or how to react. My heart hammered wildly in my chest, torn between screaming yes and running away. Before I could muster any response, his hand slipped against the wall, and his lips—cold, firm, and utterly familiar—fell onto mine.

The kiss was so sudden, so accidental, that it left me completely defenseless. My mind blanked, caught in the moment. His touch reignited feelings I had buried deep down, emotions I swore I had locked away for good. There was a spark, a current that ran through me, like a jolt waking every nerve in my body.

I hadn’t felt anything like this since... since before everything went wrong. Not even when I had been kidnapped, when he almost forced himself on me in his maddening desperation. I still needed answers for that, though. Oh, he wasn’t off the hook for that yet.

As he pulled back slightly, his forehead nearly touched mine. His breath was heavy, and his voice was raw when he spoke. "Claire," he whispered, his gaze piercing, "Can I kiss you again?"

My brain screamed at him, Why are you asking something so embarrassing? My cheeks burned as I wanted to look anywhere but at him. If he wanted to kiss me, why didn’t he just do it? Why was he suddenly being all gentlemanly out of nowhere? It was so unlike him that I almost wanted to laugh.

Instead, I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I stammered out a response, my voice trembling. "I... You don’t need to ask me every time..." I was mid-sentence when my cell phone rang, the sudden sound startling both of us. The tension shattered instantly.

I snapped out of whatever spell I had been under; I pushed Evander away, nearly stumbling as I rushed out of the cramped room. My mind raced. What the hell was I doing? My cheeks burned with embarrassment, and my heart thudded so loudly it echoed in my ears.

Leaning against the wall outside, I fumbled with my bag, my breath still uneven. Pull yourself together, Claire. Stop acting like a lovesick fool.

I finally found my cell phone, took it out, and glanced at the screen. The number looked familiar, but my thoughts were too blurry to think straight and I and couldn’t place it.

"He... Hello?" I stammered, my voice shaky and breathless.

"Madame," a woman’s shaky voice came through. I blinked, trying to steady my breathing and focus. The tone was unmistakably formal, and yet I couldn’t recall who this could be. My brows furrowed as I stared at the screen again, wracking my brain.

Why does this number feel familiar? My fingers tightened around the phone as unease curled in my stomach. Why do I feel there is something off about her tone?

"What happened? Is everything alright?" I asked cautiously, trying to keep my voice steady. I realized it was a call from Evander’s mansion, but what puzzled me was why they were contacting me. And why was she addressing me as "Madame"?

"Madame," the woman on the other end continued, her tone clipped with urgency and before I could correct her, she continued. "Eliam... Baby Eliam, he... he is in trouble."

"What!?" The word tore from my lips before I could stop it. My eyes widened in shock as panic surged through me. My gaze instinctively darted toward Evander, who had just stepped out of the cramped room we had been in moments ago.

"What happened to Eliam?" I demanded, my voice trembling as fear wrapped around my throat. "Is he okay? What do you mean by trouble? What is going on?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, and the silence only made my pulse pound harder in my ears.

"Madame, I... I am Eliam’s nanny talking this side," she finally said, her voice cracking under the weight of her words, "he has been taken. Someone has kidnapped Baby Eliam."

The phone nearly slipped from my grasp as her words echoed in my head. Kidnapped? No. No, this can’t be real.

Evander’s sharp gaze met mine, his expression shifting from confusion to alarm as he picked up on my panic.

"What’s going on, Claire?" He asked, his voice firm and steady in contrast to my shaky breaths.

"They... they have taken him," I whispered, clutching the phone tightly, my mind racing. My knees felt weak as the gravity of the situation began to sink in. "Eliam... he has been kidnapped!"

Evander’s jaw tightened, his entire demeanor changed in an instant. The warmth and softness from moments ago vanished, replaced by the cold, calculating side of him I hadn’t seen in a long time.

"Give me the phone," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I handed the cell phone to Evander as I almost fell to the ground. But Evander wrapped his hand around my waist and held me steady in my arms, not letting me fall.

"Say it!" Evander demanded, but I asked him to put the phone on speaker as I needed to know what was happening.

"M... Master! We... We called you a few times but... but you didn’t reply so... we didn’t have any other way to..." The nanny stammered, to which Evander cut her off.

"Stop this, and tell me who those people were!" Evander asked in a firmer tone as he seemed to be losing his patience as his hold on my waist tightened.

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What do you think... who took Eliam away!?