Chased By My Billionaire Ex-husband
Chapter 163: The House Was Empty!

Chapter 163: The House Was Empty!

Damian’s POV

Claire rolled her eyes at my words but couldn’t hide a small laugh as she put on her mask and prepared to leave.

As the door shut behind her and my assistant, I let out a long sigh of relief. "Finally, maybe some peace."

Caspian’s voice crackled back to life on the phone. "You are delusional if you think this is the end. Evander’s wrath is like a slow storm. It builds by time."

"Caspian," I growled, grabbing my phone. "If you don’t hang up in the next five seconds, I am gonna call your dead boyfriend for sure."

Click.

Finally, silence.

Caspian had hung up the call, but what I had not expected was that he would not only ignore my calls but wouldn’t even meet me for a long time even if I begged him to.

Claire’s POV

I was growing restless as the articles circulated like wildfire everywhere. I hadn’t even signed with an agency yet, so there was no PR team to handle the mess for me, and all I could do was sit back and hope the chaos would die down on its own.

But I couldn’t just let things go like this. I couldn’t let Evander feel the same way I had for years in the past— abandoned, cheated, betrayed, and left to deal with a storm on my own.

When I called Evander, he barely reacted to this incident. His reaction made me extremly worried, and when he eventually stopped answering altogether, it made my heart sink, making it impossible to focus on anything else.

I couldn’t let this feeling clawed at me as I rushed to the director’s office, as I wanted to have a leave. "I need some time off," I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the desperation bubbling inside me.

The director leaned back in his chair, looking at me with an unimpressed expression. "You can’t leave," he replied firmly. "You have got too many scenes to film, and we are already behind schedule."

I clenched my fists, frustration simmering under my skin. "Please, I will make it up after I come back. I will work double shifts if I have to. Just give me a day off."

He sighed, tapping his pen against the desk. "Fine," he said after a long pause. "If Damian shoots his scenes instead of you, I will shuffle the schedule and give you tomorrow off."

I froze for a moment. Damian? Of all people, it had to be him? If I were to ask his help, the rumors would be proven true. But I didn’t care! As long as I was able to make things clear with Evander.

"Deal," I said quickly without hesitation. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. If Damian’s cooperation was the price of this leave, I would do that.

Now, all I had to do was convince Damian to actually show up and work. And as expected, he whined about it for a while, but eventually, he agreed to help. I was so relieved to secure my day off that I forgot to mention one tiny detail— that he had be working on my behalf.

By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was already on my way to the airport. Either way, I was glad to leave, as I was eager to sort things out with Evander. But, of course, life had other plans.

Another scandal broke out in the meantime. My phone buzzed nonstop with notifications, but I ignored them all. There was nothing important for me more than Evander himself.

The flight was not long, and in two hours I was in the capital city. Damian’s assistant instantly arranged a car for me, and we drove toward the Kensington mansion.

"Miss Reed, we are here," Damian’s assistant said, pulling the car to a stop in front of the grand gates of Kensington mansion.

All through the ride, I had been thinking about the right words to say to Evander. But nothing sounded right. Every plan I came up with felt flimsy and sounded like an excuse.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car; my palms were sweaty in nervousness. "Thank you," I murmured to the assistant before walking toward the entrance, my heels clicking against the floor.

The closer I got to the entrance, the more I felt nervous. How could I explain myself to Evander? Would he even believe me? The thought of his cold, piercing gaze made my stomach churn.

As I reached the front door, I hesitated for a moment, my hand hovering over the doorbell. You have to do this, I told myself. Running away won’t fix anything, and I won’t let Evander feel the same thing as I did.

I inhaled deeply and rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to open the door. But no one came.

Thankfully, the door was password protected, and I remembered the code. I punched the code and, with a soft click, the door opened. But as soon as I stepped inside, darkness engulfed me.

"What the...?" I muttered, startled as I fumbled to pull out my phone and switch on the flashlight.

The house seemed empty.

Where was everyone? Eliam, the house staff— wasn’t someone supposed to be here?

Zaniel had told Damian that Evander was home, hadn’t he? My heart thudded louder as I looked around.

I took a shaky breath and decided to turn on the lights, but they didn’t seem to work.

"What’s wrong? Why can’t I turn on the lights?" I muttered as I made my way toward Evander’s room since I couldn’t find him anywhere.

Maybe he’s in his room, I thought.

The moment I reached his room and pushed the door open slightly, the sharp, acrid smell of cigarette smoke hit me, making me pause.

The air was thick with smoke, so much so that I felt it in my throat, forcing me to cough as I stepped back slightly. I tried to look around but the suffocating cloud made it nearly impossible to see clearly.

"Evander?"