***Claire's POV***
The door creaked open, and Susan walked in, her arms laden with designer bags. But the moment her eyes landed on me, wrapped in Evander's arms, her expression froze. The bags slipped from her hands, hitting the floor with a thud.
I stared at her as the disbelief and anger bubbled within me. How could she still be part of Evander's life? The questions burned on the tip of my tongue—I wanted to scream at him, to slap him, to demand why he announced me as his wife to the world when this woman still had a place by his side.
"Susan," Evander's voice echoed through the tension, cold and sharp as ice. His gaze turned into a piercing glare.
My heart clenched as I watched him. Was this the truth I'd been blind to all along? Was I nothing more than a puppet in their twisted love game, while Susan remained the one who truly mattered to him? The thought made me sick, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the scene before me.
"I… I just…" Susan stammered, her voice trembling as her eyes darted between Evander and me. "I heard you were here, so I came to see you."
"Who gave you permission to come here?" Evander's voice was icy, full of chill, making the air around us feel even colder.
Susan flinched at his voice, her confidence started to crumble. But it wasn't her pitiful expression that caught my attention—it was how Evander spoke to her. His harshness felt like an act that I had seen him use too many times.
"Hah!" I scoffed as I was unable to contain my frustration any longer. The sound of my disdainful laughter filled the room, drawing both their gazes to me. "Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Kensington?"
Evander's head turned toward my direction, his eyes narrowing as he tried to understand the meaning of my words. I could see the confusion in his gaze, but it only fueled my anger further. Did he really think I was blind to the reality that had been in front of me all this time?
I stepped out of his embrace. "All this time, I thought you were just cold, just distant. But now I see it was more than that. You have been playing a game, Evander. A cruel and twisted game where I am nothing but a pawn in your hands." My voice wavered with the mix of hurt and fury bubbling up inside me, but I kept my gaze locked on his.
Evander's confusion deepened, but I didn't give him a chance to speak. "Do you think I don't see what's going on? You have kept Susan close, haven't you? She is not just some acquaintance and colleague; she is more than that, and —you never let her go. And yet you dared to claim me as your wife, to let the world believe in a lie while you kept her by your side!"
I could see the conflict in his eyes, the way he struggled to find the right words, but I didn't need to hear them. His silence was more than enough!
Susan shifted uncomfortably, her gaze flicking to Evander as if she expected him to defend her. But all he did was stand there, his jaw clenched, as if he were finally seeing the situation for what it was—or perhaps he had finally realized that he had finally been exposed in front of me!
"You have been so busy keeping up with the lies, Evander," I continued, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "But you forgot one thing— I am no longer just a pawn in your life. I am not here to play that role again while you live out some fantasy; I have had enough already. I deserve better than this, and I will find my peace, and after three long years, I managed to do it! So, do not try to force yourself into my life once again!"
For a moment, the room was silent, the weight of my words hanging in the air. Evander's eyes bore into mine as if he were trying to process what I had just said.
"Are you out of your mind?" Evander finally opened his mouth as his voice was laced with disbelief. His eyes widened as if he had been wronged by me, and he was desperately trying to prove his innocence to me. But I wasn't the same Claire anymore—the one who would blindly accept his words and let him go as if it were nothing.
"Yes! I am out of my mind!" I shot back, my voice rising with the anger that had been simmering inside me for far too long. "How could I not be? On one hand, you shamelessly claim that I am your wife, showing me around like a trophy while dragging me back to this hellish mansion I have been trying to escape from for years. And on the other hand, your so-called lover is still lurking around you, haunting the very place I once called home!"
Evander flinched at my words, his expression turned from defensive to darker as if he hadn't expected me to strike back with such force. But I wasn't done.
"Do you think I didn't notice, Evander? The way she still has access to your life, to this house—which was once our home? How could you bring me here, force me into this twisted life, while she is still hovering in the background, like a ghost that refuses to leave?" My voice cracked slightly, betraying the pain beneath my fury, but I still stood tall.
"I gave you everything, Evander," I continued, my tone softened a little. "I sacrificed my dreams, my happiness, for a life that was never truly mine. And what did I get in return? Lies, deceit, and a reminder that I was never enough for you."
Evander's face contorted as I tried to see what he was feeling, but then again, his feelings didn't matter to me, not after everything he had made me go through.
"I am done, Evander," I said as my voice was firm and final. "You can keep your mansion, your lies, and your lover. I won't be a part of this charade any longer. You might have thought you could control me, keep me under your thumb, but you were wrong. I am walking away, and this time, nothing you say or do will stop me."
The room fell into a heavy silence. Evander was in disbelief as he opened his mouth to say something when a small figure entered the room with a nanny accompanying him.
"Mom, Dad!" The guy called out as my eyes grew bigger in shock!