บททั้งหมดของ Rejected, I Mated With Ex's Father: บทที่ 111 - บทที่ 120

CLAIRE'S POV:I was already buckled in, staring out the window of the plane like it held all the answers I needed. The sky was a dull gray, blanketed with clouds that matched the heaviness in my chest.Leaving New York felt like shedding a skin—but a skin I wasn’t ready to lose. My stomach was twisted in knots, not from turbulence, but from the confusion of how to deal with my chaotic life.“Moon Goddess,” I said silently. “Why is my life different? Why is it that nothing I do is ever enough? Why is it that there's no one out there to ever love me?”Sigh.I was deep in thought but I noticed a tall, tan, handsome, annoyingly confident young man slid into the seat beside me like he owned the cabin. I barely turned my head. He smelled like expensive cologne and everything classy. I made sure to keep my headphones in as a universal sign of "not interested.""Hey, hope you’re not one of those passengers who hog the armrest," he said with a smirk, tapping the shared rest between us.I didn’

CLAIRE'S POV:The soft knock startled me.I’d just curled up on the edge of the bed, my fingers still twirling the remote control aimlessly, trying to decide if I should take a nap or go down for dinner. I stayed still for a moment, listening.Maybe I imagined it.Then I heard it again—a quiet tap, followed by a soft scrrrrch sound. I turned my head in time to see a folded piece of paper slip underneath the door.I rose slowly, cautious.A hundred possibilities rushed through my mind, most of them unpleasant. I padded across the marble floor, picked it up, and unfolded the note. In neat, confident handwriting were the words:Hey Claire,It's my birthday tonight, and I'm throwing a little something at the rooftop lounge around 9. You should come—just to prove you’re not as cold-hearted as you pretend to be.—BradI sighed and shook my head, a small, involuntary smile tugging at the corner of my lips. The nerve of this guy. I let the paper drop onto the nightstand and stood there for a

THEO'S POV:I couldn’t think straight from the moment Bob told me he saw Claire at the airport heading to Saint Lucia.Why Saint Lucia? Was she running away from me?The words rang in my ears like a curse and for days I couldn’t think straight. I stood by the glass wall of my office, gripping a cup of coffee.“This is all your fault,” I muttered to myself, staring out at the horizon but seeing only Claire’s face.I could still see her eyes when she caught me with Daisy.I could see her feeling heartbroken. And betrayed.God, what had I done?I let her walk out. I didn’t even chase her. And for what? For Daisy? For a mistake I should’ve never let happen?I ran my hand through my hair and turned away from the view, my jaw clenching as I looked at the pile of documents on my desk, waiting to be signed.I couldn't focus enough to even sign the documents.I wanted her back. I needed her back. And nothing else mattered.Daisy walked into my office, dressed provocatively. She walked in witho

THEO'S POV:As I lowered my lips and kissed Claire's forehead, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Claire had agreed to come back to New York with me. That single decision, spoken in her soft voice and determined eyes, had yanked me out of the pit I’d been sinking in.I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You have no idea how relieved I am,” I murmured, ignoring my buzzing phone. “I was terrified I’d lost you for good.”She smiled faintly. “Well… you almost did.”The sharp chime of the ringing cut through the room like a slap. I didn’t need to check the caller ID—I already knew who it was.I took out the phone from my pocket, glanced at the screen and grimaced. “Daisy.”Claire tilted her head, watching me. “You’re not going to answer it?”“No,” I said firmly, tossing the phone face down on the nightstand. “She doesn’t deserve my time.”Claire’s gaze didn’t waver. “Theo…”“What?”“If you’re really serious about what you said earlier to me, you know, about making things work—then you

CLAIRE'S POV:The flight from Hewanorra airport, Saint Lucia, to New York took about five hours and a few minutes. By the time we arrived at Theo's mansion, my stomach growled continuously.I stood in Theo’s massive walk-in closet, my fingers working the zipper down the back of my sky-blue dress. The fabric slid down my body like water, pooling at my feet. I stepped out of it and draped it gently across the velvet bench at the foot of his bed.Despite the flaming sun outside, which filtered through tall glass windows that overlooked his private gardens, the room was cool and cozy. I could still feel the press of Theo’s lips on mine from earlier, the way he’d kissed me with every ounce of promise he could offer.Now, wrapped in one of his crisp white shirts, I padded barefoot down the marble stairs. I needed something warm and familiar—something that reminded me of the part of myself I never wanted to lose.The scent of citrus and pine hung in the air, and faint traces of Theo’s cologn