Chased By My Billionaire Ex-husband

Chapter 202: Face Your Inner Demon

Evander’s POV

I walked into my room, and the door shut behind me with a click. Sliding onto the edge of the bed, a deep sense of emptiness filled me. I stared blankly at the floor, completely lost on how to process everything I had just discovered.

I didn’t know. I genuinely had no idea that my brothers had suffered so much just to keep me alive. While they were going through hell in secret, I was wasting away the chance they had given me, ruining my life in self-loathing.

For years, I carried the guilt of Elijah’s death, believing he died trying to protect me. But knowing the actual truth was a completely different kind of pain. He didn’t just die to save me, but he gave up his entire life, his love, his future, and the chance to raise his kids, all so I could survive.

Was I even worth that kind of sacrifice? If not for me, he would still be here.

My chest ached so intensely it felt like my heart was being torn.

I wanted to scream, to smash everything in sight, and hunt down everyone who had ever hurt him. The people I loved most had sacrificed everything just to keep me safe. But did I even want to be saved? Wouldn’t it have been better if I had died instead of him?

"Evan..."

Claire’s soft voice broke through my spiraling thoughts as she entered the room.

She walked to me and sat down beside me on the bed, her hand gently wrapping around mine to keep me steady.

"Don’t feel so pressured, just let it out," she whispered, her voice full of warmth that kept me from completely falling apart. "You don’t have to carry all this pain alone."

I looked at her, my vision blurring. I had been so wrapped up in my own misery that I hadn’t realized how much the people around me were hurting.

Caspian had hidden his true self and his love for Elijah for years, terrified that Damian and I would turn away from him. And Damian was carrying his own heavy burden, constantly feeling like a disappointment who couldn’t help when it mattered most.

We were all suffering in silence, keeping secrets to protect one another, only to end up breaking ourselves in the process.

I leaned into Claire’s embrace, squeezing her hand. Her touch calmed me down a lot.

I couldn’t change what happened to Elijah. But I couldn’t let his sacrifice, or Caspian’s pain, be for nothing.

I needed time to clear my head. But once I calmed down, I knew I would have to face Caspian and hear the rest of what he had to say. If they had gone through so much to give me a chance at life, I had to find a way to keep moving forward.

"Evan," Claire’s voice finally broke the silence. "If you are finally okay, why not go and talk to Caspian? He still seemed to have a lot to say."

"I..." My lips trembled, but nothing came out of my mouth.

I looked down at my hands, feeling completely torn. Some part of me knew she was right, but another part of me was just too terrified to face him. How could I look at Caspian right now? How could I look at any of them, knowing how much they had lost because of me?

"I understand what you are afraid of, but at least let Cass know that you have nothing against him," she pronounced, caressing my back.

"How do you know?" I pulled out of the embrace, looking at her with a heavy heart. "What if I really, really resented him for hiding everything from me?"

I didn’t want to feel that way, but the anger and confusion were consuming me. He was my best friend, my family. How did he keep something so huge from me for so long?

Silence stretched across the room until Claire spoke up.

"I know you are not that kind of person. After all, you have also done all you could just to keep your loved one safe, and Caspian had done just the same." Claire took my hand in hers, squeezing it gently to ground me. "Do not punish yourself, Evan. Face your demons rather than letting them take over you."

Her words healed something in me.

Facing my demon was something I was always scared of. But these past few months, I’ve been trying a lot to improve myself.

I stared at our hands, her warmth slowly seeping into my cold skin. She was right.

I knew what it felt like to carry a burden alone just to protect the people you cared about. Caspian wasn’t trying to hurt me; he was just terrified of losing the only family he had left.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I stood up from the bed. My legs still felt a bit weak, but the heavy fog in my mind was finally starting to clear.

I couldn’t hide in this room forever while everyone else out there was waiting for my final verdict.

"Okay," I whispered, looking back at Claire. "I’ll go talk to him."

She gave me a small, encouraging smile, nodding softly.

I walked over to the door and opened it, stepping out into the quiet hallway alongside my anchor, my wife.

When we reached the living room, everything felt completely still.

"Evan," Damian came forward as Caspian sat dejected on the sofa, waiting for me to judge him. "Why are you out so soon? Let’s talk later when you have calmed down."

"I’m alright," I walked past Damian and went straight to Caspian.

Caspian didn’t look up. He kept his eyes on the floor, his shoulders hunched like he was waiting for me to hit him or yell at him. He looked broken. Seeing him like this made my anger disappear, leaving only sadness behind.

I stopped right in front of him.

"Cas," I said softly.

Caspian flinched and slowly raised his head.