All Chapters of Chasing back my ex-wife: Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

“Mommy! Hurry up!”Sophia’s excited voice echoed through the house for what felt like the tenth time in five minutes.I laughed despite myself while trying to put on my earrings in front of the mirror.“I’m coming!”“No, you’re not!” she yelled back dramatically. “You said that multiple times already!”I shook my head, smiling.Somehow, in less than two weeks, my daughter had gone from barely sleeping through the night to becoming her loud little self again.Not fully though. Because there were still moments when loud noises made her freeze. Moments when she checked twice to make sure doors were locked.Moments when she crawled into my bed at 2 a.m. whispering, “Can I sleep here tonight?”But today felt different.For the first time in a while, she sounded like Sophia again.I walked out of the room and immediately stopped at the top of the stairs.Leo was downstairs trying and failing—to help Sophia tie the laces of her tiny sneakers.“No, Daddy,” Sophia groaned dramatically. “You cr

Kiara’s pov“Am I going to be kidnapped again?”Sophia’s voice came out small.Small enough that it shouldn’t have shattered me the way it did.The living room went completely silent after that.I stared at her from across the room, my heart breaking all over again as she stood there clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly against her chest.She looked terrified.And that hurt more than anything.“Baby…” I rushed toward her immediately.Sophia looked at me with watery eyes.“I heard what uncle Alex said,” she whispered. “The bad people escaped.”I dropped to my knees in front of her and pulled her into my arms before she could see the tears filling my eyes.“No one is taking you anywhere,” I whispered quickly. “Do you hear me? Nobody.”“But they took me before.”My throat closed painfully. Sophia’s tiny fingers curled into my shirt.“I don’t want to go back there,” she whispered shakily.“You won’t,” I said immediately.“I was scared.”“I know, sweetheart.”“There were strange men…”Ever

Kiara’s povI woke up, and for a second, I forgot where I was.Then I lifted my head slightly and saw the soft lights inside the jet cabin, the blanket draped over Sophia’s small body beside me, and Leo sitting across from us with his sleeves rolled up and his eyes fixed on his laptop, working.His looks were more calm than he had been in days. Like leaving Los Angeles had allowed him to breathe too.I looked toward the window. Everything outside was white. Clouds stretched endlessly beneath us while the early morning sun painted the sky gold. It was so beautiful to behold.We were far away from everything that nearly destroyed us.“You slept for almost six hours.”My eyes shifted back to Leo. His voice was low so he wouldn’t wake Sophia.“I did?”“You were exhausted.”I sat up slowly, rubbing my face. Every part of my body still felt heavy. Like my mind still hadn’t caught up to everything that happened.Leo closed the laptop and watched me for a second. “How are you feeling?”I let

Kiara’s POV“I just like feeling normal again.”The words left my mouth before I could stop them. And the second they did, I saw the shift in Leo’s eyes.For a moment, he just looked at me quietly while the noise of the event continued around us. Soft music, clinking glasses, conversations in the background.Then his gaze moved briefly toward where Luke stood across the room speaking to another investor.“You feel normal with him?” Leo asked calmly.I exhaled slowly. “That’s not what I meant.”“Then what did you mean?”I looked down at the champagne glass in my hand before answering honestly.“I mean this.” I gestured lightly around the room. “Talking about business again. Thinking about something other than fear for once. Laughing without feeling guilty after everything that happened.”My voice softened slightly.“I miss feeling like myself.”Something in Leo’s expression tightened briefly before disappearing again.“You think I don’t want that for you?”“I know you do.”“Then why do

Kiara’s POV“You’ve changed your outfit three times already.”I turned sharply toward Sophia who stood at my bedroom door holding her stuffed rabbit dramatically against her chest.“I changed twice.”She narrowed her eyes. “It was three times.”I pointed a warning finger at her.“You’re getting too observant.”“That means yes.”I rolled my eyes and turned back toward the mirror.Okay fine. Maybe I had changed outfits three times. But this wasn’t a date.It genuinely wasn’t.Luke had invited me to meet two investors interested in expanding high-end interior design projects throughout Europe.At least that’s what I kept reminding myself. I adjusted my earrings again.“You look pretty,” Sophia said casually before walking further into the room.My expression softened immediately.“Thank you, baby.”She climbed onto the bed and watched me quietly for a second.“Daddy looked grumpy when you said you were leaving.”I nearly laughed.“Your father always looks grumpy.”“No,” she said thoughtfu