All Chapters of CLAIMED BY THE BILLIONAIRE : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Ava’s POVBy the time we reached home, Damien had fallen asleep in the car. I carried him inside, dropped my keys on the table and tried to slow my heartbeat. The entire evening at Liam’s house played in my mind like a film I was not ready to watch again.Isa stepped out of the hallway just as I adjusted Damien on my shoulder. She had her apron in her hand, clearly back from the restaurant. Her brows lifted immediately.“You are back late.”I forced a smile. “We were at… Liam’s.”Her eyes widened slightly. “You went to his house.”I placed Damien gently on the couch and covered him with a blanket. Isa waited until I turned around, studying my face the way only mothers can.“What happened there?” she asked quietly.“Nothing. Dinner. The kids played.”“You look shaken.”I inhaled slowly. “I am fine.”Isa did not believe that for even one second. She turned toward the small kitchen, motioning for me to follow her. I did, mostly because I did not want her waking Damien.She leaned against

Liam’s POVThe moment Ava didn’t answer my message, irritation pulsed at the base of my skull.I rarely repeated myself.People usually responded the first time I spoke. But she wasn’t just anyone.I called once. She declined.A sharp twist hit right beneath my ribs. I called again. This time she picked up.Her voice was low, breathless, careful.“Liam… I’m working.”“I can hear that,” I replied, tone calm but edged with something far from gentle. “But I told you we weren’t done talking about yesterday.”Silence filtered through the speaker.Crowd noise. Her uneven breathing.“Not now,” she whispered.“Ava.”I didn’t raise my voice, but it tightened. “You can avoid many things. You will not avoid me.”“I’m at my mother’s restaurant,” she said quietly. “I can’t—”“Then tell me when.”No softness. No way out.“Maybe Monday,” she whispered.“Good.”I leaned back in my chair, jaw tight.“And Ava…”“…yes?”My voice dropped.“Do not run from me again. And don't ignore my calls on purpose.”

Liam’s POVThe moment Ava stepped out of the boardroom, the temperature in the room shifted. Directors began gathering their papers, whispering about corrected figures and wasted time. One by one they filed out until only two people remained inside.Sebastian Cross and me.He stood near the projection screen, unhurried, adjusting the cuffs of his suit like he had all the time in the world.I closed the door behind the last director and faced him fully.“You had no reason to call her in,” I said, voice cold.He looked up with a calm expression that irritated me instantly. “I had every reason. She was the only one who understood the error your analysts overlooked.”I stepped closer. “You involved her to provoke me.”Sebastian’s eyes glinted with interest. “I involved her because she is competent. Sharp. Rare.” He paused, studying my face too closely. “I could pay triple to hire her. People like her are not easy to find.”A dark pulse of anger moved through me. “You will not approach her

Liam’s POVMorning arrived too quickly, harsh sunlight pushing through the curtains as if it had permission. I stared at the brightness for a long second before forcing myself out of bed. My mind had done the same thing it did every morning this week. Run straight to her.Ava.Her silence. Her refusal to look at me.The way she walked around me at the restaurant as if I held no weight at all.It was infuriating. And worse than that, unsettling.Diana’s footsteps padded lightly toward my room before she peeked in. “Dad, breakfast is ready.”I turned from the mirror. “I will be down in a moment.”She grinned and skipped away, humming. At least one of us was in a good mood.I put on my shirt and tie, every movement sharper than necessary. Margaret’s voice drifted from the dining room as soon as I stepped in. Diana ate cereal happily. Margaret poured tea and glanced at me with her usual mixture of politeness and pointed intention.“You remember you have a dinner with Genevieve this Sunda

Liam’s POVThe house was unusually quiet for a Sunday morning.Quiet enough that I finally heard myself think which was a damn mistake, because every thought circled back to Ava ignoring my message. Ignoring me. As if she could erase what happened at the restaurant by pretending it never existed.I pushed away from the document I had been staring at for fifteen minutes without processing a single line. My study smelled faintly of cedar and leather, the fireplace crackling softly beside the bookshelves.I had just leaned back when I heard the lightest knock.A knock too soft to belong to any adult.“Daddy?”Diana’s tiny voice seeped through the door.“Come in,” I called.The door creaked open and she peeked her head inside, her hair tied in a crooked ponytail—her attempt, probably. She clutched a folded piece of paper against her chest.She tiptoed inside like she was entering a secret cave. “I draw something.”“You drew something,” I corrected gently, softening.“I drawed it,” she ins