When She Ended It With Divorce (Chiara and Titus) novel Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Chiara glanced at him and said, “We don’t need to hold him while he sleeps anymore.” With that, she walked over to tuck Ryan in, then added in a low voice, “You can leave now.”

But Titus had no intention of leaving. He glanced around the room and sat down on the couch. Chiara caught his movement out of the corner of her eye, paused, and then turned to look at him. “Is there something else?”

she asked.

“Nothing. I just wanted to see you,” Titus replied.

Chiara’s brows knitted slightly as she stared at him in silence, her quiet gaze clearly telling him to leave. But Titus didn’t care at all. His eyes stayed locked on her, his gaze never wavering.

Chiara hated the way he stared at her; every bit of it made her uncomfortable. “It’s getting late. If you don’t have anything else, I’m going to bed,” she said.

But Titus stayed put, his gaze intense and unwavering. Chiara’s chest tightened; she had a bad feeling about this. “What exactly are you staring at?” Chiara demanded.

Titus said quietly, “I told you; I’m looking at you.”

Chiara’s face turned even colder. She didn’t want him around, not one bit. “Are you done? Can you go now?”

“What if I said I haven’t had enough? Would you really let me keep staring at you?” Titus asked.

Chiara felt helpless anger bubbling up inside her. She’d thought they could at least keep up the pretense of peace. But it was clear he didn’t see it that way. She had a feeling he was about to cross a line.

He was trying to upset the balance between them. While they were still at a standoff, the door suddenly knocked.

Chiara’s eyes flashed as she turned. Debby’s voice came through, sharp and warning. “You, get out here!” Debby barked.

Chiara finally let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Titus with a blank expression. He just raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Great timing.”

Chiara stared at him, not sure what he was getting at. “Looks like the whole Goodman family has become your knights in shining armor,” Titus teased.

After saying that, he rose slowly, his gaze settling on Ryan’s adorable sleeping face, his eyes as deep as the ocean. Anyone would want to witness this heartwarming moment every single day.

Chiara followed his gaze to Ryan, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness and unease. She softly touched Ryan’s tiny hand.

Titus caught her movement, his eyes narrowing slightly. Just then, Adele’s voice rang out from the hallway. “Titus, what are you doing? Ryan’s already asleep. Come out and let them get some rest,” Adele called out.

”

Chiara wasn’t really worried Titus would do anything to her. This was Goodman Manor, after all. If there were

only two places where she ever felt truly safe, one was the Lynch residence, and the other was right here, Goodman Manor.

So Chiara just met his eyes, cold and silent, not saying a word. Titus smirked, and before turning to leave, he asked, “If you hadn’t seen me with someone else, would you have come back?”

But when Chiara heard that, a sudden wave of panic welled up in her chest, especially seeing how calm he looked, his eyes dark and bottomless. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Take a guess,” Titus said.

Chiara’s face changed slightly, especially when she caught that faint, teasing smile on his lips. But Titus was already heading for the door.

Just as the ladies outside were about to come in, Titus swung the door open and walked out. He was met with two suspicious stares, but just flashed a faint, almost careless smile.

“What’s got you so worried?” he asked, sounding amused.

Debby squinted at him after exchanging a look with Adele. Titus casually undid a button on his shirt and drawled, “You guys are really overthinking things.”

Adele shot him a doubtful look. “So what exactly were you doing in there for so long?”

“We just talked for a bit,” Titus replied. He gave a lazy smile. “Relax. Even if I wanted to do something, I wouldn’t do it with the kid right there. So what are you so worried about?” With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the two women to exchange glances.

“Chiara, are you alright?” Adele asked, concern in her voice.

Chiara got out of bed and walked to the door. Titus was already gone from the hallway, so she just shook her head. “I’m fine. We just talked for a bit. Grandma, Mom, you should get some rest too,” she said.

Adele nodded, peeking into the room. “What does my grandson like to eat? I’ll have the kitchen make it for him first thing tomorrow.”

“He’s not a picky eater,” Chiara replied.

“That’s good. Kids who aren’t picky are easy to feed,” Adele said.

Chiara nodded, and Debby said, “Go on, go keep my great-grandson company.”

“Goodnight, Grandma, Mom,” Chiara said.

“Goodnight,” they replied.

Chiara quietly closed the door and got back into bed, but for once, sleep just wouldn’t come. There was an experienced doctor who helped nurse her back to health after she gave birth.

Chiara stared up at the crystal chandelier overhead, and she had a pretty good idea why she couldn’t sleep. It was because this was Goodman Manor. Even with everyone else here, the fact that Titus was here too made it

impossible for her to relax.

That was why she just couldn’t fall asleep. She just lay there wide awake until it was way past midnight, then finally got up, flicked on the bedside lamp, and checked her phone to see what time it was.

It was already one in the morning. She glanced back at Ryan, who was curled up and fast asleep, then tiptoed out of bed. She left the door cracked open, just in case Ryan woke up and got scared if he didn’t see her.

She made her way down to the kitchen, found a glass, and filled it with water. After finishing her water, Chiara rinsed the glass and hung it back in its spot. But as soon as she turned around, she nearly jumped out of her skin; Titus was standing right there in the kitchen doorway.

Chiara flinched, her nerves shot from the sudden scare. Titus frowned. “Did I startle you?”

Her heart was still pounding. She gave him a deadpan stare. “What do you think?” Chiara said, her voice flat.

Titus went quiet, while Chiara tried to steady her breathing, telling herself to calm down. She bit back the urge to snap, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ she cursed inwardly.

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