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Chapter Forty-Four: A Wedding Without a Bride
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2026-07-27 14:25:15
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After Midnight With Him Chapter Sixty-Four: The Public Pressure
Damien’s POVThe first alert hit my phone at 6:42 a.m.Society page. Bold headline.Blackwood-Voss Engagement Confirmed — Sources Close to the CoupleI sat up in bed, already scrolling. The article was short and venomous. Anonymous sources. A blurred photo from the gala where Isabella had forced the arm link. Claims of a private agreement, a wedding timeline, and “mutual excitement” about uniting two family empires. My name sat beside hers in every other sentence.By 7:15 the story had been picked up by three more outlets. By 8:00 my assistant was fielding calls and the board group chat had exploded.I dressed fast, skipped coffee, and drove straight to the office. Cameras were already outside the building. Two reporters shouted questions as I crossed the sidewalk. I kept walking.Inside, Marcus Hale waited in my office with a printed stack of the morning coverage.“She leaked it,” he said. “Or her people did. Timing is deliberate—right after we filed the challenge.”I dropped my keys
After Midnight With Him Chapter Sixty-Three: Eleanor’s Warning
Sophia’s POVI was at the kitchen sink rinsing cereal bowls when Eleanor came in from the front porch, phone still in her hand.She set it face-down on the counter and leaned against the edge, watching me.“He called again this morning,” she said. “Then he drove by. Parked across the street for a few minutes. I saw the car.”I kept the water running. Scrubbed a spoon that was already clean. “I don’t want to see him.”“I told him that.” Eleanor crossed her arms. “He asked for five minutes. In person or on the phone. I said I’d pass the message. That was all.”I shut off the faucet, dried my hands on a dish towel, and turned. “Message received. The answer is still no.”Eleanor held my gaze for a second longer than comfortable, then nodded once. “Okay. I’ll keep telling him the same thing if he calls again.”She left the kitchen. I heard her footsteps on the stairs, then the soft close of her bedroom door. The twins were at school. The house felt too quiet.I finished the dishes, wiped t
After Midnight With Him Chapter Sixty-Two: Board Ultimatum
Damien’s POVThe boardroom doors closed with a heavy click at 9:00 a.m. sharp.Twelve faces sat around the long table. Laptops open. Folders aligned. Gerald Lang, the chair, did not waste time on greetings. He slid a single-page memo down the polished surface toward me.“Seventy-two hours,” he said. “That is the board’s decision.”I remained standing at the head of the table. “Clarify.”Gerald steepled his fingers. “Resolve the Voss engagement issue within seventy-two hours or the board will move to protect shareholder value. That includes exploring interim leadership and possible share dilution to cover the projected penalty exposure. We will not absorb a forty-percent hit because of personal reluctance.”A murmur of agreement moved around the table. One member tapped a pen against a legal pad. Another stared at the memo as if the numbers might change.I picked up the page. The language was clean and final. Deadline. Consequences. No room for further debate taking the agreement to co
After Midnight With Him Chapter Sixty-One: Space and Silence
Sophia’s POVThe days settled into a quiet rhythm that felt both protective and hollow.I woke each morning before the twins, sat on the edge of the guest bed, and waited for the mild wave of nausea to pass. It came like clockwork now—low, persistent, manageable if I moved slowly. I sipped water from the glass on the nightstand, took three careful breaths, and stood only when the room stopped tilting. Then I showered, dressed in soft clothes, and went downstairs before anyone else stirred.Eleanor’s kitchen stayed dim in the early light. I started the coffee for her, set out two bowls for the boys, and ate a piece of dry toast standing at the counter. The toast helped. Most mornings it stayed down.When the twins thundered downstairs, I became the buffer. I poured cereal, wiped spills, found missing shoes, and listened to overlapping stories about dinosaurs and school. Eleanor moved around us with quiet efficiency, packing lunches and checking backpacks. She watched me sometimes—when
After Midnight With Him Chapter Sixty: Isabella’s Move
Damien’s POVThe charity gala was already in full swing when I arrived.Crystal lights. Black-tie crowd. Cameras clustered near the entrance of the hotel ballroom. I stepped out of the car alone, adjusted my cuff links, and walked the short red carpet with my head down. Flashes still popped. I ignored them and kept moving.Inside, the ballroom hummed with conversation and the low thrum of a string quartet. I headed straight for the bar, ordered a whiskey neat, and turned—only to find Isabella already there.She wore black this time. Floor-length. Diamonds at her throat. She closed the distance before I could step away and slid her hand through the crook of my arm like it belonged there.“Smile,” she said under her breath. “Three photographers just turned this way.”I kept my face neutral. “Take your hand off me.”She didn’t. Instead she angled us toward the nearest cluster of cameras and raised her champagne glass in a practiced toast. Flashes fired. Someone called my name. Isabella l
After Midnight With Him Chapter Fifty-Nine: The First Crack
Sophia’s POVThe grocery store smelled like floor wax and ripe bananas.I pushed the cart with one hand and held the list Eleanor had scribbled in the other. Milk. Bread. The twins’ favorite cereal. Apples. I moved through the aisles on autopilot, dropping items in without lingering.Near the magazine rack at the front, a small digital screen mounted above the checkout lane played a silent news loop. I almost walked past it.Then Damien’s face filled the screen.Not alone.Isabella Voss stood beside him in a still photo—red dress, hand resting lightly on his arm, both of them caught mid-step outside a glass building. The headline crawled underneath in white text:Blackwood Heir and Voss Heiress — Engagement Rumors Heat UpMy fingers tightened on the cart handle. The image switched to a short clip of Isabella speaking to a reporter, smiling, while Damien stood half a step behind her, jaw tight.The nausea hit without warning.Hot. Sharp. Rising fast.I abandoned the cart between two ch
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