LOGINChapter 33:Shadows at the Edges
The city never truly slept. From Damien’s penthouse, the lights twinkled like distant stars, beautiful but cold. I lay curled against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat while my own mind refused to quiet. Last night’s intimacy still lingered on my skin—his fingerprints on my hips, the faint ache between my thighs—but the peace never lasted long.Every time I closed my eyes, fragments of the pool party resurfaced. The co**Chapter 75: Second Shadow**The press conference played on every screen in the penthouse.I stood frozen in the living room in one of Damien’s oversized button-down shirts, my hand cradling the heavy swell of my thirty-two-week belly, while Selena Drake’s face filled the television. She looked radiant—flawless makeup, soft lighting, one hand resting meaningfully over her still-flat stomach.“I never wanted it to come to this,” she said, voice trembling with practiced vulnerability. “But Damien Voss deserves to know he’s going to be a father again. I’m eight weeks pregnant. And despite what the tabloids say about his engagement to that girl… I believe our child deserves a chance at a real family.”The headline ticker screamed: **DAMIEN VOSS BABY MAMA WAR EXPLODES — TWO PREGNANCIES, ONE EMPIRE.**My stomach twisted violently. Our son kicked hard, as if protesting the chaos his father had dragged us into again.Damien stood behind
**Chapter 74: Past Sins**The silence in the penthouse was heavier than the city skyline pressing against the windows. I sat on the edge of our bed in my silk robe, the emerald gala gown discarded in a heap on the floor like a shed skin. My hands rested protectively over my thirty-one-week belly, feeling the steady kicks of our son, while Damien stood across from me, still in his tuxedo pants and unbuttoned dress shirt.“Tell me about her.” My voice came out quieter than I intended, but the demand was clear. “No more half-truths, Damien. No more ‘it was a long time ago.’ I want everything. Tonight.”He watched me for a long moment, dark eyes unreadable. Then he exhaled slowly and loosened his tie completely, tossing it aside.“Selena wasn’t just a submissive,” he said finally, voice low. “She was my partner in more ways than one. Business first. She helped broker the Asian expansion three years ago. Sharp. Ruthless. Unafraid of my darkness.” He pa
**Chapter 73: The Ghost**The gala was a glittering cage of crystal chandeliers and whispered power plays. Voss Enterprises’ annual charity ball filled the grand ballroom of the city’s most exclusive hotel, every corner dripping with old money and sharper ambitions. I stood beside Damien in a custom emerald-green maternity gown that flowed elegantly over my thirty-one-week belly, the diamond on my finger catching every light. I should have felt untouchable. Instead, I felt like prey.“You’re breathtaking tonight,” Damien murmured, his large hand resting possessively on my lower back. His thumb stroked slow circles over the silk, right above the curve of my ass. “Every man here wishes he could touch what’s mine.”I leaned into him, drawing strength from his solid presence. After the dirty money confrontation and the intense makeup sex that followed, we’d existed in a fragile truce. He’d been attentive, almost tender. But the shadow of Selena
**Chapter 72: Dirty Money**I waited until morning.The penthouse was bathed in soft gray light when Damien stepped out of the shower, towel slung low around his hips, water still glistening on his sculpted chest. He looked every inch the powerful man who owned half this city. My future husband. The father of my child.And a liar.I stood in the middle of the bedroom in my silk robe, his phone clutched in my hand like a weapon. My belly felt heavier than ever at thirty weeks—our son pressing down as if he, too, was tired of the secrets.Damien’s sharp eyes flicked to the phone, then to my face. He stilled.“Isla.”“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” My voice shook but didn’t break. “To Selena Drake. One week ago. Right around the time that video conveniently surfaced.”He didn’t flinch. Instead, he walked toward me slowly, deliberately, the way one approaches a cornered animal. “Give me the phone, little
**Chapter 71: Shattered Trust**The video played on loop in my mind even when I closed my eyes.A sleek hotel suite. Damien’s broad shoulders unmistakable in a tailored black shirt. A beautiful woman with long auburn hair laughing as she leaned into him, hand resting possessively on his chest. Then the bombshell—her tearful interview claiming she was carrying Damien Voss’s child too. The timestamp on the footage was from two weeks ago, right after I’d said yes to his proposal.*“He told me I was special,”* the woman had sobbed to the camera. *“Just like he’s telling her.”*I sat curled up on the chaise in the penthouse living room, knees drawn up as much as my thirty-week belly would allow. The diamond on my finger felt heavier than ever. Damien had spent the last three days trying to extinguish the firestorm. Victor had issued statements. PR teams spun damage control. Damien swore it was Marcus Hale’s latest move—a deepfake mixed with a paid actr
**Chapter 70: The Video**The ring on my finger felt like both a promise and a chain.I hadn’t slept. After the beautiful proposal on the terrace, after Damien had made love to me under the stars and whispered that I was going to be his wife, the video had shattered everything. I lay curled on my side in our bed at twenty-eight weeks pregnant, one hand resting on the gentle swell of my belly, the other clutching my phone like it was poisoned.Damien slept beside me, one arm draped possessively over my waist, his breath warm against my neck. Even in sleep he held me like I might disappear. The man who had just knelt and begged me to marry him looked peaceful. Almost human.I opened the video again, volume on low.The woman was stunning — auburn hair, sharp cheekbones, the kind of confidence that came from knowing exactly what she was worth. She laughed at something Damien said, leaning into him, her hand resting on his chest with familiar
Chapter 59:Old PatternsNatalie’s words refused to leave me.They followed me back to the penthouse that night, echoed through my shower, and settled heavy in my chest as I lay beside Damien while he slept. His arm was draped possessively over my growing bump, his breathing deep and steady. He look
Chapter 58:The AssistantJealousy was a new poison in my veins.I couldn’t stop thinking about her — Natalie. The way she leaned over Damien’s desk, her hand lingering on his forearm, that polished, confident smile. She was everything I wasn’t right now: sleek, put-together, not carrying visible pr
Chapter 57:Cold ShoulderThe silence was worse than any argument.Three days had passed since our fight, and Damien had become a ghost in his own penthouse. He left before I woke up and returned long after I’d gone to bed. When he was home, he was polite. Distant. He checke
Chapter 55:Public ScandalThe storm hit like a tsunami.By morning, the news had exploded across every major outlet. “Voss Family Heirloom: Billionaire’s Pregnant Mistress Carries His Grandchild?” The headlines were vicious, sensational, and relentless. Photos from the hosp







