LOGINChapter 51:The Envelope
The penthouse felt smaller than ever, the city lights below mocking us with their indifferent sparkle. I sat on the edge of the oversized leather sofa in the living room, the sealed white envelope from the private lab resting in my lap like a loaded gun. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Eight weeks pregnant, and this single piece of paper held the power to either solidify our future or shatter it completely.Damien stood a few feet away, leaning**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 14: Old EnemyI hadn’t been back to my apartment in days.Damien had insisted I stay at the penthouse after Elena’s call, and honestly, I hadn’t fought him. The thought of returning to my small, lonely space after everything that had happened felt wrong. But I needed clo
Chapter 12: The Ex-WifeThe silence after Damien hung up on Elena felt heavier than it should have.I was still lying on top of him, our bodies pressed together, his release slowly leaking down my thighs. My heart was racing for an entirely different reason now. The venom i
Chapter 11: Two LinesMy hands wouldn’t stop shaking.I stood in the luxurious marble bathroom of Damien’s penthouse, staring at the unopened pregnancy test box like it was a loaded gun. The ache between my thighs from last night was a constant, filthy reminder of ever
Chapter 10: Crossing the LineThe silence after Damien hung up on Alex was deafening.My body was still trembling from the orgasm he’d forced out of me while his son listened on the other end of the line. Shame burned through me like wildfire, but it was mixed with something darker — something addi







