LOGINEVE'S POV The backlash from Sophia’s fake story didn’t die down overnight like I hoped. By morning, two of my potential partners had emailed polite excuses about “reassessing timing.” One funder who’d seemed excited suddenly went radio silent. My little Brooklyn pilot was still moving, but the momentum felt shaky now, like everything was one bad headline away from falling apart. I was at the office staring at my laptop, trying to put out fires, when another email hit. The main contractor I’d lined up for the pilot site was pulling out. Said the negative press made it “too risky” for his crew. Just like that, the whole timeline I’d been building was screwed. “Shit,” I muttered, dropping my head into my hands. Lily was with the nanny, Damon was in back-to-back meetings, and here I was watching my independent thing start to crumble because of Sophia’s lies. I felt stupid for letting it get to me, but it stung. This was supposed to be mine. My phone buzzed. Alex. Alex: Hey Eve, saw
EVE'S POV I was in the middle of updating a rendering on my laptop at the office when my phone started blowing up. At first I ignored it... probably more emails about the project or another message from Alex that I’d have to handle carefully after the whole gifts thing. But then it kept going. Notifications from news apps, texts from a couple of people I barely knew, and finally a call from Damon. My stomach dropped before I even answered. “Hey, what’s up?” “Have you seen it yet?” His voice was tight, pissed off in that quiet way that meant trouble. “Seen what?” “Check the news. Sophia pulled some shit again.” I switched over to a browser tab and typed his name, the headline hit me like a slap. Damon Sterling Secretly Back in Touch with Ex-Mistress Sophia While Wife Eve Cares for Newborn The article was everywhere already ...some trashy tabloid site that had picked it up fast, then shared across social media. It claimed Sophia had “exclusive proof” of recent messages and call
EVE'S POV I stepped into my little rented office and flipped on the lights, breathing in that fresh paint smell. It was nothing special... one decent-sized room with good natural light and walls I could pin my sketches to but it was all mine. No corporate assistants, no Sterling branding, just a quiet place to get real work done on the community project. Lily was back at the penthouse with the nanny for a few hours, and I needed the focus. I’d only been there twenty minutes when the front desk guy knocked. “Two boxes just came for you, Mrs. Sterling. Personal delivery.” I signed for them, expecting more samples. Instead, I opened the first one and froze. A beautiful leather portfolio case, soft and expensive-looking, with my initials embossed on it. The second box held a brand-new, high-end tablet loaded with all the pro design software I’d been wishing for. A small card rested on top. For the brilliant mind turning ideas into something real, you deserve the right tools. Looki
EVE'S POV The penthouse was finally quiet, Lily had gone down after what felt like the longest bedtime routine ever...two extra feeds, three rounds of rocking, and Damon doing that silly airplane thing with her until she finally passed out with her tiny fist curled around his shirt. I stood in the nursery doorway watching them for a minute, my heart doing that full, achy thing it did more and more these days. Damon eased her into the crib like she was made of glass, then backed out slowly, closing the door with a soft click. He caught me watching and gave me that tired half-smile. “She’s out,” he whispered, pulling me into his chest right there in the hallway. His arms wrapped around me tight, chin resting on my head. “Long day for all of us.” I breathed him in...cologne mixed with baby lotion and that warm Damon smell that always made everything feel safer. “The project emails are blowing up. Alex’s proposal looks cleaner than I thought after the lawyers looked at it, but I’m no
EVE'S POV The emails wouldn’t stop coming. I sat at the dining table with my second cup of coffee gone cold, scrolling through my inbox while Lily dozed in her swing nearby. Three more inquiries in the last hour alone. One from a community board in Queens wanting to talk about adapting my design for their neighborhood center. Another from a small foundation that loved the family-focused angles. Even a reporter from a local design magazine asking for an interview. “Holy shit,” I muttered, grinning like an idiot. My little Brooklyn pilot was actually picking up steam. After Sophia’s troll comments tried to bury it, real people were seeing the renders and the write-up. Traction. Real traction. It felt surreal. Damon walked in from the bedroom, still buttoning his shirt. He looked over my shoulder and let out a low whistle. “Damn, babe. That’s what I’m talking about.” I tilted the screen toward him. “This one says they want to partner on a second location if the pilot works, I’m not
EVE'S POV The penthouse felt extra quiet that afternoon. Lily was finally down for a decent nap after another round of reflux fussing, and I was curled up on the couch with my laptop, answering a couple emails about the Brooklyn pilot. The networking event had shaken loose a few real leads, and I was trying to ride that momentum before Sophia’s online trolls or Alex’s constant check-ins messed with my head. Damon was home early for once, sitting at the kitchen island flipping through some reports but mostly staring at his phone. He’d been like that since the Hudson Loft thing...quiet, and watchful. I knew part of it was Alex, and the other part was Sophia still playing her games from the shadows. The doorman buzzed up. “Mrs. Sterling? Catherine Sterling is here. She says she called ahead?” I looked at Damon. He let out a long breath and nodded. “Send her up.” Catherine swept in a few minutes later, all designer coat and careful smile. She’d been trying this dance for weeks—texts
The two weeks flew by faster than Eve expected.Jessica took her dress shopping even though the dress was already made. Said they needed the experience, the tradition of it. They tried on ridiculous gowns they'd never buy and drank champagne and laughed until Eve's sides hurt."This is what it shou
Three days of texts from Sophia. Three days of her playing the scared pregnant woman who just wanted to talk, who just wanted Damon to acknowledge what was happening.Finally Damon cracked."We need to confront her," he said. "Get this out in the open, demand the paternity test and end this.""She'
Day three and I was getting used to thiswaking up slow, no alarms, no rushing, just existing Damon was already awake, I could hear him outside on the deckI found him with coffee, looking at the ocean, not his phone, not his laptop, just the ocean“Morning,” I said“Morning.” He handed me a cup. “
We drove back to the city Sunday afternoonNeither of us wanted to leave but we couldn’t hide forever. The week had been good, better than good, we’d talked and laughed and had sex on every surface in that house and figured out we actually liked each other outside of all the chaosBut now the chaos







