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EMOTIONALLY STUNTED

Author: Lizzy Aik
last update Last Updated: 2025-12-18 17:11:11

We reached the back of the ceremony space. Out of sight of most guests.

Damon dropped my hand like it had burned him.

"Smile for the photographs," he said without looking at me. His voice was ice. "Pretend you're happy. Make this look real."

Then he walked away.

Just walked away and left me standing there.

"Congratulations!" A woman I didn't know air-kissed me. "What a beautiful ceremony!"

"Thank you," I said automatically.

"You look lovely!" Another stranger. "Though I could have sworn the bride was supposed to be blonde?"

"Thank you."

"Where's Sophia?" One of her friends cornered me, eyes sharp with gossip-hunger. "What happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," I lied. "She...she had to back out. Family emergency."

"And you just stepped in? That's so weird..."

"Excuse me," I said, pushing past her.

I needed air. Needed space. Needed to not be HERE.

But there was nowhere to go. Guests everywhere. Photographers snapping pictures. People wanting to congratulate the happy couple.

Happy coup
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  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    I CAN DO THIS

    Two hours later, the doorman called up."Mrs. Sterling? You have a visitor. A Miss Jessica Martin?""Send her up," I said gratefully.Jessica burst through the door thirty seconds later like a hurricane in designer jeans and a leather jacket."Holy SHIT," she said, looking around the penthouse. "This place is insane. This is where you live now?""Apparently."She grabbed me in a fierce hug. "Are you okay? Really okay?""I'm surviving.""That's not the same thing.""It's the best I can do right now."She pulled back and looked at me closely. "You look terrible.""Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to hear.""I'm serious. You have circles under your eyes, you're too pale, and you look like you've been crying.""I haven't cried.""Maybe you should. Might help."She dragged me to the massive white couch and made me sit while she inspected the penthouse like she was casing it for a heist."Where's the asshole?" she asked."Gym. Then office. Won't be back until late.""On a Sunday? The da

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    BACK TO PRESENT

    I woke up to sunlight stabbing through the floor-to-ceiling windows like it had a personal vendetta against me.For one blissful second, I didn't remember.Then it all came crashing back.The wedding. The ceremony. Damon's cold eyes and colder words. The ring on my finger that weighed a thousand pounds.The fact that I was married.Mrs. Damon Sterling.I groaned and pulled the pillow over my face.My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I grabbed it blindly.Jessica: BITCH. CALL ME. NOW.Jessica: I saw the photos online. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HAPPENED???Jessica: Where's Sophia??? Why were YOU walking down the aisle???Jessica: If you don't call me in the next hour I'm showing up at your placeRight. Jessica. My best friend who'd been on her way to the wedding yesterday and then... I'd never texted her back. Never told her what happened.I checked the time. 7:23 AM. Sunday morning.The morning after my wedding night that I'd spent alone, still wearing my wedding ring, in a guest bedroom whi

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    EMOTIONALLY STUNTED

    We reached the back of the ceremony space. Out of sight of most guests.Damon dropped my hand like it had burned him."Smile for the photographs," he said without looking at me. His voice was ice. "Pretend you're happy. Make this look real."Then he walked away.Just walked away and left me standing there."Congratulations!" A woman I didn't know air-kissed me. "What a beautiful ceremony!""Thank you," I said automatically."You look lovely!" Another stranger. "Though I could have sworn the bride was supposed to be blonde?""Thank you.""Where's Sophia?" One of her friends cornered me, eyes sharp with gossip-hunger. "What happened? Is she okay?""She's fine," I lied. "She...she had to back out. Family emergency.""And you just stepped in? That's so weird...""Excuse me," I said, pushing past her.I needed air. Needed space. Needed to not be HERE.But there was nowhere to go. Guests everywhere. Photographers snapping pictures. People wanting to congratulate the happy couple.Happy coup

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE CEREMONY FROM HELL

    I stood at the back of the ceremony space and tried to remember how to breathe.Five hundred faces. Five hundred strangers and not-quite-strangers waiting to watch a wedding that shouldn't be happening. The string quartet was playing something romantic that made me want to scream.White roses everywhere. Crystal chandeliers. Perfect rows of chairs filled with Manhattan's elite wearing their designer clothes and fake smiles.Everything was beautiful.Everything was wrong."Smile," my father hissed in my ear. His grip on my arm was bruising. "You look like you're going to a funeral.""I feel like I'm going to a funeral," I muttered back."Eve...""Just get this over with."The music changed. The bridal march.Every head turned toward me.I watched it happen in slow motion, the confusion rippling through the crowd like a wave."Is that Sophia?""Wait, she looks different...""Isn't the bride supposed to be blonde?""Which sister is that?"They weren't even trying to whisper. I heard ever

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    BEAUTIFUL TERRIBLE FATE

    I had to tell my parents. Had to tell them now.I ran out of the room, still clutching the note, my heart hammering against my ribs. Found them in a private sitting room greeting early arrivals, donors, business partners, people who mattered."Mom. Dad." My voice was too loud. Too panicked. "I need to talk to you. Now."My father looked annoyed at the interruption. "Eve, we're in the middle of...""NOW."Something in my voice made them both stop. Made them excuse themselves and follow me to an empty room."What is this about?" Mom demanded. "Where's Sophia? She should be getting into her dress..."I held out the note with a shaking hand.My mother snatched it. Read it. The color drained from her face.She handed it to my father without a word.I watched him read it. Watched his expression go from confusion to shock to something like horror."No." His voice was hollow. "No, this can't be happening.""She's gone," I whispered. "She left. She's on a plane to Italy right now."My mother's

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    TWELVE HOURS EARLIER

    I woke up to my phone exploding with messages.6:47 AM. Saturday morning. The day of Sophia's wedding.I grabbed my phone, squinting at the screen in the early light filtering through my Brooklyn apartment windows.Jessica: Morning! Ready to watch your sister become a billionaire's wife? 😏Jessica: Also I'm bringing a flask to this thing. You're welcome.Jessica: Just kidding love, I might not be able to come.Mom: Eve, please be at the estate by 9 AM sharp. Don't be late.Sophia: WHERE ARE MY SHOES??? The Louboutins. Red soles. Box should be in my closet. FIND THEM.No "good morning." No "how are you." Just demands.Classic Sophia.I rolled out of bed, my body already tense with the knowledge of what today would bring. Hours of watching my beautiful, perfect sister marry Damon Sterling. Hours of smiling while people who barely knew I existed celebrated the union of the year.Hours of being invisible.I showered quickly, pulled my hair into a simple twist, did minimal makeup. The bri

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