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THE DEFENSE

Autor: Lizzy Aik
last update Data de publicação: 2026-01-03 19:03:29

I woke up Friday morning and for about three seconds, everything was fine.

Then I remembered dinner. The forks. Catherine Sterling's smile. My mother agreeing with everything. The bathroom.

Damon defending me.

I pulled the pillow over my face and groaned.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I grabbed it without looking.

Jessica: Coffee? Need to debrief the dinner from hell.

Right. I'd texted her last night after everyone left. Something incoherent about wanting to die and how could one dinner be
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  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE DOOR CLOSES AGAIN

    EVE'S POV The silence in our apartment pressed down on me like a living thing, heavy and suffocating, wrapping itself around my chest until every breath felt labored. I stood motionless in the hallway just outside the guest room door, my palm resting flat against the cool wood as though I could somehow push my love and my fear through it to reach the man who was breaking apart on the other side. My heart throbbed with a deep, relentless ache that radiated outward, settling low in my belly where our baby continued to move with restless, unsettled kicks, as if the little one could sense the fracture splitting open between us. Damon’s earlier sobs had quieted into occasional ragged breaths that still reached me through the door, each one cutting into my soul like shards of glass. I had knocked gently several times throughout the long hours, offering water, offering food, offering nothing more than the comfort of my presence and my unwavering love, but every time his broken, ho

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    DEVASTATION

    DAMON'S POV The memories came without mercy, like a storm that had been building for weeks and finally broke open above my head. I had only stepped into the kitchen to get a glass of water, my mind lightly turning over what we might cook for dinner together, when the first sharp image slammed into me with such force that the glass slipped from my fingers and shattered across the tiles. I barely registered the sound. My knees gave way, and I slid down the cabinet until I was sitting on the cold floor, surrounded by glittering shards and spilled water, my hands pressed desperately against my temples as if I could somehow hold the flood back. But I couldn’t. It all rushed in at once...vivid, merciless, and soaked in shame so deep it felt like it might drown me. I saw myself in that hospital room, the sterile smell of antiseptic still clinging to the memory. I was there beside Sophia's bed, tears streaming down her face as she recounted how Eve had supposedly pushed her down the st

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    LINES IN THE SAND

    EVE'S POV I couldn't sit still while Damon was out. I kept moving around the living room, one hand resting on my belly like I could hold everything together that way. The baby had been restless all afternoon... kicking, turning and I couldn't tell anymore if I was feeding off her energy or she was feeding off mine. Sophia's visit a few days ago still hadn't left me. The way she'd walked in and made herself comfortable on our couch, pouring her version of our history into Damon's fractured memory like it was the truth. Now he was out there alone, and every minute without a message from him felt like a held breath I couldn't release. When his text finally came, it was short and simple, saying he'd run into Sophia and told her to stay away. The relief that hit me was immediately followed by something else. Something tight and careful. I unlocked the door and stood in the hallway waiting. The elevator dinged. He stepped out looking pale, his shoulders carrying something invisible

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    SOPHIA AGAIN

    DAMON'S POV The apartment had started feeling too small after four full days at home. Eve and I had spent long hours talking through the painful pieces, but my head kept spinning with fragments that wouldn’t settle. The restlessness was getting to me. I needed fresh air. “I’m going for a short walk,” I told Eve that afternoon. She was resting on the couch, one hand gently on her belly. Eve looked up, concern clear in her eyes. “Damon… are you sure? Sophia came here just a few days ago. She walked in and sat right on that couch, feeding you her version of everything while you couldn’t remember properly. I don’t like the idea of you out there alone.” “I know what she did,” I said quietly. “I’ll be careful. Just around the block and maybe sit by the fountain for ten or fifteen minutes. Phone is on, and location shared. I promise I’ll turn back if anything feels off.” She watched me for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Okay. But text me when you’re on your way back. Please.” I kissed

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE REAL FOOTAGE

    DAMON T I couldn’t shake it. Even after the hospital warning and Eve begging me to wait, that security footage kept calling my name like a bad itch I had to scratch. The next afternoon, while Eve was taking a nap on the couch, I texted Marcus again. Bring the laptop, I need to see it today. He showed up twenty minutes later looking nervous as hell. “Doc’s gonna kill us if this triggers another episode, man.” “I’ll be fine,” I lied. “Eve’s resting, let’s do this quick before she wakes up.” We set the laptop on the kitchen island. Marcus typed in the password for the secure file and hit play. The black-and-white footage loaded, timestamp from that exact day. At first I didn’t understand what I was seeing. Sophia was standing at the top of the stairs… talking to Eve. Not me, Eve was there, one hand on the railing, looking tense but calm. I wasn’t even in the frame yet. Where the hell was I? “What the fuck…” I whispered. Sophia was gesturing wildly, her face all twisted up like s

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE MORNING AFTER

    DAMON'S POV I woke up slow, like my brain was swimming through thick mud. The first thing that hit me was the smell that sharp hospital mix of antiseptic, old coffee, and plastic sheets. Machines beeped steady beside my head. My skull felt like it had its own heartbeat, pounding right behind my eyes. For a second I didn’t know where I was or why everything hurt so damn much. Then it all came rushing back in ugly little flashes: the bedroom floor, my hands gripping my head, Eve’s scared voice, the ambulance sirens screaming through the city. “Eve?” I rasped, my throat dry as sandpaper. I turned my head and there she was. She was slumped in the stiff chair next to the bed, still wearing the same clothes from last night. Her hair was messy, pulled back in a loose ponytail, and dark circles sat under her eyes. One hand rested on her round belly, the other loosely holding mine even while she dozed. My chest tightened. She looked completely wiped out, but she hadn’t left me, not for a

  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    ANNOUNCEMENT, REALLY??

    I looked at Damon. "Your mother wants to announce Sophia's pregnancy at your board dinner.""She mentioned it might come up naturally in conversation...""There is nothing natural about announcing your son's potential illegitimate child at a business dinner while his wife sits there smiling.""It's

    last updateÚltima atualização : 2026-03-30
  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    CATHERINE'S JOY

    Catherine Sterling didn't call ahead.She never did when she wanted to make a point, and showing up unannounced at ten on a Thursday morning was definitely about making a point.I heard her voice in the hallway before I heard the knock. That particular tone she used when she was speaking to buildin

    last updateÚltima atualização : 2026-03-28
  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE MORNING SICKNESS

    I noticed the pattern during the week.Sophia's morning sickness only happened when Damon was home.Not during the long afternoons when it was just the two of us in the apartment. Not when Jessica came over and we sat in the kitchen talking for hours. Not on the mornings Damon had early meetings an

    last updateÚltima atualização : 2026-03-27
  • I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE    THE JADE PENDANT

    It went missing on a Friday.Damon noticed before I even knew what it was.He'd gone to his study after dinner, something routine. I was in the bedroom reading when I heard him go in.Then I heard nothing for a long time.Then he appeared in the doorway looking like someone had rearranged the world

    last updateÚltima atualização : 2026-03-27
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