All Chapters of The CEO's Shattered Vows: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The question came during breakfast on a random Tuesday in March, six months into Isabella's new job. Lily was eating cereal with intense concentration, carefully selecting each piece with her spoon, when she looked up suddenly."Mama, does my daddy know what I look like?"Isabella's coffee cup froze halfway to her lips. These questions had become less frequent over the past year, but they still had the power to knock the air from her lungs."No, baby. He doesn't.""Why not? Don't you have pictures of me?""I do. Lots of pictures. But your daddy and I don't talk to each other anymore, so I haven't sent him any."Lily absorbed this information, her four-year-old brain working through the logic. "Could you send him pictures? So he knows what I look like?"Isabella set down her coffee cup carefully, buying herself time to formulate an answer. "Would you want me to?""I don't know." Lily pushed cereal around in her bowl. "Sophie at school showed me a picture of her daddy yesterday. He look

**ISABELLA**Tuesday morning, Isabella sat in her office staring at her computer screen without seeing it. The email to Damien had been sent thirty-six hours ago. The phone call had happened nineteen hours ago. The meeting was scheduled for four days from now.She was supposed to be reviewing campaign proposals. Instead, she was spiraling through every possible outcome of Saturday's meeting."Isabella?" Maya knocked on her open door. "You okay? You've been staring at that same screen for twenty minutes.""Sorry. Yes. Just thinking through something." Isabella forced herself to focus. "What did you need?""Client approval on the Williams campaign. They want to move forward.""That's great. Let's schedule the kickoff meeting for next week."After Maya left, Isabella checked her phone for the hundredth time that morning. No new messages from Damien. She didn't know if that was good or bad.At lunch, she called Dr. Mitchell."I told him. I sent the letter, he responded, we're meeting Satu

The coffee shop hummed with afternoon activity around them—the hiss of the espresso machine, quiet conversations from other tables, the clink of cups against saucers. But at their corner table, Isabella and Damien existed in a bubble of tension so thick it felt suffocating."Let's start with the basics," Isabella said, pulling out a small notebook she'd brought specifically for this. Her therapist had suggested it—having concrete points to cover would help her stay focused instead of getting lost in emotion. "What do you want from this? What are your expectations?"Damien looked surprised by the direct approach. "I want to know my daughter. I want to be part of her life.""Okay. But what does that mean to you, specifically? Weekend visits? Holidays? Full custody?" Isabella kept her voice level despite the spike of anxiety at that last option."I don't know yet. I just found out she exists four days ago. I haven't had time to think through logistics.""Well, I've had four years to thin

**ISABELLA - Day 1**Sunday morning, Isabella woke to Lily jumping on her bed again, but this time she was ready for it. Sort of."Mama! Can we call Daddy today?"Isabella's eyes shot open. "What? No, baby. We talked about this. We're going to wait a little bit before you meet him.""But you met him yesterday. Why can't I meet him too?""Because..." Isabella sat up, trying to formulate an answer that would satisfy a four-year-old's logic. "Because grown-ups need to talk about important things first. Your daddy and I needed to discuss how to make sure meeting him is good for you.""Is he nice? You didn't tell me if he's nice."Isabella thought about Damien's vulnerability yesterday, his admissions of cowardice, his promise to try. "I think he's trying to be nice. He wants to meet you very much.""Then let's go see him today!""Not today, Lily. I promise, it'll be soon. Now go play while Mama makes breakfast."After Lily reluctantly left, Isabella called Dr. Paula."I told him about Lil

**ISABELLA**The drive home from the park felt surreal. Isabella kept glancing in the rearview mirror at Lily, who'd fallen asleep clutching the bracelet Damien had given her. The silver charms caught the afternoon light, winking with each breath her daughter took.It had gone well. Better than Isabella had dared to hope. Damien had been patient, attentive, genuinely interested in everything Lily said. He'd let her set the pace, hadn't pushed for physical affection, had listened like every word from her mouth was precious.And that hug. God, that spontaneous hug had nearly destroyed Isabella. Watching her daughter wrap her small arms around the man who'd broken Isabella's heart, seeing Damien's face crack with emotion as he held their child for the first time—it was too much and not enough all at once.Isabella pulled into their apartment building's parking lot and sat for a moment, trying to process everything. Her phone buzzed with a text from Damien."Thank you. Thank you for givin