Semua Bab I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE : Bab 121 - Bab 130

I started packing on Wednesday morning. eighteen weeks pregnant now, the bump impossible to hide in anything fitted. I'd bought new clothes. Loose tunics and flowing dresses that skimmed over my stomach without revealing its shape. In two weeks, I'd be gone. Visa approved. Job confirmed. Apartment secured in Notting Hill. Everything arranged. Everything ready. I just had to survive two more weeks in New York without anyone figuring out what I was hiding. Jessica came over to help me sort through things. "You're really doing this," she said, looking at the half-packed boxes scattered around my small apartment. "I'm really doing this." "I'm going to miss you so much." "I'll miss you too. But Jess, I can't stay here. Every corner of this city reminds me of him. Of them. Of everything I lost." "I know." She helped me wrap dishes in newspaper, pack books into boxes, sort through clothes I'd keep versus donate. We worked in comfortable silence for a while. The

DAMON'S POV I couldn't sleep, Sophia's words kept echoing in my head. When I threw myself down a flight of stairs and lost everything I thought I wanted. Threw myself. She didn't say fell, she didn't say pushed, she said threw myself. It had to be a slip of the tongue. A mistake in phrasing. People misspoke all the time. But something about the way she'd said it, the way she'd rushed out of the room immediately after, the way her face had gone pale when the words left her mouth. It felt significant, like a crack in a carefully maintained facade. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling until two AM. Then I got up. Grabbed my phone from the nightstand, went to my study and closed the door. I sat down at my desk in the darkness and opened the security app and found the footage from that Sunday. The footage I'd been avoiding for weeks. The footage Marcus had begged me to watch. The footage Sophia had suddenly encouraged me to watch tonight. My finger hovered over the play butto

EVE'S POV Four days left. Four days until I left New York forever. Four days until I disappeared into a new life in London where no one knew my story or my secrets. I was plenty weeks pregnant now. The bump impossible to hide in anything remotely fitted. I'd stopped going out unless absolutely necessary. Groceries delivered. Errands done online. The world narrowed to my small apartment and the boxes stacked against every wall. Jessica came over Monday morning to help with the last of the packing. "You're really doing this," she said, looking around at the nearly empty space. "In four days you'll be gone." "In four days I'll be free." "Free or running?" I taped up another box. "Does it matter?" "I think it does. Running means you're still letting them control your life. Free means you've actually moved on." "Then I'm running. And I'll figure out how to be free once I'm far enough away that I can breathe again." Jessica sat down on the couch...one of the few pieces of

"What?" "I said get out. Both of you. Get out of my life. I don't want your advice anymore. I don't want your opinions. I don't want anything to do with you." "Damon, you're being dramatic..." "I'm being honest. You helped destroy my marriage and you're standing here acting like it was for the best. Like Eve leaving is just some natural consequence instead of the direct result of your manipulation and my stupidity. So I'm done. I'm done listening to you, done taking your advice, done letting you have any say in my life." Richard's voice was steel. "You're upset. When you've calmed down, you'll realize you're overreacting." "I'm not overreacting. I'm finally seeing clearly. You've been controlling my life for years. Telling me what to do, who to marry, how to run my business. And I let you because it was easier than fighting. But I'm done. Starting now." "Damon..." "I mean it. Don't call me. Don't come to my apartment. Don't contact me at work. We're done." I walked out of the

EVEFriday morning arrived too quickly. I woke up at five AM in my empty apartment, the early flight to London looming. Two suitcases packed. A one-way ticket in my email. Everything ready.Everything final.I got dressed carefully...loose black travel pants with an elastic waist, a long flowing tunic that skimmed over the bump, a cardigan to layer over everything. The pregnancy was obvious if you knew what to look for. But to strangers, I’d just look like someone who’d gained a little weight. Someone tired from early-morning travel. Nothing suspicious.I checked the apartment one last time. Empty rooms that used to hold furniture. Bare walls that used to have photos. Kitchen cabinets stripped of everything except dust. This place had been my refuge after Damon kicked me out of the penthouse. The place where I’d cried myself to sleep. Where I’d planned my escape.And now I was leaving it behind like everything else.Jessica had offered to drive me to the airport, but I’d said no. Good