All Chapters of I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE : Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

EVE'S POV I was bouncing Lily on my knee, trying to get her to take the last bit of her bottle without another spit-up episode, when my phone pinged on the coffee table. Alex Rivera again. Alex: Hey Eve, there's a networking event tomorrow night at the Hudson Loft... focused on urban design and community development. A few key people who could really move your pilot project forward will be there. I'd love to introduce you around. No pressure, but it could be huge. Let me know? I stared at the message, thumb hovering. He’d switched to just “Eve” now, and it felt a little too casual after only a couple of meetings. Still, the event sounded legit. I’d seen the invites floating around online. Real players in the space...planners, funders, architects who actually got their hands dirty. My tiny Brooklyn pilot needed that kind of boost, especially after Sophia’s troll comments tried to drag it down. Lily finally burped, a little milky dribble landing on the burp cloth. I wiped her chin

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 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 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 stared at the funding proposal on my laptop for the tenth time that morning, then closed it with a sigh. The Brooklyn pilot needed this, after the contractor scare and Sophia’s latest poison, moving forward with real money would shut down a lot of the doubt. Alex had been professional since the park incident... no surprise appearances, just a couple of polite follow-up texts about next steps. I told myself it was fine. Business and nothing more. Damon wasn’t thrilled when I mentioned the meeting over breakfast. “You sure you want to do this alone?” he asked, feeding Lily a tiny spoonful of puree while she smacked her lips. “It’s just to go over the terms,” I said. “Lawyers already reviewed everything. I need to look him in the eye and make sure it’s clean before I sign anything. I’ve got this.” He nodded, but his jaw was tight. “Text me when you’re done, and if anything feels off…” “I know... I’ll be careful.” The meeting was set at the same neutral lounge downtown