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

225 Chapters

FIRST STEPS

EVE'S POV The morning felt different. I stood in the nursery watching Lily sleep on her back, her little chest rising and falling steady after last night's rough patch. The reflux thing had mostly calmed down with the new feeding tricks, but I still checked on her every hour like some overprotective weirdo. Today though, I had bigger stuff on my plate. My first real launch, not some huge fancy thing... just a small pilot project for one community space in Brooklyn. My design, my name on it. I’d spent the last few days finalizing the announcement. Simple website, a couple of renders, and a short write-up about creating flexible gathering spots for families who didn’t have them. Nothing crazy, but it felt huge after being off the map for so long.“You ready for this?” Damon asked, coming up behind me with coffee. He looked tired but solid in his suit, already geared up for another long day at the office.“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, taking the mug. “Hit send, now we wait and

MIXED CROWDS

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

FAMILY LINES

EVE'S POV The penthouse felt extra quiet that afternoon. Lily was finally down for a decent nap after another round of reflux fussing, and I was curled up on the couch with my laptop, answering a couple emails about the Brooklyn pilot. The networking event had shaken loose a few real leads, and I was trying to ride that momentum before Sophia’s online trolls or Alex’s constant check-ins messed with my head. Damon was home early for once, sitting at the kitchen island flipping through some reports but mostly staring at his phone. He’d been like that since the Hudson Loft thing...quiet, and watchful. I knew part of it was Alex, and the other part was Sophia still playing her games from the shadows. The doorman buzzed up. “Mrs. Sterling? Catherine Sterling is here. She says she called ahead?” I looked at Damon. He let out a long breath and nodded. “Send her up.” Catherine swept in a few minutes later, all designer coat and careful smile. She’d been trying this dance for weeks—texts

BIG OFFERS

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

SHADOW AT THE DOOR

EVE'S POV The penthouse was finally quiet, Lily had gone down after what felt like the longest bedtime routine ever...two extra feeds, three rounds of rocking, and Damon doing that silly airplane thing with her until she finally passed out with her tiny fist curled around his shirt. I stood in the nursery doorway watching them for a minute, my heart doing that full, achy thing it did more and more these days. Damon eased her into the crib like she was made of glass, then backed out slowly, closing the door with a soft click. He caught me watching and gave me that tired half-smile. “She’s out,” he whispered, pulling me into his chest right there in the hallway. His arms wrapped around me tight, chin resting on my head. “Long day for all of us.” I breathed him in...cologne mixed with baby lotion and that warm Damon smell that always made everything feel safer. “The project emails are blowing up. Alex’s proposal looks cleaner than I thought after the lawyers looked at it, but I’m no

UNWELCOME PACKAGES

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

POISON IN THE AIR

EVE'S POV I was in the middle of updating a rendering on my laptop at the office when my phone started blowing up. At first I ignored it... probably more emails about the project or another message from Alex that I’d have to handle carefully after the whole gifts thing. But then it kept going. Notifications from news apps, texts from a couple of people I barely knew, and finally a call from Damon. My stomach dropped before I even answered. “Hey, what’s up?” “Have you seen it yet?” His voice was tight, pissed off in that quiet way that meant trouble. “Seen what?” “Check the news. Sophia pulled some shit again.” I switched over to a browser tab and typed his name, the headline hit me like a slap. Damon Sterling Secretly Back in Touch with Ex-Mistress Sophia While Wife Eve Cares for Newborn The article was everywhere already ...some trashy tabloid site that had picked it up fast, then shared across social media. It claimed Sophia had “exclusive proof” of recent messages and call

CRISIS MODE

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

STOLEN MOMENTS

EVE'S POV The park was one of those perfect New York spring days ... warm sun, light breeze, and just enough people around to feel alive without being crowded. We’d bundled Lily up in her little stroller and decided to get out of the penthouse for once. No work talk, no drama, just the three of us. After the fake story leak and the fight over Alex’s gifts, we needed this. A real family afternoon. Damon pushed the stroller along the path, one hand on the handle, the other holding mine. He looked relaxed for the first time in days, sunglasses on, sleeves rolled up. Lily was awake in her seat, those big dark eyes taking everything in ... the trees, the ducks on the pond, the way the light dappled through the leaves. “She’s been staring at you the whole walk,” I said, squeezing his hand. He glanced down and grinned. “Good, she knows her daddy’s the best view out here.” We found a shady bench near the water and sat. I lifted Lily out and settled her on Damon’s lap, her head resting a

CLEAR LINES

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

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