All Chapters of I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

La Bernardin was the kind of place where the silverware probably cost more than my rent used to.I showed up five minutes early because I didn't want to give Catherine the satisfaction of me being late. She was already there. Corner table. Perfect posture. That same string of pearls she probably slept in."Eve." She didn't stand. Just gestured to the chair across from her. "Sit."Not "thank you for coming" or "how are you." Just sit. Like I was a dog.I sat."Would you like something to drink?" she asked."Water's fine.""They have an excellent wine list—""I said water's fine."Her mouth tightened. Good. I wasn't here to play nice.A waiter appeared. Catherine ordered some fancy wine anyway. For herself. Then rattled off her lunch order without looking at the menu."And for you, miss?" The waiter looked at me."The salmon. Thank you."Catherine waited until he left. Then she folded her hands on the table and looked at me like I was something stuck to her shoe."I'll get straight to t

I didn't sleep.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Catherine's face. Heard her voice. Common. Middling. Not our kind of people.Around three AM, I gave up and went to the kitchen.Damon found me twenty minutes later, sitting in the dark eating cereal."Can't sleep?"I shook my head.He sat down across from me. Didn't turn on the lights. Just sat there in the dark while I ate."Talk to me," he said finally."Nothing to talk about.""Bullshit."I set down my spoon. "I keep thinking about what she said. About me not being—about not fitting. And I know it's stupid. I know she's just a bitter old woman who can't control her son anymore. But it still—""Gets in your head.""Yeah.""She's good at that. Finding the thing you're already worried about and poking it until it bleeds.""Is that what she does to you?"He was quiet for a second. "Used to. When I was younger. Now I just don't listen.""Must be nice. Having that superpower.""It's not a superpower. It's just practice. Years of practic

Saturday afternoon I changed outfits four times before settling on jeans and a sweater.Casual. Not trying too hard.But the jeans were the expensive ones Damon had insisted on buying me last week. And the sweater was cashmere. So casual with an asterisk."You look fine," Damon said from the bed where he'd been watching me spiral for twenty minutes."I look like I'm trying too hard.""You look like you're meeting my mother for coffee. Which you are. Stop overthinking.""Easy for you to say. She didn't slap you.""No, she just emotionally terrorized me for thirty years. We've all got our trauma."I grabbed my jacket. "Let's get this over with."The coffee shop was neutral territory, not her club, not our neighborhood. Some place in Midtown neither of us had been to before.Catherine was already there when we arrived. Corner table. Back to the wall. Watching the door like she was calculating escape routes.She stood when she saw us. Smoothed her skirt. That fake smile plastered on."Dam

I woke up Monday to my phone ringing.Not buzzing. Ringing. Like someone was actually calling me.At seven in the morning.I grabbed it without looking. "Hello?""Eve Morgan?"Not a voice I recognized. Female. Professional."Sterling. Eve Sterling. Who's this?""This is Vanessa Sea from Page Six. I'm calling about the Grayson Gala this weekend. Do you have a moment to comment?"I sat up. "What? No. I don't...how did you get this number?""We'd love to get your perspective on some photos that surfaced from the event. Particularly regarding your early departure..."I hung up.Stared at the phone.It rang again. Different number.I didn't answer."What's going on?" Damon mumbled from beside me."Someone from Page Six just called me.""What?" He was awake now. "Why?""Something about photos from the gala. About us leaving early.""Shit."He grabbed his phone. Scrolled. His face went dark."What?" I asked.He showed me.There on Page Six's website was a photo. Me on the terrace. Looking up

The house wasn't a house. It was a compound.Glass walls. Ocean views. So much space I could probably get lost trying to find the bathroom."This is where you vacation?" I asked."Sometimes. Haven't been here in a while.""How long is a while?""Two years? Maybe three?""You own a beach house you haven't used in three years?""I own several properties I haven't used in years.""That's...I don't even know what to say to that."He grabbed our bags from the car. The driver had already left, it was just us now.Inside was exactly what I expected. Expensive furniture, art on the walls, everything white and pristine like no one actually lived here."You hungry?" Damon asked."Starving.""Kitchen should be stocked. Let's see what we've got."The kitchen was bigger than my old apartment. Marble counters. Professional grade everything. A fridge full of food that someone had somehow arranged to be there in the two hours since Damon made the call."This is insane," I said."What?""All of this.