บททั้งหมดของ I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE : บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

I'd been at Jessica's for two days when Damon showed up.Jessica had gone to work, told me to make myself at home, help myself to anything. I was on the couch in her pajamas eating ice cream for breakfast when someone started pounding on the door.Not knocking, he was pounding."Eve, I know you're in there." Damon's voice, loud enough that the neighbors probably heard. "Open this door."I stayed on the couch.More pounding. "Eve, I'm not leaving until we talk, open the goddamn door or I'll get the building manager to open it.""Go away," I yelled back."No.""I don't want to talk to you.""Too bad, we're talking. Now open this door before I break it down.""You wouldn't dare..."The pounding got louder. "Try me."I got up, stomped to the door, yanked it open. "What do you want?"He looked terrible, like he hadn't slept since I left. Hair a mess, shirt wrinkled, eyes...."You," he said. "I want you to come home.""No.""Eve...""I said no, now leave before I call security.""Call them,

What?""I didn't mean...""No, you said it. You want me to leave.""That's not what I meant...""Then what did you mean, Damon? Because it sounded a lot like you'd rather I go than her.""I'm just saying if you're this miserable maybe you should stay somewhere else until...""Until what? Until she's gone? Until the baby comes? Until you figure out what you want?""I know what I want...""Do you? Because from where I'm standing it looks like you want to keep everyone happy except me.""That's not true...""Then prove it, tell her to leave right now. Go out there and tell her this isn't working and she needs to go."He didn't move."That's what I thought," I said.The tension between us was suffocating, all the anger and fear and resentment building until it had nowhere to go."I hate this," I said, my voice breaking. "I hate what she's doing to us.""She's not doing anything to us, we're doing it to ourselves.""Because of her, because she's here...""Because we don't know how to handl

Damon didn't come back to bed that night. I waited an hour, then two. Then I finally went looking for him around midnight.I found him in the guest wing. Sitting on Sophia's bed while she lay there with her bandaged hand resting on a pillow, looking pale and fragile.They were talking quietly, I couldn't hear what about.But the scene itself said everything.My husband, in another woman's bedroom, in the middle of the night.I turned around before they saw me, went back to our room, and locked the door.I crawled into bed alone.He knocked around one AM."Eve, open the door."I didn't answer."I know you're awake, I can see the light under the door."Still nothing."I was just making sure she was okay, she was in pain and couldn't sleep..."I got up, yanked the door open. "She's not a child, Damon. She doesn't need you to tuck her in.""She was scared, the burn...""The burn she gave herself to manipulate you.""You don't know that...""I know her, that's enough."He pushed past me in

The call came Tuesday morning."We're coming by this afternoon," Catherine Sterling said without preamble. "Your father and I need to see how Sophia is settling in."Damon's face went tight. "Mom, I don't think that's a good idea right now.""Nonsense, the poor girl is living with strangers and injured. We want to make sure she's being taken care of properly.""She's fine, and this really isn't a good time...""We'll be there at two. Make sure you're both home."She hung up before he could argue."Fuck," Damon said, dropping his phone on the counter."What?" I asked, though I'd heard enough to guess."My parents are coming over, they want to check on Sophia."Of course they did.I went to our bedroom without responding. Changed into something nice because I wasn't going to look like I'd given up even if I had.By the time I came back out, I'd built my walls high enough to survive whatever was coming.They showed up at exactly two.Catherine swept in first, already talking. "Where is s

I woke up to light streaming through the windows.Damon was in bed next to me, still in his suit from last night. He must've come in sometime after I fell asleep. I got up without looking at him, went to the bathroom.My makeup from last night had left smudges under my eyes despite washing my face. I looked tired, and hollow.Twenty-five and spending my birthday alone while my husband took care of his ex-girlfriend.I stared at myself in the mirror until I didn't recognize the woman looking back. When I came out, Damon was awake."Hey," he said softly.I walked past him to the closet."Eve, can we talk?"I pulled out a blouse, pants. Started getting dressed."I know you're upset about last night..."I buttoned my shirt in silence."The hospital took forever, the wait time was insane and then they had to run tests..."I stepped into my pants, zipped them up."She was really scared, the cramps felt serious and I couldn't ju