Todos os capítulos de I AM BILLIONAIRE DAMON'S REPLACEMENT BRIDE : Capítulo 81 - Capítulo 90

The New York Design Summit was supposed to be mine. Three days at the Javits Center, panels and workshops and networking with people who actually mattered in my field. I'd been going since I was a junior designer with business cards I'd printed at Staples, back when nobody knew my name and I was just another person trying to make connections.This year I was speaking. Not a keynote but close enough, a panel on brand identity alongside three designers whose work I'd been studying for years. It was the kind of opportunity that could shift a career, open doors, get my name in front of the right people.I needed it to be perfect.Got there Thursday morning and checked in, collected my speaker badge and the tote bag full of stuff I'd throw away later. The conference center was already packed, that particular energy of creative people all trying to seem casual while secretly sizing each other up.I grabbed coffee and headed to scope out the room where my panel would be. Two PM, decent sized

Day three started with me avoiding breakfast. I knew Sophia was meeting Marina and I didn't want to watch that happen, didn't want to sit there while my sister charmed another one of my contacts over eggs and coffee. I went to an early session instead, got there before the room even opened, sat in the back and tried to focus on brand strategy frameworks like my professional life wasn't falling apart. Sophia showed up halfway through. She slipped into a seat near the front and I watched people's heads turn, watched them recognize her, watched a few of them smile and nod like they were greeting a friend. She'd been here two days and people already knew her. Liked her. Wanted to talk to her. The session ended and I tried to slip out fast but got caught in the crowd filtering into the hallway. By the time I made it out, Sophia was surrounded. Four or five people, all talking at once, asking questions, laughing at something she'd said. I walked past without making eye contact. F

The afternoon sessions dragged. I sat through a panel on sustainable branding and didn't hear a word of it. Just kept checking my phone, watching emails come in from clients asking if I was okay, if the rumors were true, if I needed to postpone projects.Rumors.Plural.Someone was actively destroying my professional reputation and I had a pretty good idea who.At four PM there was a break before the closing keynote. I headed toward the bathrooms, needed to splash water on my face, needed five minutes where I wasn't performing stability I didn't feel.The bathroom was empty when I walked in.I went to the sink, ran cold water, pressed wet hands against my face.The door opened behind me.Sophia.Of course.She saw me and hesitated, like she was considering leaving."Don't," I said. "We need to talk.""I don't think that's a good idea...""I don't care what you think is a good idea. Someone's been telling my clients I have personal issues. Someone's been spreading rumors about my abili

The office they put me in was small and windowless. Conference organizer's temporary space, just a desk and two chairs and a water cooler that hummed too loud in the corner. I sat in one of the chairs and tried to stop shaking. My hand still burned from the slap. I kept looking at it like it belonged to someone else, like I couldn't believe I'd actually done it. I hit her. I hit my pregnant sister at a professional conference in front of witnesses. The door opened. Security guard, older guy with a name tag that said Rodriguez. "Police are on their way," he said. "You need to stay here until they arrive." "Am I under arrest?" "That's up to them. Right now you're just being detained." He left and I heard the lock click. I pulled out my phone. Seventeen missed calls already. Text messages flooding in. Jessica: WHAT HAPPENED Marcus: Damon just called me asking what the hell is going on Unknown numbers I didn't recognize. And then I saw it. The photo. Someon

"This is my home," I said. "You can't just walk in here.""It's Damon's home," Catherine corrected. "You're just living in it. And from what I understand, not for much longer."Richard moved further into the living room, hands in his pockets, the picture of casual authority. "We spoke with Damon at the hospital. He's very upset about what happened today.""I'm sure he is.""He told us he asked you to leave," Catherine continued. "Yet here you are. Still packing as if you have all the time in the world instead of respecting his wishes.""I'm packing right now. I'll be gone in ten minutes.""Good. That's a start." She sat down on the couch like she was settling in for a long conversation. "But before you go, we need to discuss the situation.""There's nothing to discuss.""Oh, I think there's quite a lot to discuss." Catherine crossed her legs, that practiced elegance that made everything look deliberate. "Let's start with the fact that you assaulted a pregnant woman today. In public. A