บททั้งหมดของ Billionaire Contract Marriage: Her Quest : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

Sophia's POVMove-in day arrived too fast.Emma's dorm room at Columbia was twelve blocks away. Close enough to visit. Far enough to feel like leaving.She'd chosen Columbia specifically because it kept her in the city. "I'm not abandoning you with a six-month-old and unresolved trauma," she'd said when she got her acceptance letter. "I'm staying close."Now we stood in her new room - small, institutional, nothing like the penthouse she'd practically lived in for months - and helped her unpack."Bedding goes here," Mrs. Thomas directed, organizing with military precision. "Desk supplies there. Clothes in the closet. Emma, did you bring hangers?""Mom. I'm eighteen. I know how to move into a dorm.""You've never moved into a dorm. I'm helping."David carried the last box in, set it down carefully. Isabella was strapped to his chest in a carrier, awake and observing everything with serious interest."That's everything," he said.Emma looked around. Her new life, packed into a twelve-by-

Sophia's POVIsabella's first birthday fell on a Tuesday.We'd debated party size for weeks. Big celebration versus intimate family. Public declaration of survival versus quiet acknowledgment that we'd kept a tiny human alive for twelve months.We went with intimate.Just family. Our chosen family. The people who'd shown up.My grandparents arrived first, bearing an elaborate cake from the bakery my mother had loved. "She would have wanted this," my grandmother said quietly.Emma came straight from class, bringing gifts wrapped in ridiculous paper covered in dinosaurs. "She needs to know dinosaurs exist. It's essential education."Mr. and Mrs. Thomas brought a rocking horse carved by Mr. Thomas himself. "Been working on it for months," he admitted. "Wanted it perfect."Maria came with homemade empanadas. "For the adults. Isabella gets cake."David's old college friends showed up - the few who'd stayed in touch, who'd met Isabella once and declared themselves her uncles. They brought c

Sophia's POVTwo weeks after amending the contract, things started to feel off.Nothing dramatic. Nothing obvious.Just... off.David was working more. Late nights at the office. Weekend site visits he'd stopped doing months ago. Coming home exhausted, distracted, going through the motions."Everything okay?" I asked one evening after Isabella was asleep."Fine. Just busy.""Busy how?""New project. Big one. Requires more attention.""What project?""Commercial development. Downtown. I told you about it."He hadn't told me about it.But I didn't push.---Work was consuming me too.The company was expanding internationally. New markets in Asia. Complex negotiations that required my attention constantly. Video calls at odd hours. Documents that needed immediate review.I'd been delegating less. Controlling more.Old habits resurfacing.Emma noticed during her weekend visit."You're working a lot," she observed, watching me answer emails while Isabella played."Always working.""More th

Sophia's POVWeek one of intentional reconnection, we had dinner together every night.Monday: Takeout Chinese. Conversation about Isabella's new obsession with throwing food.Tuesday: Frozen pizza. Discussion about whether she was ready for a toddler bed. (We both said no immediately.)Wednesday: Mrs. Thomas's leftovers. Emma called during dessert, complained about her roommate's new boyfriend. We put her on speaker, gave advice neither of us was qualified to give.Thursday: Pasta again. David burned the sauce. We laughed about it instead of retreating into separate rooms.Friday: Actually cooked together. Stir fry. Took twice as long because we kept getting in each other's way. Felt normal."This is working," David said Friday night, washing dishes while I dried."It's helping.""Same thing.""Not quite. But close."Isabella banged on her high chair tray. We'd learned she liked being included even when she couldn't participate. Background noise soothed her."What's next?" David aske

Sophia's POVSix weeks of intentional reconnection, and date night had become sacred.Every Saturday. No exceptions. No excuses.Maria or Emma watched Isabella. Sometimes Mr. and Mrs. Thomas took her overnight. Sometimes my grandparents drove into the city specifically to spend time with their great-granddaughter.We had an army of support. No reason not to go.This Saturday, David planned something different."Wear comfortable shoes," he said Friday night."Why?""It's a surprise.""I don't like surprises.""You love surprises. You just pretend not to because it fits your control narrative."He wasn't entirely wrong.---Saturday afternoon, Emma arrived to take Isabella."Where's David taking you?" she asked, settling on the floor with her niece."Won't tell me. Says it's a surprise.""Ooh, mysterious. I like it.""You would."Isabella crawled into Emma's lap. "Emmy!""Close enough," Emma said, delighted. "We're working on the 'A' sound but Emmy is acceptable.""She calls you Emmy?"