All Chapters of THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"So... dinner with my family," Damian said while tying his tie. "Tonight?" I dropped my coffee mug. "You said next month!" "My mom moved it up. She saw the press conference." Great. Meet the billionaire’s parents. 48 hours after going viral. "Will they like me?" I asked. Damian pulled me in for a hug. "They’ll love you. Or they’ll deal with me being mad." The Cole mansion was huge. Like, castle huge. Chandeliers. Marble floors. A butler opened the door. And standing in the middle of the hall was Sophia. "What is she doing here?" I whispered. Damian’s jaw tightened. "I didn’t invite her." "Mom invited me," Sophia said sweetly, hugging me. "Family dinner, right?" Damian stepped between us. "She’s not family." "Not yet," Sophia smiled. The dining room was worse. Mr. Cole Sr. at the head. Mrs. Cole to the right. Two aunts. A cousin. And Sophia, sitting in MY seat. I sat next to Damian. My hands were shaking. "So Ali," Mrs. Cole started. "Tell us about yourself." "I’m...

"You're coming with me," Damian said, tossing me a blazer. "To the board meeting? Why?" "Because you're my wife. And they need to see it." I’d never been to Cole Tower’s 50th floor. Glass walls. City view. 20 old men in suits. And at the head of the table... an empty chair for me. "Sit," Damian said, pulling it out. The board stared. Mr. Peterson cleared his throat. "Mr. Cole, is this... appropriate?" "She’s part of this company now," Damian said. "She’s part of me." The meeting started. Stocks. Reports. Legal stuff I didn’t understand. Until Mr. Peterson spoke. "About the PR damage. Sales dropped 4% after the scandal." "Sales also went up 12% with women 18-35 after the press conference," Mia cut in, sliding papers across. "The #DamianAndAli posts got 20 million views." "So we’re selling romance now?" one board member scoffed. "We’re selling authenticity," Damian said. "And people love it." Then the doors opened. Sophia walked in. "I have a right to be here," she said

The cabin had no signal. No TV. No reporters. Just trees, a lake, and Damian burning pancakes. "These are worse than last time," I said, laughing. "I’m trying," he said, looking genuinely offended. "This is a skill." "You’re the CEO of a billion dollar company and you can’t make toast." "Watch me." He flipped one. It landed on the floor. We’d been here 2 days. No phone calls. No board. No Sophia. Just us. Mornings: Coffee on the porch. Damian in sweatpants. Me reading. Afternoons: Walking. Talking. He told me about growing up alone in that big mansion. Nights: Fireplace. Blankets. Stupid movies. On day 3 it rained. We got stuck inside. "What do we do now?" I asked. Damian pulled me to the floor. "We talk." "About what?" "About you. About before me." I hesitated. "There’s not much to tell. Work. School. Taking care of my brothers." "That’s a lot," he said. "You were 18 and raising 3 kids." "Someone had to." He brushed my hair back. "You’re the strongest person I k

The library opened on a Saturday. Balloon arch. Free books. 200 kids. I was running around with a clipboard. "Hi! Welcome! Story time is at 2!" Damian was in the back, building shelves. In a t-shirt. Sweat on his forehead. "You don’t have to do that," I said. "I want to," he said. "It’s our library." By 5PM we were exhausted. We locked the doors and sat on the floor surrounded by book boxes. "We did it," I said. "We did it," he repeated. He pulled me into his lap. "Proud of you, Mrs. Cole." I kissed him. "Proud of us." Monday morning reality hit. Mia called. "Damian, we have a problem. The board wants you at an emergency meeting." "Why?" "They saw the quarterly numbers. They’re down." Damian hung up and rubbed his face. "I have to go." "Now? I thought we had 3 months." "They don’t care. I’m sorry." He left. I stayed at the library. For 3 days straight, he didn’t come home before midnight. No dinner. No texts. No calls. Just "In a meeting" and "Don’t wait up." O

One month after the library opened.Everything was calm. Too calm.Damian was home by 6 every day.We had dinner. We fought about dishes. We read in bed.Normal.Until Mia called."Damian. You need to see this.""What?""Sophia. She’s back in the country. And she’s talking."That night the news dropped.**SOPHIA VANCE BREAKS SILENCE: MY SIDE OF THE DAMIAN COLE STORY**Exclusive interview.I didn’t watch it.Damian did. In his office. Door closed.When he came out, he looked tired."What did she say?" I asked."That I used her. That I cheated. That the marriage was a PR stunt.""Was it?" I asked quietly."At the start," he said. "Not anymore."He pulled me to him. "Do you believe her?""No," I said. "I believe us."The comments were brutal for 2 days.Then they died. Because people were bored.And because we didn’t respond.Damian’s rule: "We don’t feed trolls. We live."Friday night. Damian was acting weird.Nervous. Dressed up."Where are we going?" I asked."Dinner."He took me to t