The Billionaire regret: Reclaiming his contract Bride

Playing House

CHAPTER 10

Two weeks later...

This was my life now.

Damien Cross, staying at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel downtown, showing up at my apartment every morning at seven.

Every. Single. Morning.

"Daddy!"

Liam ran to the door before I could even open it. He knew the knock now. Knew the exact time Damien would arrive.

I opened the door. Damien stood there with coffee, decaf latte for me, black for him, and a bag from the bakery down the street.

"Morning," he said.

"Morning," I replied, taking the coffee.

This was our routine now. Two weeks of routine.

Damien would come over. Have breakfast with Liam. Take him to preschool. Pick him up in the afternoon. Stay for dinner. Help with bath time. Read bedtime stories.

Then leave.

Every night, he'd leave and go back to his hotel.

Like a father. But not a husband.

Co-parenting. That's what this was.

Except it felt like something else.

"I brought croissants," Damien said, holding up the bag. "And that chocolate bread Liam likes."

"You're spoiling him."

"I'm making up for lost time."

I couldn't argue with that.

We walked inside. Liam was already at the kitchen table, coloring.

"Daddy! Look what I made!" He held up a drawing. Two stick figures. One big, one small. "It's you and me!"

Damien's face softened. It always did when Liam called him Daddy.

"That's amazing, buddy. Can I keep it?"

"Yeah! I'll make more!"

Damien put the drawing carefully in his briefcase. Like it was important. Like it mattered.

I watched him. Watched how gentle he was with Liam. How patient.

This was a side of Damien I'd never seen.

A side that made my heart hurt.

Because this could have been us. Five years ago. If he'd just... if we'd just...

No. I couldn't think like that.

"Coffee's getting cold," Damien said, looking at me.

I blinked. "Right. Sorry."

We had breakfast. Liam chattering about preschool, about his friend Tyler, about the dinosaur book Damien bought him.

Damien listened to every word. Asked questions. Engaged.

He was trying. Really trying.

After breakfast, Damien took Liam to brush his teeth. I cleaned up the dishes.

My phone rang. Maya.

"How's it going?" she asked.

"Weird. It's so weird, Maya."

"Weird how?"

"He's here every day. Playing dad. And he's good at it. Liam loves him already."

"And you?"

"I don't know what I feel." I leaned against the counter. "I'm angry. Still. But also... I don't know. It's complicated."

"Life is complicated."

"Thanks, that's helpful."

Maya laughed. "Sophia, serious question. Do you still love him?"

"That doesn't matter..."

"It does matter. Because you're going to have to co-parent with this man for the next fourteen years minimum. And if you still have feelings..."

"I don't." The lie tasted bitter. "I can't. Not after everything."

"Okay. If you say so."

I hung up.

Damien came back with Liam, who was wearing his backpack and light-up shoes.

"Ready for school!" Liam announced.

"Let's go, buddy." Damien looked at me. "I'll pick him up at three?"

"Yeah. I have a client call at two, so that works."

"Okay." He paused. "Are you still planning to come to New York? For the gala?"

Oh. Right. The gala.

"I don't know. Maya can handle it..."

"Sophia, it's a two million dollar contract. You should be there."

"I can't just leave Liam..."

"I'll watch him."

I stared at him. "You'll watch him?"

"Yes. I'm his father. I can watch my own son for a weekend."

"You've known him for two weeks—"

"And I've been here every single day. I know his routine. His favorite foods. His bedtime. I can handle it."

"Damien..."

"You don't trust me." It wasn't a question.

"I... I don't know."

"Fair enough." He picked up Liam. "Come on, buddy. Let's get you to school."

They left.

I stood in my apartment, alone, surrounded by the evidence of Damien's presence. His coffee cup. Liam's drawing. The croissants he'd brought.

My life was changing again.

And I didn't know if I could handle it.

That afternoon...

Damien brought Liam home at three-fifteen. They were laughing about something.

"...and then the pirate said 'arrr!'" Liam was giggling.

"That's a terrible pirate impression, buddy."

"You do it then!"

Damien made a ridiculous pirate voice. Liam laughed so hard he snorted.

I watched them from the doorway. Father and son. So easy together already.

"Mommy!" Liam ran to me. "Guess what? Daddy said maybe we can go to the aquarium this weekend!"

"Did he now?" I looked at Damien.

He shrugged. "If it's okay with you."

"Can we, Mommy? Please?"

How could I say no to that face?

"Okay. But just for a few hours."

"Yes!" Liam ran to his room to put his backpack away.

Damien and I stood in the hallway. Alone.

"You don't have to do this," I said quietly. "The aquarium. The daily visits. You can see him on weekends. You don't have to..."

"I want to." Damien looked at me. "I missed four years, Sophia. I'm not missing any more."

"He's going to expect this all the time. What happens when you have to go back to New York? When you can't be here every day?"

"I'll figure it out."

"That's not good enough..."

"What do you want me to say?" His voice rose slightly. "That I'll abandon him? I won't. I'll make it work. Fly back and forth if I have to. Work remotely. Whatever it takes."

"For how long? A month? Six months? And then what? You get bored? You get busy? You realize being a father is hard and..."

"I'm not leaving him." Damien stepped closer. "I'm not leaving either of you."

My heart stuttered. "There is no 'us,' Damien."

"I know. But there's Liam. And I'm not walking away from my son."

We stared at each other.

"Daddy! Come see my room!"

Damien broke eye contact first. "Coming, buddy!"

He walked toward Liam's room.

I stayed in the hallway, trying to breathe.

This was temporary. It had to be.

Eventually, Damien would leave. Go back to his real life. His company. His world.

And Liam would be heartbroken.

I couldn't let that happen.

I had to protect my son.

Even if it meant pushing Damien away.

That night...

Damien stayed for dinner. I made spaghetti. Liam got sauce everywhere.

"You're a mess," Damien laughed, wiping Liam's face.

"You're a mess!" Liam shot back.

They dissolved into giggles.

I watched them. Smiled despite myself.

After dinner, bath time. Damien helped. Got completely soaked when Liam splashed him.

"Liam!" I tried to sound stern but failed.

"Sorry, Mommy." Not sorry at all.

Damien changed into one of my oversized sweatshirts, the only thing I had that fit him. Looked ridiculous. But also... domestic.

Like he belonged here.

No. He didn't belong here.

Bedtime. Damien read The Gruffalo. Liam was asleep before the story ended.

We stood in the doorway, watching him sleep.

"He's perfect," Damien whispered.

"Yeah. He is."

"You did an amazing job with him."

I looked at Damien. "Thanks."

"I mean it. He's smart. Kind. Happy. That's all you."

"He's half you too."

"The good half."

We were standing too close. I could smell his cologne. The same one from five years ago.

I stepped back. "You should go. It's late."

"Right. Yeah." But he didn't move. "Sophia?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For letting me do this. For letting me know him."

"You didn't give me much choice."

"I know. But still. Thank you."

He left.

I locked the door behind him. Leaned against it.

This was getting too comfortable.

Too familiar.

Too dangerous.

Because part of me, the stupid part that never stopped loving him, wanted this.

Wanted the family dinners. The bedtime stories. The domestic moments.

Wanted Damien.

But I couldn't have him.

He broke me once. I couldn't let him do it again.

My phone buzzed. Text from Damien.

Damien: I know you don't trust me yet. But I'm not going anywhere. I promise.

I stared at the message.

Didn't respond.

Because promises meant nothing.

People broke promises all the time.

And Damien Cross had broken every promise he ever made to me.

One week later...

"Mommy, why don't you and Daddy live together?"

I froze. We were making pancakes, Saturday morning tradition.

"What do you mean, baby?"

"Tyler's mommy and daddy live together. Why don't you and Daddy?"

Oh god. The question I'd been dreading.

"Because... Daddy and I aren't married."

"Why not?"

"We used to be. But we're not anymore."

"Why?"

"It's complicated, sweetheart."

"Did you have a fight?"

Sort of. A three-year-long fight.

"Yeah. We had a fight."

"Can you say sorry?"

If only it were that simple.

"It's more complicated than that, Liam."

"But Daddy's nice now. And he makes you smile sometimes."

Did he? I hadn't noticed.

"Liam..."

"I want Daddy to live here. With us."

My heart broke. "Baby, that's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"Because Daddy has his own place. In New York."

"Then we should move to New York!"

"No, we're staying here. This is our home."

"But I want to be with Daddy all the time!" Liam's eyes filled with tears. "Why can't we be a family?"

"We are a family..."

"A real family! Like Tyler's!"

He ran to his room. Slammed the door.

I stood in the kitchen, spatula in hand, heart in pieces.

This was exactly what I was afraid of.

Liam was getting attached. Wanting things we couldn't have.

My phone rang. Damien.

"Hey," I answered.

"What's wrong? You sound upset."

"How did you..."

"I can hear it in your voice. What happened?"

I sighed. Told him about Liam's questions.

Silence.

Then, "I'll talk to him."

"Damien..."

"He needs to understand. I'll explain."

"How? How do you explain to a four-year-old that his parents can't be together?"

"I don't know. But I'll figure it out." He paused. "I'm coming over."

"You don't have to..."

"I'm his father. This is my responsibility too."

He hung up.

Twenty minutes later, he was at my door.

"Where is he?" Damien asked.

"His room."

Damien walked to Liam's room. Knocked gently. "Buddy? Can I come in?"

I followed. Stood in the doorway.

Liam was on his bed, face red from crying.

Damien sat next to him. "I heard you're upset."

"I want you to live here."

"I know, buddy. But I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because... your mommy and I, we're not together anymore."

"But why?"

Damien looked at me. Then back at Liam.

"Because I made mistakes. A long time ago. I hurt your mommy's feelings. And sometimes, when people hurt each other, they can't be together anymore."

"But you said sorry, right?"

"I did."

"And Mommy forgave you?"

Damien looked at me again. "I don't know. Did you?"

Everyone was looking at me.

Had I forgiven him?

I didn't know.

"It's complicated," I said finally.

"Grown-ups always say that," Liam said. "But it's not complicated. If you love someone and they say sorry, you forgive them."

Out of the mouths of babes.

"You're right, buddy," Damien said softly. "It should be that simple. But sometimes it's harder for grown-ups."

"That's dumb."

Damien smiled sadly. "Yeah. It is."

"I still want you to live here."

"I know. But I can see you every day, right? I can have breakfast with you. Take you to school. Play with you. That's pretty good, isn't it?"

Liam thought about it. "I guess."

"And maybe, someday, things will be different. But right now, this is how it is."

"Okay." Liam hugged Damien. "I love you, Daddy."

Damien's arms tightened around him. "I love you too, buddy. So much."

I turned away. Wiped my eyes.

This was too much.

Too hard.

I walked back to the kitchen. Finished making pancakes mechanically.

Damien came out a few minutes later. Alone.

"He's playing with his cars," he said.

"Okay."

"Sophia..."

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't say whatever you're about to say."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"Yes, I do. You were going to say something about us. About second chances. About..."

"About the fact that I still love you."

I dropped the spatula.

"What?"

"I still love you." Damien stepped closer. "I never stopped. Not for one second in five years."

"Don't do this..."

"Why not? It's the truth."

"The truth doesn't matter!" I was shaking. "You broke my heart, Damien. You threw me away. You chose Isabella. You didn't believe me. You didn't trust me. You destroyed us."

"I know."

"So what? You think you can just show up here, play dad for a few weeks, and I'll forget all that?"

"No. I don't think that." He was close now. Too close. "But I think maybe, eventually, you could forgive me. Could give me a chance to prove I've changed."

"People don't change..."

"I have. I'm not the man I was five years ago. I'm not the man who was too stupid to see what was right in front of him."

"Damien..."

"I love you, Sophia. I love our son. I want to be a family. A real family."

"That's not possible..."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't trust you!" The words burst out of me. "I can't trust you. You broke me once. I can't... I can't survive you breaking me again."

His face fell. "I won't..."

"You don't know that. People make promises all the time. And then they break them."

"I won't break this one."

"How do I know that?"

"You don't." He reached for my hand. I pulled away. "But I'll spend every day proving it to you. However long it takes."

"What if it takes forever?"

"Then I'll spend forever."

I closed my eyes. "I can't do this right now."

"Okay." He stepped back. "Okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"You should go."

"Sophia..."

"Please. Just go."

He hesitated. Then nodded. "Okay. I'll... I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

He left.

I sank onto the couch.

Put my head in my hands.

And cried.

Because I wanted to believe him.

God, I wanted to believe him.

But I was terrified.

Terrified of hoping. Terrified of trusting. Terrified of loving him again.

Because last time I loved Damien Cross, it nearly destroyed me.

And I didn't know if I was strong enough to survive it again.