The Billionaire regret: Reclaiming his contract Bride

Consequences

CHAPTER 13

The next morning – Seattle

My flight landed at noon.

I hadn't slept. Couldn't eat. Just sat on the plane replaying everything over and over.

Damien had manipulated me.

But he'd also shown up every day for six weeks. Been a good father. Made me laugh. Made me hope.

Which version was real?

I grabbed my suitcase and headed to baggage claim.

And froze.

Damien stood there. Holding Liam's hand.

What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in New York for his board meeting.

"Mommy!" Liam ran to me.

I scooped him up. Held him tight. "Hey, baby. I missed you."

"I missed you too! Did you have fun?"

"Yeah. Lots of fun."

Liam pulled back. Looked at my face. "Why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad..."

"Yes, you are. Your eyes are red."

Smart kid.

I looked at Damien over Liam's head. He looked as bad as I felt.

"Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

"I thought you had a board meeting..."

"I cancelled it. Caught the red-eye last night." He looked exhausted. "Please, Sophia. Just hear me out."

"I already heard you out.."

"Daddy made your favorite breakfast!" Liam interrupted. "At home! Can we go eat it?"

I looked at my son's hopeful face.

"Okay," I said quietly. "We can go eat breakfast."

My apartment – 1 PM

Damien had made French toast. Strawberries. Coffee.

My favorite.

We sat at the table. Liam chattering about his weekend with Daddy.

"...and we went to the park! And Daddy pushed me really high on the swings! And we got ice cream twice!"

"Twice?" I looked at Damien.

He had the decency to look sheepish. "He was really good."

"And we watched movies! And Daddy let me stay up until nine!"

"Nine?" I raised an eyebrow.

"He negotiated," Damien said. "Very effectively."

Despite everything, I almost smiled.

After breakfast, Liam went to play in his room.

Damien and I cleaned up in silence.

"You didn't have to cancel your board meeting," I said finally.

"Yes, I did. This is more important."

"Damien..."

"I thought about what you said last night. About needing time. And you're right. You deserve time and space to figure out what you want." He dried a plate. "But I also realized I never actually explained why I did what I did."

"You said you were desperate..."

"That's not the whole truth." He set down the towel. Looked at me. "The truth is, I was terrified."

"Of what?"

"Of you saying no. Of you refusing to come to New York. Of losing my only chance to prove to you that I've changed." He leaned against the counter. "For five years, I looked for you. Every single day. Hired investigators. Followed every lead. And nothing. You'd completely disappeared."

"I had to..."

"I know why you did it. I'm not blaming you. I'm just... I'm explaining." He ran his hand through his hair. "Then I found out about the company. About Martinez & Associates. And I saw my chance. Not to manipulate you. But to give us a reason to be in the same room. A professional reason. Something neutral."

"That's still manipulation..."

"I know. And it was wrong. But Sophia..." His voice cracked. "I was so scared you'd refuse to see me. That you'd hang up if I called. That you'd slam the door in my face if I showed up. So I created a situation where you had to interact with me. Where I could show you I've changed. Where maybe, just maybe, you'd give me a chance."

I wanted to stay angry.

But I understood.

Because I'd been scared too.

"You should have just been honest," I said.

"You're right. I should have." He stepped closer. "And from now on, I will be. No more manipulation. No more tricks. Just honesty. Even when it's hard."

"How do I know you mean that?"

"You don't. That's what trust is." He looked me in the eyes. "But I'll prove it. Every single day. For however long it takes."

"Damien..."

"I'm moving to Seattle."

I stared at him. "What?"

"I'm moving here. Permanently. I can run the company remotely. Fly to New York when needed. But my life is here now. With Liam. And if you'll let me... with you."

"You can't just upend your entire life..."

"Why not? You did. Five years ago. You left everything you knew to start over. For our son." He took my hands. "Now it's my turn. My turn to sacrifice. My turn to prove what matters most."

"What about your company? Your board?"

"They'll adapt. Or they won't. Either way, I don't care." His thumbs traced circles on my palms. "Because you and Liam are more important than any company. Than any amount of money. Than anything."

"Damien..."

"I'm not asking you to forgive me right now. I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm just asking you to let me stay. Let me keep showing up. Let me keep proving I've changed."

I wanted to say no.

Wanted to protect myself.

But I couldn't.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Okay?"

"You can stay. But Damien,one more lie. One more manipulation. One more broken promise. And I'm done. Completely done. No second chances. No explanations. Just done."

"Understood."

"I mean it..."

"I know you do. And I won't mess this up. I promise."

We stood there. Hands linked. Eyes locked.

"Mommy! Daddy! Come see what I built!"

The moment broke.

"Coming, buddy," Damien called.

He squeezed my hands once. Then let go.

We went to see Liam's block tower.

And for the first time since New York, I felt like maybe,just maybe,things would be okay.

Two weeks later...

Damien found an apartment. Three blocks from mine.

"Too close?" he asked, showing me the listing.

"No. It's good. Liam can walk between."

He signed the lease that day.

Started moving in.

I helped. Which was weird. But also... nice.

"Where should this go?" He held up a photo frame. It was the picture of him and Liam from the preschool family day.

"Your bedroom?"

"Too hidden." He put it on the living room shelf. "I want to see it every day."

My chest tightened.

"You really are staying," I said.

"I told you I was."

"I know. I just... I didn't believe it."

He walked over. Stood close. "Believe it. I'm not going anywhere."

"What about your board? Your company?"

"I promoted Marcus to COO. He'll handle day-to-day. I'll fly to New York once a month for board meetings. Otherwise, I'm here."

"They're okay with that?"

"They don't have a choice." He smiled. "I own controlling shares. They can deal with it or quit."

"Damien..."

"This is where I need to be. End of discussion."

I looked at him. At this man who'd once cared more about his company than anything.

He really had changed.

"Okay," I said softly.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

He kissed my forehead. Quick. Gentle.

We were taking things slow. No more big kisses like that night on my couch. Just small touches. Hand-holding. Forehead kisses.

Rebuilding trust brick by brick.

That night – My apartment

Liam was in bed. Damien and I sat on the couch.

Not touching. But close.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Sure."

"That night at the airport. Five years ago. When you told me you were pregnant." He looked at me. "Were you really going to leave? Even after I asked you to stay?"

I thought about it. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably."

"Why?"

"Because I was terrified. I was pregnant and alone and you were threatening to take my baby. I didn't know what else to do."

"I wouldn't have taken the baby..."

"I didn't know that then. All I knew was that you had money and power and lawyers. And I had nothing."

Damien was quiet for a long time.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I handled that so badly. I was scared too. Scared of losing my child before they were even born. So I threatened you. Made you feel trapped."

"You did."

"And you ran. Which is exactly what I was trying to prevent." He laughed bitterly. "I'm really good at creating my own worst nightmares."

"Yeah. You are."

"But I'm trying to be better."

"I know."

We sat in comfortable silence.

"Sophia?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For giving me another chance. For letting me know Liam. For not giving up on me even though I gave you every reason to."

"Don't make me regret it."

"I won't. I swear."

He left a little while later.

I locked the door behind him.

Leaned against it.

This was really happening.

Damien Cross was moving to Seattle.

For me. For Liam. For us.

And I was letting him.

Was I crazy?

Probably.

But for the first time in five years, I felt like maybe I wasn't alone anymore.

Maybe we could actually do this.

Maybe we could actually be a family.

One month later...

Damien's apartment was fully furnished now.

Liam had his own room there. Decorated with dinosaurs and space ships.

We'd established a routine. Liam stayed with me most nights. But had sleepovers at Damien's on weekends.

It was working.

Actually working.

"Mommy, can I ask you something?" Liam said one morning at breakfast.

"Of course, baby."

"Is Daddy your boyfriend?"

I choked on my coffee. "What?"

"Tyler's mom has a boyfriend. They hold hands and kiss. You and Daddy hold hands sometimes."

Oh god. This conversation.

"It's complicated, sweetheart."

"Grown-ups always say that."

He had a point.

"Daddy and I are... we're figuring things out."

"Do you love him?"

The direct question. No escape.

"Yes," I said honestly. "I do love him."

"Does he love you?"

"Yes."

"Then why aren't you together?"

"Because love is complicated. Sometimes people hurt each other. And it takes time to heal from that."

"But you're healing now?"

"Yeah, baby. We're healing."

"Good." Liam went back to his cereal. "I like it when you're happy. You smile more now."

Did I?

I thought about it.

Yeah. I did smile more.

Damien made me laugh. Made me feel safe. Made me happy.

When had that happened?

That night...

Damien came for dinner. Another routine.

After Liam went to bed, we sat on the couch. Our spot now.

"Liam asked if you're my boyfriend today," I said.

Damien looked up. "What did you say?"

"That we're figuring things out."

"Are we? Figuring things out?"

"I think so."

"Sophia..." He turned to face me. "What are we doing? Really?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are we dating? Are we just co-parenting? Are we..."

"I don't know," I interrupted. "I don't know what we are."

"Do you want to know?"

"I'm scared to define it. Scared that if we name it, it'll break."

"Or maybe if we name it, it'll become real."

I looked at him. "Is that what you want? For this to be real?"

"Yes. God, yes." He took my hands. "I want you to be my girlfriend. My partner. Eventually, my wife again. I want everything, Sophia. With you."

My heart was pounding. "Damien..."

"But I'll take whatever you're willing to give. If you just want to co-parent, fine. If you want to date casually, fine. If you need five more years to trust me, fine. I'll wait. However long it takes."

"You'd really wait five more years?"

"I'd wait forever."

I believed him.

"Okay," I said.

"Okay what?"

"Okay, let's be real. Let's try this. Actually try."

His face lit up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. But slow, Damien. Really slow."

"The slowest." He kissed my hands. "Thank you. Thank you for giving me this chance."

"Don't waste it."

"I won't. I promise."

He pulled me close. I rested my head on his chest.

Listened to his heartbeat.

Strong. Steady. Real.

We sat like that for a long time.

Just holding each other.

Just being.

And for the first time in six years, I felt like I was home.