The Billionaire regret: Reclaiming his contract Bride

Moving Forward

CHAPTER 18

Four weeks later

"This box goes where?"

I looked at the label. "Kitchen. Third cabinet from the left."

Damien stared at me. "You labeled which cabinet?"

"Organization is important."

"You're insane."

"You love it."

"I really do."

We were moving into the house on Mercer Island. Seven bedrooms. Huge backyard. Home office for me. Study for Damien. And Liam's dream bedroom overlooking the lake.

It was perfect.

Also terrifying.

"Mommy! Daddy! Come see my room!"

We followed Liam upstairs. He was bouncing on his new bed.

"It's so big! And I can see the water! And there's space for all my toys!"

"Do you like it, buddy?" Damien asked.

"I LOVE it!" Liam threw his arms around Damien's neck. "This is the best house ever!"

Damien's eyes met mine over Liam's head.

This was real. We were really doing this.

Living together. As a family.

"I'm going to get more boxes," I said, needing a moment.

Outside, I took a deep breath.

This was good. This was what I wanted.

So why was I panicking?

"You okay?"

I turned. Damien stood in the doorway.

"Fine. Just... it's a lot."

"Too much?"

"No. Just right. Which is scary."

He walked over. Pulled me close. "Talk to me."

"I'm terrified we're going to mess this up. That we're moving too fast. That..."

"We're not."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've already lost you once. I know what that feels like. This?" He gestured to the house. "This feels right. Scary, but right."

"What if we fight? What if we can't make it work? What if Liam gets hurt?"

"Then we figure it out. Together. We don't run. We don't give up. We fight for this." He kissed my forehead. "But Sophia, we're not going to fail. Not this time."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Maya's car pulled up. She got out with more boxes.

"I brought the fragile stuff," she called. "And wine. Lots of wine."

"It's 2 PM," I said.

"And? Moving day requires wine."

That night

Boxes everywhere. Only half unpacked.

But Liam's room was done. That was priority.

We ordered pizza. Ate on the floor of the living room.

"This is like camping!" Liam said. "Indoor camping!"

"Exactly like camping," Damien agreed. "Except with better pizza."

"And a bathroom," I added.

"And no bears!"

We laughed.

After dinner, Liam wanted to explore the backyard. Damien took him while I unpacked the kitchen.

My phone rang. Unknown number.

I almost didn't answer.

But I did.

"Hello?"

"Sophia Martinez?"

"Yes?"

"This is Detective Sarah Chen with Seattle PD. I'm calling about a complaint filed against you."

My stomach dropped. "A complaint?"

"Yes. A Ms. Isabella Chen has filed a restraining order request. She claims you've been harassing her. Threatening her."

"That's insane! I haven't..."

"Ms. Chen has provided evidence. Phone records. Emails. Text messages."

"I never sent her anything..."

"We'll need you to come to the station to make a statement. Can you come in tomorrow?"

"I... yes. Of course."

"Nine AM. Ask for me at the front desk."

She hung up.

I stood there, phone in hand, shaking.

Isabella was coming after me.

And she was playing dirty.

Later

Damien came inside with Liam. Both of them muddy and laughing.

"We found a frog!" Liam announced.

"You found a frog?"

"And Daddy almost screamed!"

"I did not almost scream..."

"Yes, you did!" Liam dissolved into giggles.

Damien looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just tired."

"Sophia..."

"Can we talk after Liam goes to bed?"

He nodded. Worry in his eyes.

Bath time. Bedtime story. Liam asleep in his new room.

Then Damien found me in our bedroom. Unpacking clothes.

"What happened?" he asked.

I told him. About the call. The restraining order. The evidence that didn't exist.

"She's lying," Damien said immediately. "You never contacted her."

"I know that. You know that. But she has 'evidence.'"

"Fake evidence. Forged." He pulled out his phone. "I'm calling my lawyer."

"It's 10 PM..."

"I don't care." He dialed. "Marcus? It's Damien. I need you. Now."

Twenty minutes later, his lawyer was on video call. Listening to everything.

"She's setting you up," Marcus said. "Classic move. Create fake evidence. File false claims. Make your life hell."

"Can she do that?" I asked.

"She can try. But we'll fight it. I'll file a counter-claim. Prove the evidence is forged. This won't stick, Sophia. I promise."

"But in the meantime, I have to go to the police station. Make a statement. Be treated like a criminal."

"Unfortunately, yes. But I'll be there with you. You're not doing this alone."

After the call, I sat on the edge of the bed.

"This is because of me," Damien said quietly. "She's doing this to get to me."

"She's doing this because she's psychotic."

"I should have seen this coming. Should have protected you..."

"You can't protect me from crazy." I took his hand. "But you can stand with me while we fight it."

"Always. I'll always stand with you."

The next morning – Police Station

Marcus met us outside. Professional. Confident.

"Let me do the talking," he said. "Answer their questions honestly. Don't volunteer information. And don't let them intimidate you."

We walked in.

Detective Chen was waiting. Young. Sharp-eyed.

"Ms. Martinez. Thank you for coming in."

We followed her to an interview room.

"For the record, I'm Marcus Webb, Ms. Martinez's attorney."

"Noted." Detective Chen opened a file. "Ms. Martinez, Ms. Chen claims you've been sending her threatening messages for the past six weeks. Do you deny this?"

"Absolutely. I haven't contacted her at all."

"Not through email? Text? Social media?"

"No. Nothing."

"She has evidence."

"Then it's fake."

Detective Chen pulled out printed emails. "These came from your email address."

I looked at them. They were vicious. Threatening. Telling Isabella to stay away from Damien or else.

But I'd never written them.

"I didn't send these."

"They came from your email..."

"Then someone hacked my account. Or forged them. But I didn't send them."

"Can you prove that?"

Marcus leaned forward. "Can Ms. Chen prove she didn't forge them herself? Because that's what happened here. This is harassment against my client, not by her."

"That's a serious accusation..."

"So is filing a false police report." Marcus pulled out his own folder. "I have Ms. Martinez's actual email records. Time stamps. IP addresses. None of these supposed emails exist in her sent folder. Because she didn't send them."

Detective Chen looked through Marcus's documents.

"I'll need to verify this," she said.

"Please do. In the meantime, I expect the restraining order request to be dropped. And I'm filing a counter-complaint against Ms. Chen for harassment and filing a false report."

Detective Chen's expression shifted. "I'll look into this further. Ms. Martinez, you're free to go. We'll be in touch."

Outside, I could finally breathe.

"That was awful," I said.

"It's just the beginning," Marcus warned. "Isabella is desperate. She'll try more. Be prepared."

"How do I prepare for crazy?"

"By not letting her win. Don't engage. Don't respond. Let me handle everything legal." He looked at Damien. "And you need to make it crystal clear to Isabella that she has no chance. No hope. Nothing."

"I've tried..."

"Try harder. Public statement. Restraining order of your own. Whatever it takes."

Marcus left.

Damien and I sat in his car.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Stop apologizing. This isn't your fault."

"It is. My past. My mistakes. My..."

"Our present. Our fight. Our life." I took his hand. "We handle it together. That's what families do."

"When did you get so strong?"

"When I had to. When I had a son to protect. When I had a life to build." I looked at him. "I'm not the scared girl you married six years ago. I'm not even the woman who almost got on that plane five years ago. I'm stronger now. And I'm not letting Isabella or anyone else destroy what we have."

He stared at me. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now let's go home. To our house. To our son. To our life."

"Our life," he repeated. "I really like the sound of that."

That evening

Liam was playing in the backyard. We were unpacking the living room.

"I've been thinking," Damien said.

"Dangerous."

"Ha ha. No, seriously." He stopped. Looked at me. "I want to marry you. Again."

I froze. "What?"

"Not right now. Not tomorrow. But soon. A real wedding. Not a contract. Not a business deal. A real wedding where we promise forever because we mean it."

"Damien..."

"I know we're taking things slow. I know we just moved in together. But Sophia, I'm not waiting. I'm not wasting more time. I want you as my wife. Really my wife. Not because of a contract or a baby or convenience. But because I love you and I choose you and I want everyone to know it."

My eyes were wet. "You want to marry me?"

"More than anything."

"Even though I'm being sued by your ex-girlfriend?"

"Especially because of that. I want to marry you and show her, show everyone, that you're it for me. That we're forever."

"Forever is..."

"Not long enough. I know. You said that before." He took my hands. "Sophia Martinez, I'm not asking you to marry me right now. But I'm asking you to think about it. To consider being my wife again. For real this time."

"I don't need to think about it."

His face fell. "Oh."

"I mean yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes. I'll marry you. Again. For real this time."

His smile was brilliant. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. But Damien?"

"Anything."

"No contract. No prenup. No escape clauses. Just us. Promising forever."

"Deal. Just us. Forever."

He kissed me. Long and deep and perfect.

"Daddy! Mommy! You're kissing again!"

We pulled apart. Liam stood in the doorway, grinning.

"Come here, buddy," Damien said.

Liam ran over. Damien pulled him into the hug.

"How would you feel about Mommy and me getting married?" Damien asked.

"Like a real wedding?"

"Like a real wedding."

"With cake?"

"Lots of cake."

"Then yes! Yes yes yes!" Liam jumped up and down. "We're going to be a real family!"

"We're already a real family, buddy," I said.

"But now it'll be official!" Liam thought about it. "Can I be the ring bear?"

"Ring bearer," Damien corrected.

"That's what I said!"

We laughed.

And standing there, in our new house, with our son between us...

Everything felt right.

Isabella could try to destroy us.

The tabloids could write whatever they wanted.

None of it mattered.

Because we had this.

This family. This love. This life.

And nothing was going to take it away.

Meanwhile – New York

Isabella stared at her phone.

The police had called. The restraining order was denied.

Her fake evidence had been exposed.

"Damn lawyers," she muttered.

But she wasn't done. Not even close.

She scrolled through the private investigator's report.

Sophia's business. Her clients. Her weak points.

And there, at the bottom: Liam.

The child. The weak point. The leverage.

Isabella smiled.

"If I can't have Damien," she said to herself, "no one can."

She made a call.

"I need to hire someone," she said when they answered. "Someone discreet. Someone willing to do whatever it takes."

"What do you need done?"

"A k********g. A child. Four years old."

"When?"

"Soon. Very soon."

She hung up.

Looked at the photo on her phone. Damien, Sophia, and Liam at the park.

"Enjoy your happiness while it lasts," she whispered. "Because it's about to end."