Trading My Ex for His Uncle

Valarie widened her eyes in surprise. "Alright, but there are a lot of questions here. It might take me a day or two to finish. You're not in a hurry, are you?"

"No rush, but the sooner, the better. I really appreciate your help," Damon said.

Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Valarie smiled. "It's no trouble at all. I'm happy to help with the wedding preparations."

After parting ways with Damon, Valarie returned to her office.

As soon as she sat down, her phone rang. It was Brandon.

"Valarie, what did my uncle want? Did he give you a hard time?" he asked.

Hearing the tension in his voice, Valarie set the file down. "Why would you think he would give me a hard time?"

There was a brief silence before Brandon spoke again, his voice low. "I was worried he might blame you for my decision to leave the Sumner Group."

"You're overthinking it. He asked me to help with something unrelated. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up," Valarie replied.

"Valarie " Brandon began.

Before he could finish, Valarie ended the call.

Hearing the disconnected tone, Brandon smiled helplessly and put his phone away.

Two days later, Valarie completed Damon's questionnaire. For the questions she wasn't sure about, she casually brought them up with Nyla to get accurate answers.

She handed the completed form to Damon. "This questionnaire nearly drained me. You better make this wedding perfect. I don't want my hard work to go to waste!"

Damon took the document, his expression serious. "Thank you. Don't worry. I'll make sure Nyla has the perfect wedding."

"Then I'll be looking forward to it," Valarie replied.

Back at his office, Damon reviewed Valarie's answers carefully before calling Spencer and the wedding planners to go over the details.

For the next several days, Damon was out early and home late, completely absorbed in the wedding plans.

By Friday night, he had another long meeting with the wedding planners and didn't return home until after 10:00 p.m.

He was surprised to find Nyla still awake, watching TV on the couch.

"Nyla, why are you still up? It's late," Damon asked.

Since becoming pregnant, Nyla had been sleeping much earlier-sometimes even by 8:00 p.m.

Nyla turned to him, her expression serious. "Come here. We need to talk."

Damon changed his shoes and sat beside her. "What's wrong?"

"You tell me. Why have you been working so late every night? Every time I call Spencer, he says you're still at the office, but I asked the other shareholders, and they said there aren't any major projects right now. Are you just using work as an excuse to avoid coming home?" she asked.

Seeing the frustration in her eyes, Damon reached out to pull her into his arms, but she pulled away.

"Not until you explain yourself," she demanded.

Even when upset, she was adorable.

Damon coaxed, "Nyla, you're pregnant. You shouldn't be getting so worked up."noveldrama

Nyla glared at him. "If you know that,

why have you been coming

late

and leaving so early?

even seen you in days."

Pregnancy had made her more sensitive, and with Damon barely home, even

small things felt more upsetting.

Damon sighed. "I haven't actually

been

somerking. I've been planning et

else. But I can't tell you

yet. You'll find out soon enough."

She frowned. "Why can't you tell me now? Why must it wait?"

"Because I want it to be a surprise for you. If I tell you now, it won't be a surprise,

will it?" Damon replied.