Page 22 of My Big, Fat, Secret Billionaire Baby

“Doesn’t matter,” I say quickly, yanking open the heavy bedroom door. “Go back to sleep, Leo.”

“Wait…” he starts, trying to push himself up, but I’m already slipping through the door, pulling it shut behind me with a soft, decisive click.

I lean against the cool wood of the door, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My heart feels like it’s going to beat its way out of my chest. Tears I refused to shed earlier now burn hot behind my eyes.

Run.

I race through the suite, barely seeing the luxury around me, until I burst onto the private landing. One of his guards from last night is still there, seated in a chair next to the door. Charlie, I think?

He raises an eyebrow at me when I emerge.

“You didn’t kill him, did you?” Charlie asks, and I can’t tell if he’s being serious or just deadpanning.

“He’ll live,” I reply.

I practically sprint to the private elevator, jabbing the down button repeatedly. Behind me, Charlie is entering the suite to check on Leo.

The elevator doors finally slide open. Inside, it’s thankfully empty.

As I descend, the glittering lights of Vegas beyond the glass walls blur through my tears.

Idiot. Stupid, stupid idiot.

How could I have let that happen? How could I have been so reckless, so needy, so… available? I purposely didn’t take any drugs so that I’d be in full control of my faculties.

A lot of good that did me.

He didn’t choose me. Hewouldn’tchoose me. Last night was a transaction fueled by drugs and proximity, nothing more. And now I’m fleeing like a criminal, leaving him to wake up confused and alone, just like my father left me.

Well, it’s not like Leo remembers anything anyway.

The elevator doors open onto the main casino floor. The noise, the lights, the stale cigarette smoke hit me like a physical blow.

It’s still dark outside, but the casino is timeless, and relentlessly bright. I stumble towards the main elevators, desperate to get back to my room, to the relative sanity of my friends, before I completely fall apart.

The secret settles heavily in my gut, cold and hard. I slept with Leo Maxwell.

He was high.

I wasn’t.

He won’t remember.

And I have to pretend it never happened.

I swipe furiously at a tear escaping down my cheek as I wait for one of the main elevators.

God.

What an absolute fucking mess.

7

Leo

Six weeks later...

The final numbers on the Axiom Dynamics just landed on my screen.

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