Page 18 of Secret Baby for Dr. Billionaire

I didn’t want to put her on the spot, but it was killing me not knowing. I finally decided to address the elephant in the room. The look of pain on her face was like no other.

“Is she mine?”

Chapter seven

Chloe

“Isshemine?”

I didn’t expect Clyde—Ben—to come knocking on my door at three in the morning. After he put the Post-it note on my door and revealed that he was indeedmyClyde, I did everything in my power to avoid him. Sometimes, when we arrived at the same time in the garage, I’d let him go first, and I’d wait fifteen minutes until I could go back up to my penthouse. I didn’t know what I’d say if I met him in the lobby.

But tonight, there was no running. He was here in my penthouse. And he was holdingmy Sofi. I should’ve gone ballistic, maybe yelled at him to get the fuck out, to question him why he had abandoned me. But it seemed like my brain had short-circuited, and I didn’t know what to say or what to do. It freaked me out even more when he had jabbed his finger in my daughter’s mouth.

I should’ve complained, but the silence that followed made me want to jump for joy and kiss the man. The joy was short-lived, though, because he decided to ask methequestion.

I hadn’t actually planned on what to say to Ben when the time came because, one, I thought he was back in New York, and two, I didn’t think that we’d see each other this early. I guess the universe really wanted to fuck me over.

My legs went weak when he asked the question, and I wanted to go on my knees to weep from…I don’t know. Relief maybe? Because Sofi finally was quiet. Or maybe from the overwhelming exhaustion brought on by Sofi not sleeping through the night anymore and Ben coming over.

“She’s yours, Ben. Just like I told you a couple of years ago.”

Ben took his time answering. He studied Sofi in his arms, which I admit was not a horrible sight to see.

I’d longed for the day that I could have a complete family for Sofi, something I didn’t have growing up. But seeing Ben and remembering how quickly he had dismissed me made me feel the pain all over again. He didn’t have the right to enjoy this moment. I wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy. I went through hell to get here.

“Give me one reason why I should believe you, Chloe.”

The sound of my name on his lips made me shiver. I’d longed for the day he’d call me by my real name. But instead of bliss, I felt furious with his question.

“I don’t have to give you anything,Ben. You don’t have the right to ask me things when you chose to abandon us. I never lied to you. And I was never in it for the money. I’ve made peace with the fact that I have to do this by myself.”

I had been doing this all on my own. I owed it to Sofi to give her a good life and provide for her needs. Ben could do whatever the fuck he wanted, but he had no right to barge into my life and assert dominance. I didn’t suffer so much just for this.

“Who is Franklin Hollis?”

Ben was pissing me off, and I could tell that he, too, was getting agitated. But neither of us dared to raise our voices, not when Sofi’s eyes were finally getting heavy.

“You say you’ve been doing it on your own, but who the hell is Franklin Hollis? Your husband? How do I know that the kid isn’t his?”

“Frankie is not my husband. And if he was, it’s none of your damn business,” I hissed at Ben, crossing my arms on my chest, feeling small from his accusations.

“It is if this child is mine. How do I know that Franklin is not a dangerous man?”

“He’s not,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “Frankie’s twice the man you’ll ever be. And how do you even know Frankie?”

“I saw his name in the rental ledger.”

“You dug through the building records?”

“I didn’t dig”, I said.

“You can’t do that,” I pointed. “It’s an invasion of privacy. The landlord will hear about this.”

Ben went silent, and I saw the way his jaw clenched. From the look on his face, he wasn’t planning on going down without a fight. So I pressed him even more.

“Look at her.” I gestured towards Sofi, whose eyes were getting drowsy. “Look at her and tell me she isn’t yours.”

Sofi was his, all right. They had the same eyes, and they had the same fucking nose. And every time that child wrinkled her little button nose at me, I wanted to cry because it would always remind me of him.

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