Page 20 of Secret Baby for Dr. Billionaire

“Because I wanted to hide Sofi from you.” That hit a nerve. I could tell.

“You’re clearly not doing a good job. Just admit that you’re following me, babe.”

“And why, pray tell, would I be following you?”

“Because you want my money. The first time you called me two years ago was because you wanted money. Now, here you are, inmybuilding, across frommypenthouse. That can’t be a coincidence.”

Thathita nerve inme. It wanted to throw a plate at this man. His money? If I wanted this man’s money, I would’ve done something about it years ago. If I wanted his money, I shouldn’t have waited these years, wasted sleepless nights, and cried myself to sleep countless times. It would’ve been so easy to track this man down if I had really wanted to. A simple Google search of who owned that bar would’ve done it.

I walked toward where Ben was, forcing a laugh, but my eyes stung from the unwanted tears trying to break through.

“Who hurt you, Ben?” It was a genuine question that visibly caught Ben off guard. “Why would you think I’m after your money? You told me goodbye two years ago, and you haven’t heard from me since.” I didn’t tell him that I had been calling his number nonstop for over a year. And that I knew for a fact that he had blocked me.

“And if I was following you, trust me, it wouldn’t take me too long to hunt you down.”

“Chloe, how am I supposed to trust that you are telling the truth when you couldn’t even answer why you called me that afternoon.”

“How are so dense, Ben?!”I called you because I didn’t have anyone else. I wanted to add but didn’t. I couldn’t help but raise my voice, which I immediately regretted because Sofi was finally down, and I didn’t want to be the person responsible for waking her up again.

The tears escaped this time, but they weren’t because I was hurt. I was fucking frustrated. And with the lack of sleep, my emotions were heightened.

“For the last time, I’m not after your money. In fact, I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Good, because you’re not getting a single penny from me, Chloe.”

“Good, Ben,” I repeated with a nod. “Because I’m not expecting anything. You can pretend that you don’t know me. You can pretend that Sofi’s not yours. You want me to get out of your hair? Fine. I’ll only be here for three months anyway, and then we’re gone. We’re going to be okay without you.”

Ben was lost for words. He stared at me in complete awe, shock, and something that resembled guilt. I sniffled, wiping my cheeks with the back of my hand.

“Thank you for helping me with Sofi. I appreciate it. Truly. Now please, get thefuckout of my living room.”

He walked out without saying anything more, and I closed the door after him. A huge weight seemed to have evaporated from my shoulders when Ben was out of my sight.

Finally, I could think and breathe more clearly. I let the remaining tears roll down my cheeks as my body began to tremble. I had to cover my mouth to stop the sobs, and I prayed that the heavy weight of emotions wouldn’t cause an attack.

Ben didn’t want anything to do with us. I didn’t know why I had expected something different this time. I told myself that Sofi and I were going to be okay. I’d been doing this on my own all along, and I could continue doing it.

Daddy dearest could go fuck himself.

Chapter eight

Ben

Sofi’shazeleyeshauntedme the entire morning. They stared at me every time I blinked, even if I was in the shower or changing my clothes. She was there when I flipped the pancakes.

And when Billy Anne had woken up and had breakfast with me, Billy Anne’s identical eyes twisted my guts. Sofi had the same eyes. It was eerie. It was so eerie I thought I was in a fever dream.

I had done a very shitty thing earlier today. I knocked on her apartment to help her, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted to confront her, too. Hurting her was not part of the plan. And the look on her face when I left her penthouse told me that I had succeeded in hurting her. It made me a fucking jackass.

It got to me when she asked me who hurt me. It was Tonette, of course. What was happening with Chloe was almost the same as what had happened with Tonette. A child, an unknown man, and a great opportunity to steal from me.

Most people would say that I was a greedy bastard with the way I talk about the things that I’ve earned. But honestly, I couldn’t give two shits about the money. I could give fifty people a million-dollar check, and I wouldn’t bat an eye. The thing was, I was sick of opening myself up to someone when all they wanted was to get to know how much money I could give them. No one could blame me for keeping my guard up.

With that said, I didn’t mean to hurt Chloe. And I sure as hell didn’t want to neglect Sofi.

Fine, that child was mine. There was no doubt. The eyes told me everything I needed to know, and the age checked out. I didn’t need a paternity test to find that part out. I could do it, but I knew that it would only push Chloe away, and I didn’t want to do that. If I wanted to get closer to Sofi, I needed to please her mother.

“Daddy, are you listening?” Billy Anne chirped from her booster seat, leaning forward to poke my head.

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