Page 61 of Secret Baby for Dr. Billionaire

She was wearing a pair of blue socks like her older sister, something Ben got for them on a random Tuesday when he got home.

Billy Anne was on her side, a hand tucked under her chin, her mouth gaped as she slept soundly, drool running down the side of her mouth. I covered her shoulder with the duvet and kissed her temple. I did the same to Sofi, and she stirred a little before the binky dropped from her mouth. I picked it up, snapped back the shield, and stored it in one of the crib pockets.

Gwen’s perky and high-pitched voice seeped through the door, which was ajar. And I couldn’t help but overhear them.

“—you never called me, and the next time I saw you, you have agirlfriend?!”

I walked out of the room, shut the door behind me, and lingered in the hall to listen in. They wouldn’t be able to see me here from the kitchen anyway.

“What we had is in the past now, Gwen.” Ben’s voice told me he was getting frustrated with her. “I told you I was done. That I wasn’t going to call you anymore.”

“Yeah, because apparently, someone’s already warming your bed.”

“That’s none of your business,” Ben snapped. My heart raced. I didn’t like where this was going.

“How long are you going to stay with her?”

“What do you mean? She’s my girlfriend, Gwen. This isn’t some fucking game.”

“Oh, yeah?” Gwen challenged. “So I shouldn’t be expecting a call in the middle of the night for a good fuck when you decide to break up with her for me like you did the others in the past? No more push and pull game?”

“I’m not going to break up with her. And I told you two months ago that I was done.”

“What if I’m not? What if I still want us to fool around? We can keep it a secret. She doesn’t have to know.”

Don’t do it, Ben, I prayed inwardly. The revelation stung. He and Gwen were fuck buddies. They had been fooling around for… months? Years?

Gwen’s words implied that Ben had a history of calling her when he needed to get laid after his breakups. If things between us went south, would he call her?

I shouldn’t care. Ben was an adult. He could do whatever he wanted.

So why were my cheeks suddenly wet? Why was my chest suddenly aching? God! Here I was, falling hard for Ben like an idiot, only to know that there was a possibility that he’d leave me for this woman like he did with his other girlfriends.

“You should leave, Gwen.”

That wasn’t a no. I didn’t know if Ben said something or if he agreed with her. The pain in my chest was indescribable. It was like I wanted to explode.

For the past two and a half months, I’d been imagining this life with him and the kids. I was finally happy to have my own little family. How could I have been so stupid?

I returned to Billy Anne’s room and gathered Sofi in my arms, grabbing her dolphin. I carefully positioned her in my arms, making sure she wouldn’t wake up.

Without a second thought, I left the room just as Ben was coming inside. We both stopped in our tracks, and I prayed that my eyes weren’t red because I wasn’t fond of the idea of Ben seeing me this way.

“Chloe?” Ben looked up at me, then at Sofi, whose head was nestled against the curve of my shoulder. “Where are you going? It’s okay if you stay—”

“Actually, Ben,” I started. “I think Sofi and I will spend the night at home.”

“Wh–” Then the realization hit his face. “Is this about Gwen? I told you that she and I are—”

“Are old friends,” I finished. “I know.” Oh, they were more than that.

“Nothing is going on between me and her. She was a friend of a friend, and we mess—”

“Ben, you don’t have to explain. Whoever she is, that’s your business. It’s not my place to ask questions.” It’s not my place to be jealous, too, I wanted to add. But that would make me look more ridiculous. “This co-parenting thing, we’re doing it for Sofi. And the sex, no strings attached, remember?”

I stepped around Ben when he didn’t move aside, and I went for the door. I didn’t know what stung more, the horrible feeling of envy in my chest or the fact that Ben didn’t even correct me or stop me when I left his penthouse.

God, maybe he really wasn’t feeling the same way. And here I was, about to give up everything for him.

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