FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 155

CHAPTER 155

MON

Jamie came downstairs beside me. Chloe was already at the table with the kids, laughing while Jack explained something with both hands.

Lily kept interrupting to correct every detail, while Sam, focused on his cereal, watched the argument through sleepy eyes.

Chloe looked up at me the second I reached the bottom step.

“Good morning,” she said.

I ruffled Jack’s hair and kissed the top of Lily’s head.

“Morning.”

The doorbell rang.

Sylvia appeared in the dining room doorway. Her posture was as impeccable as ever, but the tension on her face made my shoulders straighten.

“Mr. Hart. Miss Collins,” she said quietly, making sure the children couldn’t hear. “There’s a man downstairs. Graham Mercer. He says he’s here to pick up his children.”

Jack’s fork clattered against his plate.

For a second, I didn’t move. Then I set my coffee cup on the table.

“Is he alone?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Don’t let him in. Keep him at the entrance.”

I grabbed my phone. Jamie stepped closer and lowered her voice.

“What are you going to do?”

“Call their grandmother. I want to know if she authorized this.”

I moved a few steps away and called. Abby’s mother answered quickly, her voice low and rushed through the speaker.

“Simon? Is something wrong?”

“Graham’s here. He says he came to get the kids. Did you know he was coming?”

“No. I have no idea what he’s doing there or how he even got the address. He hasn’t shown any interest in

them since the divorce.”

I looked toward the elevator doors as if I could see straight through them.

1

09:38 Fri, Oct 21.

FAKA DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

“Did you tell anyone the kids were staying here?”

No. I mean… may have mentioned to a few mutual acquaintances that a friend of Abby’s was helping when things got difficult. But I never thought it would get back to him. Graham was the last person I expected to show up.”

I looked at Jamie.

“Please don’t let him in. And don’t let him take my grandchildren,” Mrs. Lancaster pleaded on the other end of the line.

“I won’t. I have the power of attorney you signed authorizing me to care for them. They’re staying with me, and Graham isn’t getting past that door. Don’t worry.”

She let out a relieved breath. I promised I’d call if anything happened and ended the call.

I told Sylvia to keep Graham at the entrance and not let him any farther into the building. Then I turned to Jamie.

“We can’t let that man anywhere near the kids. He’s violent.”

“I know. I won’t let him near them.”

“Uncle Simon?”

Jack’s voice came from behind us. He was standing beside his chair, pale, his fingers gripping the backrest.

“I heard you,” he said, his voice shaking. “I don’t want to go with my dad. Please don’t make me!”

Jamie went to him immediately and knelt, opening her arms. She wrapped him up gently, and his small body trembled against hers.

“You’re not going anywhere you don’t feel safe, sweetheart,” she murmured. “Okay? I promise.”

I crouched beside them. The hardness I needed to deal with Graham had no place in front of that little boy.

“No one is taking you out of here,” I promised. “I won’t let them.”

Jack grabbed my shirt. I covered his hand with mine.

“Stay here with Miss Jamie,” I told him, glancing at the other kids. “I’m going downstairs to handle this. Nobody leaves this room, okay?”

Jamie nodded, but her eyes stayed on me.

“I’ll stay with them,” she said.

I went down alone. Graham was waiting in the condo’s lobby. He looked older than he had in the few pictures I’d seen, but his eyes were just as hard. The second he saw me, his mouth twisted into a humorless smile.

“Finally. I’m here to get my kids.”

13.58 Fri, Oct 2 JIJIJI

FAKN DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

I stopped a few feet away. I didn’t need to get any closer to make it clear he wasn’t getting past me.

ou shouldn’t have come.”

“I’m their father. I have every right to see them and take them with me.”

“You’re not taking them anywhere today. Their grandmother gave me power of attorney to care for them. They’re my responsibility right now, and you don’t get to show up here and drag them out by force.”

His smile vanished.

“Who the hell do you think you are? You think a piece of paper makes you their father?”

“No. It makes me the person responsible for keeping them safe while they’re in my care.”

He gave a short laugh and looked me up and down.

“My ex told me about you. Hart. The ex who became a billionaire. But that’s all you are. Just another one of Abby’s exes. That slut had already been around the block a hundred times by the time I married her. Hell, I bet you two were screwing behind my back while she was still with me. Is that why you decided to play daddy to my kids? Because you’re fucking their mother?”

My jaw locked. I stepped forward.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me or Abby. And you’re not going to use her past to get a reaction out

of me.”

“Hit a nerve, didn’t I?”

“Listen carefully. You are not going near those children. If you lay a hand on any one of them, I swear to God, I will make your life a living hell.”

His smile faltered. I held his gaze and lowered my voice.

“You’ve already scared Jack enough just by showing up here. Leave now, before I stop being polite and have security call the police. I’m not going to tell you again.”

For a moment, he seemed to weigh whether pushing me was worth it. Then he glanced at the building security guard watching from nearby and looked back at me. He took a step away.

“This isn’t over.”

“For today, it is. Get out.”

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