FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 157

CHAPTER 157

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When we got to the school, Lily was the first to spot me.

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She came running down the hall before the coordinator had even finished opening the door. Jamie crouched just in time to catch her. Lily crashed into her chest and burst into tears, clutching Jamie’s coat like she was afraid someone might pull her away.

“Miss Chloe got hurt,” she said between sobs. “She fell. There was blood on her face.”

Jack came up behind her, trying to hold it together like the big brother. He couldn’t. His eyes were red, and he was gripping Sam’s hand so tightly the kid complained.

“Uncle Simon, she tried to protect Lily,” Jack explained. “Dad was trying to take us with him.”

I crouched in front of them.

“I know. I saw the video.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Sam asked, his bottom lip trembling. “Is Miss Chloe going to die?”

“No, sweetheart.” Jamie pulled Sam close and kissed the top of his head. “She’s at the hospital. The doctors are taking care of her. We’re going to see her now.”

“Poor Miss Chloe. She can’t be all alone. I want Miss Chloe.”

“No one’s going to leave her alone,” I said. “We’re all going to the hospital together.”

The coordinator explained that the mother who’d recorded the incident had brought the kids back to the school after security arrived.

She also confirmed that Chloe had been conscious when they took her to the hospital, though she was understandably shaken.

I thanked her, then took all three kids to the car.

Lily sat beside Jamie and never let go of her hand the entire drive. Jack sat behind me, quiet, staring out the window. Sam sat next to me. None of them asked about Graham.

“Is Chloe coming home with us?” Lily asked.

“First, we’re going to see how she’s doing,” Jamie said gently. “Then we’ll figure out what’s best for her.”

“I want her to come back.”

“I know, sweetheart.”

When our eyes met in the rearview mirror, Jamie gave me a silent look, asking me not to turn this into another problem.

I understood.

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At the hospital, I asked for Chloe at the front desk. She was in an observation room waiting for the doctor to clear her. The nurse explained that she had a cut on her face and had undergone a few tests because of the fall.

Nothing suggested a serious injury, but they wanted to make sure she didn’t have a concussion.

“I want to see her.”

The nurse looked at me, and I nodded. She led us to the room but asked us to go in calmly.

Chloe was sitting up in bed with a bandage along the side of her face. The cut started near her cheekbone and disappeared beneath the gauze. Her hair had been pulled back haphazardly, and a bruise was beginning to form near her temple.

Lily let go of Jamie’s hand and ran to her.

“Miss Chloe!”

Chloe opened her arms. Lily curled against her, sobbing. Jack and Sam came over next, one on either side of the bed.

“Hey, my loves,” Chloe murmured, stroking Lily’s hair. “I’m okay. Don’t cry.”

“You got hurt,” Sam said.

“Just a little. But the doctors took care of me, and I’m okay now.”

Chloe held out her free hand to Jack.

“Are you okay too, Jack?”

He nodded but couldn’t answer. I put a hand on his shoulder.

“The kids are okay,” I said. “How are you?”

Chloe looked at me.

“I’m fine, Mr. Hart. It was just a scare. What matters is that the kids are safe. I’d never forgive myself if any of them had gotten hurt.”

Jamie stepped closer to the bed and gently touched her arm.

“You were incredibly brave.”

The nurse interrupted to say Chloe could be discharged as soon as they finished going over her instructions. She needed to rest, keep the bandage clean, and come back if she experienced dizziness or

nausea.

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“I don’t want to leave without you, Miss Chloe,” Lily said.

“You’re going home with Simon and Jamie. I’ll be okay.”

“But are you coming back tomorrow?”

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Chloe hesitated for only a second.

they let me come back, yes. I’d come back every day.”

Lily looked at me as though the decision rested entirely in my hands.

“We’ll talk about that once you’re feeling better,” I said.

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Chloe tried to sit up straighter, but the movement tugged at the cut. She winced and lifted a hand to her face.

“Don’t move,” Jamie said, adjusting the pillow behind her.

“Sorry. I should’ve been paying more attention.”

“You took a nasty fall,” I said. “You don’t need to keep apologizing.”

I looked at the gauze and felt the anger rise again. Not at Chloe. At Graham.

“I’m covering your medical bills,” I said. “And I want you to accept a bonus for what you did today.”

“Mr. Hart, you don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. You protected three children. I’m not treating that like it was part of your regular paycheck.”

“I don’t want the bonus.”

I frowned.

“Then what do you want?”

“I want to keep working for you. I know you were thinking about replacing me, but I don’t want to lose the chance to take care of the kids because I made such a terrible first impression. I know the rules now, and I’ll do everything I can to prove you can trust me.”

Jamie looked at me. She knew exactly how concerned I’d been about Chloe’s boundaries, but she was seeing the same thing I was: Lily clinging to Chloe’s hand, Jack and Sam still shaken and unwilling to move away from her.

“All right,” I said. “Don’t worry about any of that right now. You just took a hard fall. Rest. We’ll talk when you’re feeling better.”

The relief on Chloe’s face was subtle, but it was there.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr. Hart. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“For now, this conversation is over,” I added. “You’re going to follow the doctor’s instructions, and you’re not coming back until you’ve recovered. That’s not negotiable.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jamie stayed with Lily while I walked the boys toward the exit.

The idea of letting Chloe continue working in the apartment still bothered me. I’d already decided it

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