FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

MON

After the ice cream, we were all covered in Belgian chocolate.

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Sam had a smear on his nose. Lily was licking her own hand. Jack had an air of superiority about him.like he was too mature for his siblings.

“You’re all a mess,” I announced, looking at the trio in the backseat.

“So are you, Uncle Simon,” Lily shot back, pointing at the stain on my shirt. “There’s ice cream on your shirt. Miss Jamie’s going to have to wash it.”

“He’s a grown man, he can wash himself,” Jamie said, but her smile was complicit.

We got to my penthouse, and the moment the elevator doors opened, Jack stopped in the middle of the

room.

“Whoa,” he said, eyes wide. “You’re really rich.”

“What gave you that impression?”

Jack spun around. “Literally everything.”

Sam had already kicked off his shoes and was running toward the windows. “You can see the whole world

from here!”

“Almost,” I agreed. “Missing a few parts.”

Lily was spinning slowly in the center of the room, arms out, head tilted back. “It’s like Cinderella’s castle,” she announced. “Just shinier.”

“Yeah, pretty sure the prince’s castle didn’t have a glass wall,” Jamie murmured to me.

“And they called that a life of luxury.”

Jamie bit her lip to keep from laughing, and I felt a small jolt of satisfaction at having pulled that reaction from her.

I spent the whole afternoon trying to distract the kids from the hospital situation. I put cartoons on the TV, but they lost interest. Then Jack decided he wanted to see the garage. When they saw the cars, it was like they’d walked into an amusement park.

“You have four cars?” Sam asked, voice full of awe.

“Seven, actually. But four are here.”

“You’re richer than Santa Claus,” Lily declared.

“Less beard, more money. I think it’s a fair trade.”

After the garage, we tried having a picnic in the living room. What started with sandwiches and juice

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS: MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

ended with crumbs on the rug, an argument about who would get the last cookie, and Jack trying to convince Lily that the hero of the movie wasn’t the strongest, but the smartest, because “brute force doesn’t beat strategy.”

Jamie mediated the argutnent with a patience I didn’t have. She sat on the floor with them, listened to their arguments, weighed the evidence, and delivered a verdict that left the kids satisfied.

I caught myself smiling.

She didn’t have kids. As far as I knew, she’d never spent much time around them. But there, on that floor. with the three little ones clinging to her like she was their only anchor in a sea of uncertainty, she looked like she’d been born for it.

The scene made something tighten in my chest.

By early evening, after a long bath and two stories-one about a dinosaur who wanted to be an astronaut and another about a princess who refused to marry a prince because she’d rather study astronomy-the kids were finally asleep.

I walked downstairs slowly, finding Jamie out on the balcony, leaning against the railing, the city glittering below her.

She looked like a mirage.

I came up beside her.

“They’re down,” I said.

“I saw Lily’s eyes flutter when you went to the boys’ room. I think she was faking. She’ll be out here any minute.”

“You caught that?”

“Yeah. Can’t blame her. Not easy to sleep when your mom’s gone.”

The truth hung between us.

“Abby’s mom is with her,” I said quietly. “They’re monitoring the swelling. The doctors said it could take days. Weeks. The kids’ dad is out of the picture. So her only support system is her mother, and she’s split between the hospital and the grandkids. She asked me to keep them while she stays with Abby.”

Jamie looked away. “That’s a lot. I’m sorry.”

“Abby’s a good person. And the kids…” I paused. “They’re good kids. They don’t deserve this. That’s why I said yes.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself. What you’re doing for them is… really admirable.”

Jamie was quiet for a long moment. Then she pushed off the railing.

“I’m leaving.”

“What do you mean, leaving?” I turned to her, something like panic rising in my chest. “You’re not staying?”

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

She was already walking toward the elevator, purse in hand.

mie.”

She pressed the button. The doors opened.

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“I’d love to stay,” she said, stepping inside. “But this is your problem. Your ex-girlfriend is your business. and I have work tomorrow… see you around, Simon.”

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