FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 80

CHAPTER 80

MIE

The terrace doors swung opeti, and the cold evening air hit my face-carrying the smell of concrete and the distant hum of the city below.

The sun was sinking, bleeding orange and pink across the sky, and there in the center of the ferrace, Simon stood facing me, his hands clasped behind his back.

He wasn’t moving. Head down. Posture weirdly anxious.

My heels clicked against the concrete as I walked toward him. He heard me coming and lifted his head slowly, those blue eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that stopped me mid-stride.

“What are you hiding back there?” I asked, one eyebrow arched, my gaze sliding to his hands.

“Come here and I’ll show you.”

I closed the distance, stopping a few feet away. “I’m here.”

“Closer.”

His voice was soft. Almost a whisper.

I hesitated-some instinct flickering in my chest, something that felt a lot like distrust. But I stepped forward anyway, and before I could pull back, he caught my hand, his fingers lacing through mine. He spun me gently, and suddenly I was facing away from him, his body fitting perfectly behind mine, his warmth seeping through my skin.

My heart stuttered.

“What are you-”

“Shh.”

His lips brushed my ear, his breath hot against my neck. He slid a bouquet of red roses into my hand. “These are for you.”

I blinked, confused, staring down at the flowers. They were beautiful-perfect, really, each petal velvety and deep red against the twilight sky.

“Simon, they’re—”

“Yeah.” He was already moving, his fingers finding my hair, sweeping it away from my neck with a tenderness that made my pulse kick. Something cold touched my skin-a necklace-and I felt the weight of the chain settle against my collarbone. “And this too.”

He finished clasping it and stepped back. I turned slowly, my fingers finding the pendant. A small gold locket, delicate, and when I flipped it open, it was empty.

“It’s a picture locket,” he explained, his voice a little rough, and there was something unfamiliar in his eyes -a vulnerability I wasn’t used to seeing. “The kind where you put a couple’s photo. But since we don’t have

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FAKN DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

one…” He paused, his eyes fixed on mine. “I guess we have a problem to fix.”

wallowed hard “Couple?”

“I know we said it was just sex.” He stepped closer, his gaze never leaving mine. “But I’m done pretending. Jamie. I want you. Not just in my office, not just in my bed. I want you in my life.”

My heart stopped.

“Simon, are you-”

“I’m asking you to be my girlfriend.” His voice was steady, and he smiled-not the arrogant smirk he always wore, but something real. “I know it sounds crazy. I know we have rules. But I can’t look at you anymore and pretend you’re not the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing before I fall asleep.”

The words hung between us.

And I felt the fear rise like a tide.

“Simon…” My voice came out hoarse. “I can’t.”

His smile faltered. “What?”

“I can’t do this.” I felt the tears starting to burn behind my eyes, and I forced a smile-weak, broken. I pushed the bouquet back into his hands, my fingers trembling. I pulled off the necklace, the metal still warm against my skin, and placed it in his palm. “This is beautiful. And I’m flattered. But I can’t.”

“Jamie, if this is about the woman you saw in my office, Natalie is just a friend-”

“It’s not about her. It’s about me.”

I couldn’t look at him.

“I spent ten years of my life trapped in a relationship that went nowhere,” I continued, my voice low, shaking. “I regret wasting all that time on someone who never valued me.”

The bitter laugh that escaped me was more of a sob, and when I looked up, Simon was staring at me with an expression I couldn’t read.

“Jamie…”

“So now, when you tell me you want to build something real with me, all I can think is: am I going to spend another ten years with another man and find out he wasn’t the right one either?”

My voice cracked. I swallowed hard.

“You’re amazing, Simon. And I really do like you. But I can’t trust anyone anymore-not even myself to pick the right man.”

Silence stretched between us. He looked away, jaw tight.

“So that’s it?” His voice was low, controlled. “Because you think every man is the same? Because you can’t

trust?”

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“It’s not about you,” I whispered. “It’s about me.”

Bullshit. The word came out harsh, and I saw something break in his eyes. “Don’t make this about self- discovery. If you’re going to reject me, at least be honest. You can’t accept that someone like me could want something real.”

“Simon-”

He stepped back, and the pain in his eyes hardened into something colder.

“To you, I’m not the right man. I’m not what you need to believe in love again.”

I dropped my gaze.

“There’s something else I need to tell you.” I swallowed. “I think we should stop seeing each other. Before this gets any more complicated. And about my family… I’ll tell them we ended things.”

The silence that fell between us seemed to fill the entire terrace.

Simon stood still for a few seconds.

Then he nodded slowly.

“Fine.”

I looked up at him.

His jaw was tight, but his voice stayed polite.

“If that’s what you want, Jamie, I’ll respect it.”

Another silence.

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