Falling for Mr. Billionaire 1

"LEAVE MY FUCKING HOUSE," Benjamin came in shouting.

"Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, but he just started laughing. I would always joke about saying babe to him. But today, he was so different.

"I TOLD YOU TO FUCKING LEAVE," he shouted again, glaring at me.

"Please, Benjamin. Don't hurt me." I couldn't help but remember my past when my step-father abused me.

"JUST GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE, SOFIA," he said, taking a threatening step and grabbing my hand. "What did I do to you?" he asked, pausing for a minute. "I stopped everything for you."

"Nothing. I swear, Ben." I was so shocked. What did I do to him to make him hurt me like that? "Please calm down," I pleaded and started crying even harder and louder.

"Acting like you didn't do anything when you went stripping for my friends." He took a long pause. As I was about to explain myself, he cut me off. "YOU FUCKING CHEATER. YOU CHEATED ON ME," he said dangerously. His eyes turned black.

****

They say you can run from the truth, but you can never hide.

It always finds a way to catch up with you.

I believe the past is the same.

You may always run away, but it will catch up with you when you least expect it.

—Queensofsupreme

****

Sofia's POV.

"Elijah, come back here, or I swear to God, I will kill you this time," I shouted for the hundredth time. Elijah never listened. Annette and he just loved playing outside and not giving a shit about life. It'd been three years and six months since I last saw Benjamin.

The love of my life.

The guy I thought was going to be the one that would always have my back, but life proved me wrong. My mom was right. I was a slut—a whore no one cared about. And she was right once again. I never had friends. No one wanted to be my friend—until the day I moved to New York, the city that never sleeps.

"I'm here, Mommy," Elijah said after taking his time. I was very happy that I made two friends who had a daughter.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that, Eli?" I asked him. Today, he finally turned three, but honestly, I believed he was cleverer than any three years old.

"I love Momma," he answered.

The person I loved the most in this world just told me he loved me. I was so happy. Don't get me wrong, though. I knew he either wanted something or he did something.

"What did you do, Eli?" I looked him in the eye, but he just smiled.

"Sofia Valentines, I swear to God, I'll kill you and your son," Anna shouted from outside. Shit, what did Elijah do to her this time?

Anna Coetzee Hendricks was my best friend. She and her husband were the first friends I made when I moved here. They were happily married and had a three-year-old daughter named Annette who, if I wasn’t wrong, was the one Elijah did something to.

"What's wrong, Anna?" I asked, knowing that Elijah did something again.

"He painted Annette's face. Are you sure that he is only three years old today?" Anna shouted, not noticing that Elijah was hiding behind me because he was pretending to be scared of her.

When I was pregnant, I almost gave Elijah up for adoption, but Anna and Marko helped me keep him. Anna was like a mother to him, and she would definitely take care of him if something ever happened to me.

Life was always unpredictable.

"Sorry, Anna, but it is his—" Before I could finish talking, Elijah cut me off.

"It's my birthday," Elijah mumbled, making Anna angry. But then she just started laughing and kissed him on the forehead.

"You are both such cute babies," she said, cleaning Annette's face.

"I'm not a baby. Tell her, Momma." Elijah was trying so hard to act angry. He even rolled his eyes when he heard Anna say, “My cute babies.”

"Of course, you’re not Anna's cute baby," I told Elijah. He smiled until I added, "You are my cute baby boy." He rolled his eyes and looked at Anna and me, trying to think of a comeback until he heard Marko's voice.

"Where's my big birthday boy?" Marko shouted as he came in.

"Uncle Mark! Yay! I was—I missed you." Elijah was so excited that he forgot how to actually speak right. Anna and I started laughing because we knew he was going to tell Marko everything.

"Uncle Mark, Mommy called me a baby," Elijah said. I wouldn't have liked Elijah telling Marko or any other guy what I said to him, but it was not his fault that his father was gone. Marko was the closest thing he had to a father.

"Don't worry. I'll punish Aunty and your dad—" Marko paused.

What the fuck was he even thinking saying that today of all the days?

Your dad! Seriously?

"Where is Daddy?"

Shit. I hate you, Marko Hendricks. I hate you so much right now.

"Dad is going to be here soon, baby. He’s just, umm, very busy right now." I always knew he was going to start asking about his father. But what could I do if he didn't exist for me anymore? Every time he asked this question, it was going to be a reminder of my past. I left London for one reason—and that was to forget everything and everyone there.

But how could I when Elijah was a reminder!

"But Mommy—" Before he finished his sentence, I cut him off.

"No buts, Eli. Let's go." As I picked Elijah up, Anna and Marko mouthed, “We’re so sorry.” I just smiled at them, reassuring them that it was fine. I kissed Annette before I left.

****

"Elijah, come to the bath right now," I called him again.

This kid would be the death of me one day.

"I'm coming, Mommy." I couldn't believe I believed him when he’d said that to me a thousand times for the last ten minutes. So, I walked to his room and found him already in bed, sleeping. Didn't he just tell me he was coming? God, he was just like his father.

***Flashback***

"Sofia Valentines Carson, let's leave," Benjamin started shouting again.

"I'm coming, Benji Carson. No need to tell me a million times," I told him, coming downstairs. "Benji, let's leave. I'm ready," I said after a few minutes. He had just been shouting at me so we could leave, but now, where the hell was he?

"I'm coming, Fia," he said.

"I'm coming to get you, Benji. You better be ready because I don't want you to blame me again." I quickly went back upstairs, and just like that, he was already in bed. Hell, we wouldn't be going anymore.

***End of flashback***

"Mommy, let's go. Let's go." Elijah jumped on my bed. Just like every other morning, he always got up before me and woke me up.

"Elijah, baby, what's wrong? It's not eight yet. It's Sunday, my boy. Come sleep with me."

"Mommy, it's Uncle Mark's birthday." Shit, I forgot about it. Elijah was born the day before Marko's birthday, and his birthday had to be on a Sunday, my only day of rest.

I couldn't believe I didn't even get him a gift.

"Get in the bathroom, Elijah. We have to leave in less than thirty minutes." I quickly grabbed a clean shirt and pants for him and went to bathe him. After that, I dressed him up and gave him porridge because I couldn't make anything else so fast. I told him to eat his porridge while I went to take a bath.

****

"Anna, girl, where's the birthday boy?" I asked as I took a seat.

"He is not here," she replied. "Sofia, believe me when I say this, but I seriously don't have a gift for him." She was crazy, but for once, I was glad because I also didn't have a gift for him.

"Me too. Let's go buy something now before he comes home from work."

So, we both got up and told Annette's nanny to look after Elijah and Annette.

"What does he like, Anna? You’re the wife," I said as she drove.

"We'll just get him clothes. You know he loves them," she replied, giving me her phone to call Marko.

"Hey, babe," Anna greeted Marko.

"I'm sorry, love, but I'll be home late. Boss came to check on us today." I knew if Anna had a gift for him today, then she would've been pissed off, saying that it was his birthday and that he should come home early.

"It's alright. Wouldn't want you losing your job," we said at the same time. I know people would probably think I was rude because he was only talking to his wife, but I was like a little sister to him, and I always would be.

"Are you guys feeling okay today?" Marko asked, but we just hung up the phone and stopped the car at a mall.

****

"Is this okay, Sofia?" Anna asked as if I bought men's clothes on a daily basis. I just smiled at her and told her anything was fine. "No, Sofia, babe. It's not fine. You know how Marko is. If it's not what he likes, then he won't wear it on every special occasion," she said, giving me a look that said, “You may be my best friend, but I'll kill you if you don't choose wisely.”

"You know I don't know what guys like. The only male I have in my life is my baby boy." I immediately regretted saying that and knew I could never take it back. I hated myself for never telling Benjamin the truth.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, Sofia. Don't you even dare think of any of them, especially your ex! I won't forgive myself. Please," she said, almost sounding like she was pleading. But it was a little too late for that because I was already thinking about the past—the regrets, and the thing that haunted me at night. Sometimes, I wished I was never born.

"I'll go pay for these, Anna. We have been gone for hours," I said.

"Guess what I'm thinking of, Sofia?" she asked, laughing and smiling. I knew her too well, and just from her laugh and smile, I knew she wanted to surprise Marko.

"We’re going to go to Marko's workplace?" I asked, and she made me wait for a reply.

"Yeah, but I'll take the stairs to his office, not the elevator. You know I'm scared of that thing." Anna was always scared of elevators because she got stuck in one once. She could've died that day if emergency services hadn’t come in time. I, on the other hand, hated stairs because I almost lost Elijah because of them. Plus, I was just too lazy to go up.

"We’re here, Sofia. Let's go. Let's see who reaches the office first."

"And what about his boss? He’s coming, Anna," I reminded her because I didn't want Marko to lose his job because of us.

"Don't worry. The boss already left. Felicity said he already checked in on Marko," she said while getting ready for the race.

"We'll see who wins, Anna." As I said that, I saw Anna run to the stairs. She was very fast, and I knew she would beat me if I didn't get in the elevator now.

I went inside the elevator, and the doors were about to close. I was about to press the number of the floor I wanted to go to so I could beat Anna, but then someone stopped the elevator from closing.

"Bitch, couldn't you hear me shouting for you?" the man said. I couldn't believe he had ruined my mood. This man really made me so angry. Who did he think he was, calling me a female dog?

"First, I’m not your bitch, asshole, and second, I didn't want to wait for you," I said.

"Well, if you work for me, you’re fired."

Who the hell did this man think he was? Did he fire people just like that? Now I knew what Marko meant by no one liking him. Only the women who flirted with him liked him.

"I do work for you, and I'm not fired. I know my rights, Mr. Asshole," I said, trying to play him. What kind of boss was he if he didn't even know who he hired?

"What's your name?" he asked nicely, but I knew he just wanted to know my name.

"It's Sof—" Before I could finish saying my name, he turned around and shocked me.

"SOFIA!!!" he shouted.

"BENJAMIN?" My heart stopped beating for a second.

We were both so shocked upon seeing each other after three years and six months. I wondered what he was doing in New York.

"So, Sofia, I finally found you. Six years is a long time, hey," Benjamin said, stopping the elevator. I couldn't believe I lost, and Anna won. But I didn’t care about that now. All I cared about was getting the hell away from him.

"It's been three years and six months, not SIX YEARS." I pushed him away from me, and I pressed my number on the elevator.

"Yeah, a long time. So, why did you cheat on me? Why did you go stripping for my friends, my business partners? The thing I'll never understand is what the fuck were you thinking, humiliating me like that?"

He asked me questions about what happened long before I married him. I knew if he knew the truth, he would never have thrown me out that night. But the last question surprised me. Why did I humiliate him? Wow, all he really cared about was his reputation.

I pushed him away without answering his questions because if I did, then I would just go back to the place I had been trying to get away from for years. My ugly past, my nightmares. The worst thing now was that I had to think of my son.

I tried to press my floor number again because he kept stopping it, but then he pushed me against the wall.

"No matter where you go, I'll find you until you give me answers," Benjamin said.