Falling For Mr Billionaire || Book 1 ✔

Chapter 1

They say you can run from the truth, but you can never hide from it.
It always finds a way to catch up with you.
I believe the past is the same.
You may keep running,
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 ground you this time!" I shouted for what felt like the hundredth time. Elijah never listened. He and Annette just loved playing outside without a care in the world. It had been three years and six months since I'd last seen Benjamin.

The love of my life.

The guy I thought would always have my back. But life proved me wrong. My mother was right — I'm a slut, a whore no one cares about. She was right yet 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 finally said, taking his time. I was happy I had 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 believe he's cleverer than any other three-year-old.

"No, Mommy. I love Momma," he replied.

The person I love most in this world had just told me that. I was so happy — don't get me wrong — but I knew he either wanted something, or he had done something.

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

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

Anna Coetzee Kingston Hendricks is my best friend. She and her husband were the first friends I made when I moved here. They're happily married and have a three-year-old daughter named Annette, who I'm pretty sure is the one Elijah messed with again.

"What's wrong, Anna?" I asked, knowing Elijah had gotten into trouble again.

"He painted Annette's face! Are you sure he's only three years old today?" Anna yelled, not noticing Elijah hiding behind me, pretending to be afraid of her.

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

Because life is always unpredictable.

"Sorry, Anna, but it's his—" Before I could finish, Elijah interrupted me.

"It's my birthday," he mumbled, making Anna look even angrier — but then she just laughed and kissed him on the forehead.

"You're both such cute babies," she said, wiping Annette's face clean.

"I'm not a baby! Tell her, Momma," Elijah protested, rolling his eyes when Anna called them "cute babies."

"Of course you're not Anna's cute baby," I told him, and he smiled — until I added, "You're my cute baby boy." He rolled his eyes again and looked at both of us, trying to think of a comeback, when 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 he couldn't even talk properly. Anna and I both laughed because we knew he would tell Marko everything.

"Uncle Mark, Mommy called me a baby," Elijah complained.

Normally, I wouldn't have wanted Elijah telling Marko or any other man what I said to him, but it wasn't his fault. His father was gone, and Marko was the closest thing he had to a dad.