The Billionaire’s Runaway Babymama

Chapter 2

Abigail POV

The moment Elias Romano stepped out of the car, three women near the hotel entrance nearly collided.

One of them actually froze mid-sentence, her gaze entirely locked on him.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame her.

Elias had only grown more unfairly handsome with age.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a perfectly tailored black coat that rested effortlessly against his frame. Dark hair fell carelessly across his forehead, giving him that dangerous kind of attractiveness men like him never even had to try for.

Elias looked like he belonged on the cover of a luxury magazine.

The worst part was that he knew it.

“Another victim,” I muttered as I stepped out into the cool Milan air.

Elias smirked instantly. “Jealous?”

“In your dreams.”

“You wound me, Abby.”

His Italian accent had somehow thickened over the years despite living in Paris for the last seven. It was smooth, rich and dangerous enough to make perfectly sensible women lose basic coordination.

Case in point, the blonde near the revolving doors glanced at him twice before walking directly into a flower stand.

Before I could laugh, the same woman suddenly approached me.

“Excuse me,” she asked quietly, glancing toward Elias like she physically couldn’t help herself, “is that your boyfriend?”

I nearly choked.

Elias looked deeply offended. “Boyfriend?”

“You wish,” I deadpanned.

The woman visibly relaxed for reasons I absolutely did not appreciate.

“Good,” she said quickly before smoothing her dress and heading straight toward him.

Elias watched her go with a long sigh. “You see what I endure daily? It’s exhausting being this desirable.”

“Your suffering is truly devastating.”

I rolled my eyes so hard it physically hurt.

Then a tiny voice beside me whispered with absolutely zero volume control.

“Uncle Eli is a man-whore.”

An immediate silence fell over the sidewalk.

The hotel doorman choked on his own spit.

My mouth dropped open.

Elias slowly looked down at the five-year-old holding my hand. “Cat,” he said carefully, “where exactly did you learn that word?”

My daughter blinked up at him innocently. “You said it.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“You told Matteo women throw themselves at you because you’re a man-whore.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth as laughter threatened to escape.

Elias looked personally betrayed. “That conversation was private.”

Cat shrugged calmly. “I hear everything.”

Then, just as quickly, her attention shifted elsewhere.

“Mama,” she gasped, tugging hard on my sleeve. “This hotel is huge.”

I looked up at the towering structure before us.

The Verona Royale glittered against the Milan night. Warm golden light spilled from massive arched windows while luxury cars lined the entrance beneath the rain.

Once upon a time, places like this had been normal to me.

Before everything fell apart five years ago.

“You okay?” Elias asked quietly.

I forced a smile, smoothing down my jacket. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look convinced.

Five years ago, in Paris, Elias had looked at me with that exact same expression.

Back then, I’d been standing outside a tiny jewelry studio in Montmartre when he suddenly called my name.

I still remembered the shock of looking up and seeing him there.

The way his face slowly drained of colour as his eyes dropped to my swollen stomach.

“Abby…” he had asked quietly. “What kind of man leaves a heavily pregnant woman alone in the rain?”

And just like that—

I broke.

After months of surviving alone in a foreign country, someone had finally looked at me like I mattered.

I cried so hard I could barely breathe.

But Elias didn’t ask questions.

He simply took my bag from my trembling hands, removed his coat, wrapped it around my shoulders and said softly,

“Come with me.”

That single night changed the entire direction of my life.

“Mama?”

Cat’s voice pulled me back instantly.

“You disappeared again.”

I sighed softly, squeezing her hand. “Do I do that often?”

“All the time,” she informed me.

“She definitely does,” Elias added.

“Both of you are teaming up against me and it’s annoying.”

“We love you too,” Cat chirped.

The lobby doors slid open as hotel staff hurried forward to greet us.

The interior was breathtaking.

Crystal chandeliers glittered overhead while wealthy guests wrapped in diamonds and designer silk moved elegantly through the enormous lobby.

Beside me, Cat slowly turned in circles beneath the chandelier, her green eyes wide with wonder.

“Uncle Eli,” she whispered dramatically, tugging on his coat. “You are seriously rich.”

“Très riche,” she corrected herself proudly in French before switching to Italian. “Molto ricco.”

Elias blinked at her. “You’re showing off again.”

“I’m multilingual,” she replied seriously.

“You’re five.”

“And talented.”

A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.

Elias laughed softly. “I created a monster.”

“But we’re staying here, right?” Cat asked quickly.

“Yes.”

Her tiny face scrunched up tiredly as she rubbed one eye. “I feel strange. I think I’m jet-lagged and emotionally exhausted.”

I blinked.

Elias burst out laughing.

“She definitely got your dramatic side, Abby.”

Elias and I had known each other long before life complicated everything.

Despite the years and distance between us, he still felt painfully familiar.

Maybe that was why Paris slowly became survivable after he found me standing alone in the rain five years ago.

I started designing again because it was the only thing that kept me sane.

And somehow, those lonely sketches spread across Elias’s dining table at two in the morning became Noir Étoile.

Now, five years later, I was finally back in Italy.

Officially, I came because Noir Étoile was negotiating a business deal with AA Group.

But deep down, I knew the truth.

I came back because this city still owed my mother everything.

And this time I was finally ready to take it back.

The receptionist greeted us warmly before handing over the suite keycards with a slight bow.

By the time we unlocked the suite upstairs, exhaustion had fully settled into my bones.

Cat immediately launched herself onto the enormous king-sized bed.

“I live here now,” she announced dramatically. “Do not look for me.”

“You absolutely do not,” I replied, kicking off my heels with relief.

Elias loosened his tie as he walked toward the minibar. “Wine?”

“Yes. Heavy pour.”

“Juice for me,” Cat announced from the mountain of pillows.

“You’ve had enough sugar to power a small city today.”

“But I’m growing.”

“You’re growing evil.”

“Thank you,” she replied proudly before resuming her chaotic bouncing across the bed.

Honestly, it was ridiculous behavior for someone who had spent the last hour claiming to be exhausted.

“Catherine,” I warned, “if you crack your skull open, I’m not explaining that to the hospital.”

“I’ll bounce responsibly,” she promised before nearly falling backward.

Elias covered his mouth to hide a laugh.

Cat finally stopped bouncing long enough to properly look around the suite.

Her mouth slowly fell open.

“Why is this room so huge?”

“Because rich people enjoy unnecessary space,” Elias answered casually.

“That’s true,” I agreed.

Cat wandered toward the massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Milan.

“Paris is prettier at night,” she announced thoughtfully.

“Traitor,” Elias muttered.

“But this city smells richer.”

Then she suddenly turned toward me again.

“Mama?”

“Yes?”

“Do Italian boys bite?”

I blinked. “What?”

“In Paris, Louis bit Cole because he called him short.”

Elias looked horrified. “Why are your friends so violent?”

“Paris is competitive,” Cat explained calmly.

A headache immediately formed behind my eyes.

Then her attention shifted toward Elias again.

“Uncle Eli?”

“Hm?”

“Are you staying here too?”

The question came so innocently that it took me a second to understand why Elias nearly choked on his wine.

“I have my own suite,” he answered carefully.

“Oh.”

Cat hugged her stuffed bunny tighter before looking between both of us suspiciously.

“Then why do you and Mama keep looking at each other all weird?”

I blinked. “We do not look at each other weirdly.”

“Yes, you do.”

Elias coughed lightly into his glass. “Cat—”

“You do this thing with your faces,” she continued seriously, waving one tiny hand between us. “Like this.”

She narrowed her eyes dramatically at Elias.

The expression looked absolutely ridiculous.

Elias looked seconds away from losing composure while I stared at my daughter in complete betrayal.

“Adults are honestly very strange,” Cat concluded wisely.

A moment later, I walked toward the rain-streaked windows overlooking Milan.

Elias followed quietly behind me.

“You’re thinking about him,” he said softly.

I stiffened slightly as he handed me a glass of wine.

“I wasn’t.”

“Liar.”

I stared silently at the city below.

Elias knew almost everything about me.

Almost.

But even after five years, I had never told him the truth about Catherine’s father.

“I’m just tired,” I whispered.

His expression softened.

“You don’t always have to pretend with me, Abby.”

His fingers brushed mine briefly as he handed over the glass.

Before the moment could become heavier, Cat suddenly bounced off the bed.

“I’m bored.”

“That sounds threatening,” Elias muttered.

Cat ignored him completely. “Mama, can I explore?”

“No.”

“Just the hallway?”

“No.”

“I’ll be highly responsible.”

“Absolutely not.”

She folded her tiny arms with immense attitude. “You people never let me experience life.”

Elias turned away, shoulders shaking suspiciously.

I pointed a warning finger at both of them.

“No encouraging her.”

Cat huffed dramatically before grabbing her stuffed bunny.

“Fine. I’m going to look for Sofia.”

“Stay inside the suite,” I warned immediately.

“I knoooow.”

Her footsteps faded into the guest wing.

Ten minutes later, Sofia emerged from the hallway looking confused.

“Miss Abigail…”

An icy knot tightened violently in my stomach.

“Yes?”

Sofia frowned slightly.

“I thought Catherine was with you.”

Everything inside me stopped.

“…What?”