Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

The St. Lucas Hospital at noon was bustling, but the tension in their was impossible to ignore. After a private jet flight through the night, we were all gathered in the VIP waiting room of the cardiac surgery wing-Christian, Marcus, Isabelle, Lawrence, and

every hospital seems to have. me. The room was small and private, yet it carried that same heavy anxious ener

The trip had been silent and tense. Joseph had insisted on traveling with us, refusing every suggestion that he should go in an ICU ambulance. “I’m walking into that hospital on my own two feet,” he’d said with that stubborn determination everyone knew so well. And that’s exactly what he did-he stepped off the je with steady strides, greeted the medical team politely, and walked toward the hospital as if it were just another meeting on his schedule.

Went in surgery. I knew the time because Christian checked It had been exactly one hour and forty-five minutes since his watch every three minutes, as if obsessively tracking the seconds could somehow make the operation go faster-or make it end well.

Isabelle sat in the corner, perfectly dressed even for a moment like this, her usual cool composure intact. She scrolled through her phone, though it was obvious she wasn’t really seeing anything on the screen. Every now and then, she’d glance at Christian with an expression I couldn’t quite read-something between concern and the discomfort of being forced into such an emotional situation with the son she’d always kept at arm’s length

Lawrence sat beside her, equally formal, checking emails on his phone from time to time. Despite being Joseph’s son, Lawrence had always been distant-more focused on profits and numbers than on family ties.

Marcus, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still. He paced the room restlessly, stopping now and then to look out the window that overlooked the hospital courtyard. He tried to keep his composure, but worry was written all over his face. Joseph had been like a father to him as well.

“I remember when I broke my arm when I was twelve,” Marcus said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence. “I was trying to impress a girl at school, climbing a tree like an idiot. Joseph spent the whole night with me at the hospital, telling stories about Valentia to distract me from the pain.”

Christian smiled for the first time since we’d arrived.

“He did that with me too. Whenever I got sick or hurt, he’d make up the most elaborate stories about our ancestors. Said we were descendants of brave explorers and adventurers.”

“Some of those were probably true,” Marcus chuckled softly. “Joseph’s always been kind of an adventurer himself.”

I tried my best to stay calm, following the doctors’ instructions about avoiding stress during pregnancy. But it was almost impossible not to feel anxious knowing that the most important person in Christian’s life was undergoing high-risk heart surgery. I rested a protective hand over my belly, as if I could somehow shield our baby from all the tension hanging in the air.

The baby had been more active than usual all morning, almost as if he could feel my nerves-tiny kicks and movements that normally comforted me, but today only reminded me how much I needed to stay steady.

Christian suddenly stood from the chair across from me and sat down at my side, taking my free hand and lacing our fingers together.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, his blue eyes full of worry “Is the baby okay?”

“We’re fine,” I said, forcing a small, reassuring smile. “Just a little anxious, but fine.”

He knew me far too well not to catch the tension in my voice, but he didn’t press. Instead, he kissed my forehead gently and rested his free hand on my belly, where the baby immediately kicked.

“He’s worried about his great-grandpa too,” I murmured, coverin Christian’s hand with mine.

“Joseph’s going to love hearing his great-grandson was cheering for him,” Christian said softly, his voice thick with emotion he was trying to hold back.

“How long does a heart surgery usually take?” I asked, mostly just to break the heavy silence rather than out of real curiosity.

“It depends on how complex it is,” Marcus said, stopping his pacing. “Anywhere from four to eight hours, sometimes more. But

Joseph’s in excellent hands. Dr. Carlisle is one of the best cardiac surgeons in the country.”

Christian let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair-nervous habit I knew all too well.

“Dr. Carlisle said it was a delicate procedure, but that Joseph was in great shape for his age,” I reminded him, trying to inject some optimism into the room. “He’s strong. He’ll make it through this.”

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