Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Without saying a single word or even looking back, I turned and walked straight toward the stairs, ignoring the confused, worried, questioning stares I could feel coming from every direction in the dining room. My heart was pounding so hard and unevenly that I was certain everyone could hear it echoing off the walls.

Behind me, I heard Christian’s calm, composed voice, offering some polite, vaguely diplomatic excuse about me having forgotten something important upstairs and that we’d be back to join everyone shortly. His tone was perfectly smooth for the guests, but I could still hear the tension beneath it, the genuine worry threading through even his controlled façade.

Once we reached our bedroom and he closed the door behind us, sealing us off from the rest of the world, tears were already streaming down my face before I could even form the words.

“I don’t know how to tell you this,” I whispered, my voice shaking and thick with emotion.

Christian stepped toward me slowly, carefully, like I was something fragile that might shatter if he moved too fast. His hands instinctively reached for me but stopped just short, hovering in hesitation-as if he wasn’t sure I’d want to be touched in that moment of raw vulnerability.

“Just say it,” he said gently, his voice calm and infinitely patient. “Whatever it is, no matter how hard, just tell me the truth.”

I took several shaky breaths, trying to piece my thoughts together in a way that might soften the blow. But there was no gentle way to say something that would hurt this much.

“When I went up to that small organizer’s office to get the marketing materials,” I began slowly, every word feeling like it was being ripped from my throat, “when I opened the door, I saw Elise kissing someone.”

I’paused, gathering strength I wasn’t sure I had.

“Actually… more than kissing. It was… intimate. Very intimate. The kind of moment that makes it obvious it wasn’t the first time it had happened between them.”

Christian said nothing, just waited in complete silence, giving me space to go on.

“I recognized Elise first, of course. But when the man turned to see who had walked in…”

I stopped again. My throat tightened painfully, as if my body itself was trying to keep me from saying it-from causing him that kind of pain.

“I honestly don’t know how to say this. There’s no easy or gentle way.”

“Zoey,” Christian said quietly, his tone firming, the steel of resolve sliding beneath the tenderness. “I already know it’s someone in my family. Matthew and I figured as much after realizing how conveniently those security recordings disappeared. So… just rip the bandage off.”

I looked straight into his intense blue eyes. What I saw there broke me-fear, anguish, but also determination. He wanted the truth, no matter how much it destroyed him.

I drew one last shaky breath and whispered, “Your father.”

“Why?” he asked, looking at me like I might magically have answers he couldn’t even fully form. “What would he gain from this? What could justify deliberately trying to destroy his own family?”

“I don’t know,” I said honestly, my heart splintering at the raw pain in his eyes. “Maybe it isn’t exactly what it looks like at first glance. Maybe he and Elise were just having a regular affair, nothing directly tied to the rest of the conspiracy against us.”

“That would be too much of a coincidence for me to believe,” Christian said, shaking his head, refusing a neat explanation. “And besides, Elise took absolutely desperate measures when you caught them. She really did try to kill you to protect his identity. Why? If it was just a common affair, why try to murder you to keep it secret?”

His logic was flawless. And terrifying.

“I don’t know, Christian. I don’t have the answers… but we’ll find them. We’ll find them together.”

He looked at me for a long moment that seemed to stretch on forever. Then he leaned in and kissed me softly. When he pulled back, I could see it-the way he snapped himself back together in seconds, like he’d flipped some internal switch that let him function even in the middle of emotional wreckage.

Christian Kensington, in ruthless CEO mode.

“We’ll find out,” he said, his voice steady now, decided, loaded with a dangerous resolve for anyone in his way. We’re going back downstairs, and we’re going to uncover the truth. Whatever it costs.”