Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 358

Chapter 358

Marcus’ POV

The sound of my phone vibrating pulled me out of a deep, peaceful sleep. For a moment, I was completely disoriented. I couldn’t remember where I was or why there was the constant sound of waves outside. Then it all came back. The Maldives. Aphrodite sleeping peacefully beside me. Our first night together in this tropical

aradise. The surreal feeling of living someone else’s honeymoon.

I glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand, glowing softly in the dark. Three in the morning. Who the hell called at that hour? My first instinct was to ignore it, but when I saw the name on the screen, I knew I couldn’t.

It was Christian.

I grabbed the phone quickly, doing everything I could not to wake Aphrodite. She looked so serene there, brown hair spread across the pillow like a soft frame around her face, her breathing slow and even. The moonlight slipping through the window lightly illuminated her delicate features, and for a moment I felt guilty for bringing the real world into the sanctuary we’d created.

I eased myself out of bed, moving with extreme care, testing every step to make sure the mattress wouldn’t shift or creak. I walked quietly out to the bungalow’s deck, sliding the glass door shut behind me. The night breeze felt good against my skin, carrying the salty scent of the ocean mixed with the tropical flowers scattered throughout the resort.

“Christian?” I answered softly, instinctively glancing back to make sure I hadn’t woken anyone.

“Marcus, finally! I need to talk to you about the Sherman contracts. They’re being difficult about the exclusivity clauses and-” His voice cut off abruptly when the video call connected and he saw me. Confusion spread across his face through the small screen. “Where the hell are you?”

I looked around, as if seeing the scene through his eyes-the private pool glowing like a mirror under the moonlight, the wooden bungalows stretching gracefully over crystal-clear water reflecting the stars, the cleanest, most star-filled sky I’d ever seen.

“Maldives,” I replied, like it was the most normal thing in the world. “On a honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon?” Christian jolted so hard he almost knocked over what looked like a coffee mug on his desk. Behind him,.I could see he was in his home office, probably working since the crack of dawn. “What the hell are you talking about? You didn’t-?”

“It’s not exactly my honeymoon,” I interrupted, unable to stop myself from smiling at the sheer shock on his face. “But I’m playing a very active role in it.”

“What kind of mess did you get yourself into this time?” I watched him rake a hand through his hair.

“I met someone.”

“Someone?” he repeated, like the word was in a foreign language. “Who?”

“I don’t know her name.”

“How do you meet someone and not know her name?” The disbelief in his voice was almost funny.

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“The same way you met Zoey and she didn’t know your name,” I shot back, remembering the chaotic early days of their relationship.

Christian laughed, shaking his head with an expression that mixed amusement and exasperation.

“Technically, Zoey new

your current insanity.”

my name. She just didn’t know I was me,” he corrected. “Completely different from

“Sure, because your situation wasn’t insane at all,” I laughed back. “Anyway, I met someone, and I’m on what was supposed to be her honeymoon, after she ran away from her wedding.”

“Marcus…” Christian began, genuine concern in his eyes. “I really hope you’re not getting yourself into something dangerous and-”

He was interrupted when Zoey popped up excitedly behind him on the screen. Even through the video call, I could see she was glowing, with that special light mothers get when they’re about to share news about their kids.

“Hey, Marcus!” she practically shouted with excitement. “Guess what! Matt said his first word!”

My heart warmed instantly. Little Matt, the first of the new Kensington generation, the baby who had completely changed our family dynamic, was finally starting to talk.

“Seriously?” I couldn’t hide my genuine excitement. “Who won the bet? Did he say Daddy or Mommy?”

Zoey scrunched her nose playfully and put on a dramatic expression, clearly preparing for a big reveal.

“He said…” she paused theatrically, then whispered something I couldn’t quite hear through the connection.

“He said what?” I asked, leaning closer to the screen like that might help.

“He said ‘GRAPE’!” she shouted, bursting into laughter.

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud, the sound echoing over the calm water around the bungalow and bouncing between the neighboring overwater villas.

“Well then, Joseph won. That kid is clearly going to carry on the family legacy.”

We talked for a few more minutes about Matt, about how he was growing absurdly fast. It was a normal, familiar conversation that was comforting. And yet there was something completely surreal about discussing vineyards, family businesses, and a baby’s first words while standing in a luxury bungalow over the crystal-clear waters of the Maldives, with a mysterious, fascinating woman asleep in the bed just a few feet away.

“I need to get back to bed,” I finally said, checking the time and realizing how quickly it had slipped away. “It might still be nighttime in Verdania, but it’s already past three in the morning here.”

“Maldives?” Zoey repeated, as if the information were only just registering, slowly sinking in.

“I’ll explain later,” Christian said quickly to her, then turned his serious gaze back to me through the screen. Just don’t forget the board meeting tomorrow, okay? I need you there, even if it’s online.”

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“I’ll make it work,” I assured him, already mentally juggling time zones.

I ended the call and stayed on the deck for a few minutes, breathing in the clean, salty air, trying to process how strange it felt to be split between two completely different worlds: my real life, full of corporate responsibilities,

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board meetings, family businesses, and obligations and this alternate reality where I was just Apollo, a man without a defined past, on a stolen honeymoon with a woman whose real name I didn’t even know.

When I finally went back inside the bungalow, moving as quietly as possible across the polished wooden floor, I realized Aphrodite was awake. She was lying on her side, watching me with an expression I couldn’t fully read. Her honey-colored eyes glowed in the dim light of the room, reflecting what little moonlight slipped through the window, and there was something different about her posture that was more alert, more tense, more… wary.

“Are you married?”

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