Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 404

Chapter 404

Madeline’s POV

“How did you get in here?” I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady despite the shock of seeing him there, taking up pace that was supposed to be my refuge, even if it was a forced one.

Dominic smiled. That same smile I once found charming, the one that now made my stomach turn.

“Important people around here owe me favors,” he replied casually, as if he were talking about the weather. It’s amazing how gambling debts can create such lasting relationships.”

My blood went cold. Gambling debts. Of course he would use that as leverage.

“Enough favors to have someone committed without asking questions?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

He laughed, a sound completely devoid of humor.

“This is just the beginning, my love. You haven’t seen anything I’m capable of yet.

11

I tried not to show the fear rising inside me like a dark wave, but I could feel my hands trembling. I clenched my fists to hide it.

“And does that include all the forged reports to make me look mentally unstable?” I asked bluntly, deciding I had nothing left to lose by confronting him.

His expression shifted into something that might have passed for innocent surprise, but I was starting to know that mask far too well, especially on people I once trusted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, his voice attempting to sound genuinely concerned. “After all, you are mentally unstable. That’s the only explanation for running away from our wedding and marrying a complete stranger days later.”

The way he twisted reality, turning my escape from an abusive situation into proof of insanity, made me completely lose my composure.

“Stop!” I shouted, all the built-up anger and frustration bursting out at once. “Stop inventing things! Tell me the truth for once in your life! We both know why I ran. Stop pretending!”

Dominic leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

“See?” he said calmly. “This is exactly the kind of behavior we’re trying to prevent. That’s why you’ll stay here, properly medicated until you calm down.”

The word ‘medicated’ hit me like a punch. They really planned to drug me into submission.

“Of course,” I replied with venomous sarcasm. “Because you want me obedient, like a little pet. Just like when I was your mistress. But it’s not going to work, Dominic. Marcus is coming for me.”

I had barely finished saying Marcus’s name when Dominic’s expression transformed instantly. The mask of civility vanished, revealing something primitive and dangerous beneath it.

He shot up from the chair so fast it startled me. Before I could react, his hands were around my neck, slamming

1/3

me back against the cold wall of the room.

“He’d better not even try,” he hissed near my face, his fingers tightening around my throat just enough to make breathing difficult. “Because if he shows up in your life again, you’ll pay for it. And so will that child.”

Itri to speak, but the words came out weak and strangled.

“It could be your child,” I managed to whisper. “Would you really do something to your own child?”

That question only seemed to enrage him further. His eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened around my neck.

“Could be?!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the small room. “For your own good, there’d better not be any other possibility. Or you might end up losing it. Tragically.”

The threat was unmistakable.

Finally, he let go. I slid down slightly against the wall, instinctively clutching my neck as I struggled to catch my breath. I could already tell there would be marks. Physical evidence of his violence that no doctor should be able to ignore. But here, I knew they would.

“You really fooled me all these years,” I murmured once I found my voice again. “I never thought you were this kind of person. You were always so polite. So attentive.”

Dominic straightened his suit jacket, slipping back into his usual composed posture as if nothing had happened.

“You never gave me a reason to be this kind of person,” he replied coolly, sending a chill through me. “It’s a game, Madeline. You go back to behaving, and I go back to behaving.”

He walked toward the door but stopped before leaving, pointing at the bedside table where I hadn’t noticed anything before.

“Oh, and by the way,” he said in that fake, affectionate tone I’d learned to hate, “I brought you chocolates. Your favorites. Enjoy them. They say the food here isn’t very good.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click, leaving me alone in a room that suddenly felt much smaller, much more suffocating.

Only when the sound of his footsteps faded down the hallway did I finally allow the stress to break through. A scream of rage and frustration tore out of my throat, echoing off the white, sterile walls.

I grabbed the box of chocolates he’d left behind. The exact ones I used to love, back when I still believed he knew me, that he cared. I hurled it with all my strength against the opposite wall.

The box shattered on impact, chocolates scattering across the floor. Each piece felt like a fragment of the life I thought I’d have with him. They were destroyed and unrecognizable.

I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest, trying to process everything that had happened.

But in the middle of that despair, a spark of determination began to ignite inside me. Dominic thought he had won. That he had me exactly where he wanted me. But he had made one critical mistake.

He had underestimated what I was capable of doing to protect my child. And he had completely underestimated

2/3

the man I had married.

Marcus would come for me. Of that, I was certain.

Comments

Support

Share

3/3