Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 458

Chapter 458

Madeline’s POV

The main hall buzzed with energy as all three teams gathered, everyone anxiously waiting for the final results to be announced. The atmosphere was an interesting mix of leftover competitiveness and the camaraderie that had developed over the past few days-despite the very obvious tensions.

Team Montgomery was openly bragging about their escape room time, with Vivian speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear about how her task-splitting strategy had been “clearly superior.” I rolled my eyes internally. Even after losing absolutely every other activity, she still managed to sound arrogant.

On the other side of the hall, the Ross and Kensington teams were mingling easily, chatting about the challenges they’d faced and laughing over the most absurd moments of the competition. It was oddly comforting to see that, despite being technical rivals, there was genuine mutual respect between our teams.

I stood near Mia and Zoey, amused as I watched a little scene unfold a few meters away. Dante had very clearly chosen Olivia as his target for the night and was going all in on his seduction campaign. Olivia, for her part, was visibly flustered by the attention, her cheeks turning faintly pink every time he leaned in to whisper something in her ear.

What made it even more interesting was watching Luke, who was clearly bothered by the whole thing. He tried to keep up casual conversations with other team members, but his gaze kept drifting back to Dante and Olivia. And every time Dante made her laugh, Luke’s jaw visibly tightened.

“Has Dante always been like this?” I asked Mia, curious about the dynamic I was witnessing.

“Remember when I said he was my horror story come to life?” Mia replied, looking exasperated. “We went to the same school as teenagers, and that idiot flirted with all my

friends.”

Zoey laughed, clearly entertained by the revelation.

“Some of them even stopped talking to me because they got upset after he dumped them and immediately moved on to his next conquest,” Mia continued, rolling her eyes dramatically. “You think Christian and Marcus were womanizers? Well, they definitely were, but Dante is the worst in that department.”

“At least if that’s his biggest problem,” Zoey said, “he’s still way better than his siblings, considering one got kicked out of the company and the other is in prison for trying to kill my sister.”

“No, Dante has always been very different from his siblings,” Mia clarified quickly. “He never had that kind of ruthless ambition to destroy everything and everyone. He’s just… Dante. An incorrigible flirt, but harmless in the end.”

At that moment, the organizer clapped his hands to get our attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” His voice echoed through the hall. “After adding up the results from the final challenge, we have reached the final outcome of our competition.”

Silence fell instantly. All conversations stopped, and I could feel the collective tension filling the air. After everything we’d been through, this was the moment that would define how we remembered this experience.

The organizer paused dramatically, clearly savoring the suspense he’d created.

1/3

“In third place…” the organizer announced slowly.

Another pause. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.

“Montgomery Wineries!”

A murmur rippled through the hall. It was deeply satisfying to see that, despite all their sabotage attempts, Montgomery had finished last. Vivian kept her expression neutral, but the frustration in her unmistakable.

“And now,” the organizer continued, raising his voice, “between Ross and Kensington…”

I held my breath. Around me, every member of our team seemed to do the same.

“The winner of our competition is…”

The pause felt endless.

“Kensington Wineries!”

eyes was

The hall exploded into celebration. Cheers, applause, laughter, hugs-our team turned into an instant, chaotic celebration. All the tension from the past few days burst into pure collective euphoria.

I found myself being hugged by Zoey, then Mia, then Olivia, then Dante, then Luke. It was a whirlwind of excited embraces, everyone congratulating each other at once, laughing and shouting about our victory.

In the middle of that joyful chaos, I ended up in Marcus’s arms.

It happened so naturally. He was there, I was there, and we were all celebrating together. For a brief moment, I completely forgot about the conversation I’d overheard, the ache I was carrying, the tension between us.

For a few seconds, it was just pure happiness. We were a team that had won against all odds, that had survived sabotage and accidents, that had stayed united when everything had tried to pull us apart.

And then reality came crashing back.

I remembered his words in the hospital wing. I remembered that he couldn’t take our situation anymore. I remembered that I could no longer pretend I didn’t know the truth about his feelings.

I pulled away awkwardly, breaking the hug too suddenly. I saw the immediate confusion in Marcus’s eyes, the way his expression shifted from victory-fueled joy to genuine concern as he realized my reaction.

Through my behavior alone, I made it clear to him that something was very wrong between us. And from the look on his face, he was finally starting to understand that whatever the problem was, it was far too serious to ignore.

2/3