Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 479

Chapter 479

Madeline’s POV

The weeks passed in a whirlwind of activity and change. Marcus and I worked nonstop on ideas for the park-constant meetings with architects, designers, ride specialists, and security consultants. Every day brought new decisions, new challenges, new plans slowly taking concrete shape. It was exhausting, but also thrilling, watching something that had once been just a distant dream turn into a real, tangible project.

In the meantime, life kept moving all around us. Nate and Annie’s daughter was born-a beautiful, healthy baby girl they named Avery. And as if one child weren’t enough to complete their happiness, they had finally entered the final stage of adopting a three-year-old boy. Seeing Annie glowing with her two children, navigating motherhood with that mix of chaos and joy, filled me with hope for my own future as

a mother.

Matt, the firstborn of the new Kensington generation, had turned two, and his birthday party practically shut down the entire Highridge Valley. Organized in the way only Zoey could manage, it was a spectacular event with an airplane-and-helicopter theme, since little Matt was completely obsessed with anything that flew. Christian had even hired a small plane to perform aerial stunts during the party-to the delight not only of Matt, but of every child there.

Luke had come from Valentia, officially to help Marcus with the technical and management aspects of the park, but I knew the real reason was Olivia. They were officially dating now, seriously, and it was comforting to see my cousin so happy and in love.

Dominic… well, Dominic remained in the shadows. No visible moves. No new threats. No sign of his presence beyond the constant paranoia we carried like an invisible weight. And that was good, right? Maybe he had finally given up. Maybe he had realized he wouldn’t be able to drag me back into that life of control and manipulation.

Or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to strike again.

But I refused to let that fear paralyze every decision I made. We had security. We had precautions. And

we still had to live our lives.

Meanwhile, the park’s transformation was moving full speed ahead, bringing a positive energy that helped balance out the tension. We had temporarily closed all five Sullivan Parks across Verdania, focusing first on a complete overhaul of the main unit here in Belmonte.

“Then we’ll move on to the next ones,” Marcus had explained confidently during one of the meetings with investors and shareholders. “We want each reopening to be a meaningful event, not just another park resuming operations. Each unit will have its own identity, while still maintaining the Sullivan standard of quality.”

Marcus had drawn inspiration from the best amusement parks abroad-from Disney to smaller but innovative Euradian parks-and had ordered entirely new, modern rides, generously investing his own money whenever the park’s budget tightened. His dedication to the project went far beyond marital duty

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Chapter 479

or business obligation-he genuinely believed in the potential of Sullivan Parks.

Christian hadn’t just provided ideas; he’d also invested a substantial amount to create an entire modern, tech-driven wing, with rides equipped with artificial intelligence and virtual reality experiences. It was completely innovative for the Verdanian amusement park market, and Christian was convinced it would be the differentiator that put us ahead of the competition.

Matt seemed to give his enthusiastic approval when Zoey brought him to visit the construction site. He was completely fascinated by the virtual reality headsets, even though he was far too young to use them safely. Zoey had taken dozens of pictures of him with the oversized headset on his head, laughing in that way only very young children can.

One afternoon, walking slowly through the park with Marcus-my seven-month belly already very prominent, forcing me into a careful, slightly clumsy pace-he asked what I thought of all the progress so far.

I was far less present physically than I wanted to be. The worsening placental abruption required constant medical monitoring and a lot of rest, so I worked mostly from home-joining meetings by video call and reviewing projects remotely from the comfort of the couch. But every once in a while, when I was feeling okay and the anxiety of not seeing the progress with my own eyes became unbearable, I made a quick visit to the park.

“Almost everything’s ready,” Marcus said with obvious pride, gesturing toward the attractions around us in various stages of completion. “Give it another three weeks, maybe four, and we’ll be able to do the grand reopening.”

I looked around slowly, taking it all in, watching my childhood park being transformed into something both new and familiar at the same time.

“It’s all so beautiful,” I said honestly, feeling tears threaten to form. Damn pregnancy hormones that made me cry over everything.

But underneath the genuine emotion and pride, there was a persistent fear I couldn’t completely silence. What if the reopening didn’t go the way we hoped? What if people didn’t show up, didn’t care, didn’t think it was worth it? What if we couldn’t attract enough visitors for the park to become financially sustainable

again?

We had invested so much-not just a significant amount of money, but precious time, emotional energy, fragile hope. My father had left the legacy of Sullivan Parks in my hands, and I was betting everything on the belief that we could bring it back to relevance. What if I was wrong? What if all of this still wasn’t

enough?

Marcus, showing that impressive ability he had to read my thoughts even when I didn’t voice them, gently squeezed my hand in his.

“According to the financial projections, it may take a while to reach full sustainability,” he said with the kind of straightforward honesty I’d come to deeply appreciate. “Maybe six months. Maybe a year. That’s completely normal in business. Big, significant upfront investment, gradual return built over time. But…”

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He paused deliberately, gently turning me by the shoulder so I’d look directly at him.

“I have absolutely no doubt that the reopening itself will be a huge success. You’ll have the best PR professional in Verdania working exclusively on this, and she’s already developing incredible, innovative ideas for the launch.”

I frowned, confused about who exactly he was talking about.

“Really? Who?”

Marcus answered with a wide, confident smile that lit up his entire face.

“Zoey Kensington is all in. And she’s treating this like the launch of the most important product of the decade.”

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