Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 526

Chapter 526

Nicholas’ POV

“Daddy! Who is that lady?”

Bella’s high-pitched voice echoed down the hallway, and I jerked away from Gwen like I’d been hit with an electric shock. My heart slammed against my ribs, partly from the sudden interruption and partly from the ridiculous guilt of being caught in something that should not have been happening.

I turned toward the doorway, and there was my daughter. Brown curls slipping free from the braid my mother had done that morning. A pink dress stained with something that looked suspiciously like tomato sauce. Her brown eyes, so much like her mother’s that sometimes it physically hurt to look at them, stared at me with pure, innocent curiosity.

I opened my mouth to answer. To explain. To say… something. Anything. But my mind went completely blank. The words tangled on my tongue, and nothing came out.

Then Gwen moved.

She crouched down with effortless grace, bending her knees until she was at Bella’s height. A gentle smile curved her lips, the kind of smile reserved for children. Warm. Genuine.

“I’m your daddy’s fiancée,” she said, and my stomach dropped.

No. No. No.

Gwen frowned slightly, like she was trying to reach for a memory that should have been there but wasn’t.

“We… we hadn’t met yet?” she asked, real confusion in her voice.

Bella shook her head energetically, curls bouncing.

“No! I’ve never seen you before. What’s your name?”

“Gwen,” she answered, still smiling. “And what’s your name?”

“I’m Bella!” my daughter announced with the pride only a six-year-old could have. “Bella Valemont.”

“Bella,” Gwen repeated, like she was savoring the sound of it. “What a beautiful name. How old are you,

Bella?”

“Six!” Bella held up six fingers, making sure the number was absolutely clear. “I turn seven in April!”

“Six years old,” Gwen murmured, and something shifted in her expression. Her blue eyes went distant for a moment. “Oh. That’s the same age as my daughter.”

“You have a daughter?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Gwen stood and turned toward me, her eyes locking onto mine with a mix of confusion and something that looked a lot like… disappointment.

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“Of course I do,” she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her brow furrowed. “You should know that.”

My mind short-circuited. She had a daughter? A daughter the same age as Bella? That wasn’t in any of the information she’d given. Not at the hospital. Not when she made the reservation. Not-

“How long have we been engaged?” Gwen asked suddenly, urgency sharpening her voice.

I looked at her, then at Bella, who was watching us with wide eyes, soaking in every word like a sponge.

“Sweetheart,” I said, turning to my daughter and forcing my voice to sound normal. Casual. “Why don’t you go downstairs and help Grandma with the bread? She’s probably taking it out of the oven right now, and you know how heavy it gets for her.”

Bella’s face lit up. My mother let her “help” in the kitchen, which usually meant eating half the dough and getting flour everywhere, and Bella loved every second of it.

“Okay, Daddy!” She spun on her heels and ran down the hallway, her footsteps echoing against the old wooden floor.

The silence she left behind was heavy.

Gwen crossed her arms, and I could see the tension settling into her shoulders.

“How long have we been engaged?” she repeated, slower this time, enunciating every word. “Why haven’t we met each other’s families yet? You didn’t know about my daughter. Bella didn’t know me. None of this makes sense.”

I took a deep breath.

‘Easy, Nick. She hit her head.’

“Gwen,” I began, keeping my voice as gentle as I could. “You’re confused. We’re not engaged.”

She blinked.

“What?”

“I only went along with it at the hospital because you needed someone responsible to be discharged,” I explained, stepping closer with my hands raised in a calming gesture. “The doctor wasn’t going to let you leave alone after the head injury, so when you said I was your fiancé, I just… I agreed. To help.”

The expression on Gwen’s face shifted. The confusion gave way to something deeper. Hurt, maybe. Or betrayal. Her blue eyes shimmered with something that might have been tears, but she blinked quickly, forcing them back.

“Why are you being so cold to me?” she cut in, her voice carrying a nearly desperate edge now. She stepped back, putting distance between us. “Why are you saying these things? We… we are… I’m sure we are. I was in your arms and-”

She pressed her fingers to her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. I could see the tension in every line of

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her body, the effort she was making to reach memories that simply weren’t there.

“We are engaged,” she said firmly. “Stop messing with me.”

“Gwen, listen,” I tried again, taking another step toward her. “The doctor said you might be confused for a few days. That’s normal after a head injury. Your memories will come back, but right now you’re mixing things up, making connections that-”

“Stop!” She opened her eyes suddenly, and there was something wild in them now. Panic. Fear. “Just… just stop talking. Please.”

I shut my mouth immediately.

Gwen was breathing too fast, her chest rising and falling unevenly. Her hands trembled slightly. Shit. She was panicking, and I was making it worse.

The doctor’s words echoed in my head. Keep her under observation. Avoid stressful situations.

The more I tried to convince her we weren’t engaged, the more agitated she became. More confused. More… scared.

‘Idiot. You’re a complete idiot, Nicholas Valemont.’

“It’s okay,” I said, softening my voice as much as possible. I raised my hands again, this time in surrender. “It’s okay. I’m sorry. I… I’m sorry for confusing you.”

She watched me warily, like a wounded animal deciding whether to trust or run.

“You must be exhausted after everything that happened today,” I continued, taking slow steps toward the door. “Why don’t you rest for a bit? Take a hot shower, lie down. I’ll come back later to check if you need anything. Dinner. Pain medication. Whatever you need.”

Gwen didn’t respond. She just kept staring at me with those huge blue eyes, still breathing a little too fast.

“Okay?” I asked gently.

She nodded, just a small movement of her head.

“Okay,” I repeated, more to myself than to her. “I… I’ll go then.”

I backed toward the door, keeping my eyes on her the whole time, like I was afraid she’d fall apart the second I turned away. When my hand found the doorknob, I gripped it like a lifeline.

“If you need anything, anything at all, just come downstairs or call for me,” I said. “My room’s right next door.”

She nodded again.

I stepped out of the room and closed the door softly behind me.

The hallway was silent, lit only by the faint light coming from the windows at the end of the hall. I leaned

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against the wall and let my head fall back, tapping lightly against the old wood.

What the hell did I get myself into?

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