Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 596

Chapter 596

Gwen’s POV

Bella ran out of the gelato shop before I could even decide what to do.

The glass door swung open with a chiming bell, and she came straight toward me, her quick little steps. tapping against the cobblestone sidewalk.

“Gwen! Gwen!” she shouted, her arms already reaching out.

I instinctively bent down and opened my arms to catch her. She threw herself against me hard enough to almost knock me over, her small arms squeezing my neck with that too-tight hug only children give when they don’t know their own strength.

“Hi, sweetheart,” I said, feeling something tighten in my chest. “What a nice surprise.”

Of course Nick came after her. A protective father, not letting his little girl run into the street alone. He stopped a few feet away, hands in his pockets, his expression cautious.

Our eyes met over Bella’s head.

Neither of us spoke.

“You can have gelato with us!” Bella said, pulling back just enough to look at my face, her eyes bright

with excitement. “Please? Please?”

I glanced through the glass window into the shop. Renee was still sitting inside, watching us with an expression that barely hid her irritation.

“It’s better if I don’t,” I said gently, brushing Bella’s hair back. “You’re busy.”

“But I want you to!” Bella insisted, pouting. “Please, Gwen!”

“How about later, you and I have a really good cake from Grandma Martina? Just us two. Deal?”

Bella considered it, clearly torn between what she wanted right now and the promise of something special later.

“Are you going back to the estate?” Nick asked. His voice was more formal than usual.

“I am,” I said, standing up. “I came early because I had a meeting with an agency here in town.”

Something crossed his face. Surprise, maybe. Or confusion.

“You didn’t mention a meeting,” he said. “Or that you were coming today.”

“I didn’t want to bother you,” I replied evenly. “I mainly came because of the influencers arriving tomorrow. I needed to make sure everything was being prepared properly. The meeting was just convenient, since I was coming anyway,”

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An awkward silence fell between us. Bella looked back and forth between us, sensing the tension even if she didn’t fully understand it.

“Bella,” Nick said finally, “say goodbye to Gwen. You’ll see her later at the estate.”

“But I want gelato now!” Bella protested, her voice growing more tearful. “With Gwen! Please, Daddy!”

She glanced back into the shop, at Renee still sitting there, and something shifted in her expression. She grew more closed off. More resistant.

She didn’t want to go back to Renee. It was obvious.

Nick and I exchanged a look.

“If you’d like…” he began, leaving the sentence unfinished.

“Yayyy!” Bella shouted before I could answer, grabbing my hand and already pulling me toward the gelato shop. “Come on, Gwen! You’ll love it! They have pistachio!”

I let myself be dragged along, glancing over my shoulder at Nick. He followed behind us, still cautious but slightly relieved.

We stepped inside the gelato shop. The air conditioning was too strong, sending a shiver down my arms immediately. The sweet smell of waffles and chocolate filled the air.

Renee watched us approach, her smile visibly tightening when she saw me.

“Hello,” she said, her voice coated in fake politeness. “Gwen, right?”

“Yes,” I confirmed, sitting in the chair Bella had pulled out for me. “Renee.”

“Gwen is having gelato with us!” Bella announced happily as she settled in beside me.

“That’s… nice,” Renee said, and it was impossible to miss the sharp edge beneath the word.

I ordered a lemon gelato. Something light. Refreshing. Something I could eat slowly while trying not to make the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was.

The atmosphere was tense. Heavy silences broken only by forced conversation.

Bella talked mostly to me. About school. About her friends. About a new drawing she had made.

Renee tried to join in now and then, but it was like watching someone struggle to enter a conversation they clearly didn’t belong to,

“Bella, sweetheart,” Renee said at one point, her voice rising slightly, “don’t you want to tell me about your

music lessons? Your dad mentioned

you started.”

“I haven’t started yet,” Bella replied without looking at her, far more interested in showing me how she could stack gelato on her tiny spoon.

I saw frustration flash across Renee’s face.

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“And school?” she tried again. “Did you do any presentations recently?”

“No.”

One-word answers. Her body turned toward me. Her attention focused on anything except her own mother.

“You know,” Renee said, her tone sharpening as she directed it at me, “it’s interesting how some people manage to insert themselves into a child’s life so quickly. Almost as if they’re trying to take a place that isn’t theirs.”

“Renee,” Nick said quietly, his voice carrying a warning.

“What?” she said innocently. “I’m just making an observation. Bella and I haven’t seen each other in years, yet she already seems to have a… replacement.”

“Maybe because you haven’t seen her in years,” Nick replied firmly.

I stayed quiet. Eating my gelato. Letting it pass. I wasn’t going to play that game.

“She shouldn’t get too attached,” Renee went on, taking a sip of the expensive sparkling water she’d ordered.

That was when it happened.

Bella was gesturing excitedly, trying to show me something, and accidentally bumped her cup. A generous scoop of gelato fell straight onto Renee’s handbag.

“Careful!” Renee cried, grabbing the bag and wiping it with a napkin. “My God, Bella! This bag costs a fortune!”

I couldn’t help it. A soft, ironic laugh slipped out before I could stop myself.

Renee turned to me immediately, her eyes narrowing.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, her voice icy.

“Nothing,” I said, still smiling faintly. “It’s just that they sell those at any tourist stand in Ravona for about fifty dollars.”

Absolute silence fell over the table.

“Are you implying that I wear fake bags?” Renee asked, her voice dropping dangerously low.

“I’m stating it,” I corrected calmly. “And badly made ones, at that. The stitching on the strap is completely wrong. See here?” I pointed: “On the original, it’s double-stitched with exactly three millimeters of spacing. On this one, the spacing is uneven. And the logo is slightly tilted to the left. Easy to miss if you don’t know the real piece, impossible to ignore if you

do.”

Both Nick and Renee were staring at me now. Him with surprise. Her with a mix of anger and shock.

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I realized my mistake.

“I like fashion history,” I said quickly, returning to my gelato as if I hadn’t just revealed expertise no ” normal” marketing consultant probably should have.

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