Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 597

Chapter 597

Gwen’s POV

Renee stared at me for a long moment, her eyes sweeping over my face as if she were completely reassessing who I was.

“If you care so much about fashion history,” she said, her voice overly sweet and laced with poison, “you should study it better before going around making ridiculous accusations. It’s embarrassing, really.”

Then she leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice as if sharing a secret.

“Is that why you’re with Nick?” she asked, a cruel smile on her lips. “So he can fund your lifestyle? Your expensive bags? Your refined taste for things you clearly can’t afford on a consultant’s salary?”

Nick and I exchanged a quick look.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

Renee didn’t know.

She didn’t know about Nick’s real financial situation. About the debt. About the risk of losing everything. About how he barely managed to keep up with the bills.

But why not? Hadn’t she left right when things started getting bad?

Maybe she thought he’d managed to rebuild his life over the past four years. Maybe she believed the estate was still thriving. Profitable. That Nick had money.

Maybe that was why she’d come back. After the scandal of being a married man’s mistress. After losing access to the billionaire lifestyle her lover had provided. She returned thinking Nick would be her financial safety net.

But I wasn’t going to say any of that.

“I’m not with Nick. We’re…” I said calmly, looking directly at him as I said the next word, “friends.”

The word came out heavy with something bitter. With irony. With barely hidden pain.

A thick silence fell over the table.

Until Bella’s small voice cut through it.

“Gwen is going to be my new mommy,” she murmured, completely unaware of the tension, stirring what was left of her gelato.

Renee scoffed.

“You already have a mother, Isabella,” she snapped, her voice rising and sharpening.

Then she seemed to realize where she was. That people were watching. She tried to rein herself in,

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forcing a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Sweetheart…” she added, the word sounding far too forced to be natural. “You have a mother who loves

you.”

She stood abruptly, grabbed her bag, and wiped at the gelato stain again.

“Look, this clearly isn’t working,” she said, turning on Nick with an accusing look. “This isn’t what we agreed on. I want time alone with my daughter. Without… interference.”

Her gaze flicked briefly to me before returning to Nick.

“I’ll call you to arrange it,” she went on. “And this time, I expect you to take our agreement seriously.”

She walked around the table and bent down to kiss Bella’s cheek.

Bella didn’t react.

She just sat there, completely still, staring at her gelato as if it were the most interesting thing in the

world.

Renee left, her high heels clicking far too loudly against the floor of the gelato shop.

The moment the door closed behind her, Bella looked up at her father.

“Can we go home and have cake now?” she asked, her voice returning to its usual childlike excitement.

Nick and I looked at each other and, despite everything, laughed.

“You have no limit when it comes to sweets, princess,” Nick teased, ruffling her hair. “You just had gelato and now you already want cake?”

“Grandma’s cake is different!” Bella protested seriously. “And I promised to eat it with Gwen. A promise is a promise, Daddy!”

“All right, all right,” he agreed, standing up. “Let’s go home, then.”

We left the gelato shop together, but it quickly became clear we would have to go separately. My car was parked near the bank. Nick’s was somewhere else.

I was relieved. It spared us the awkward atmosphere that would have filled the car if we’d had to share a

ride.

I reached the estate a few minutes before them, my smaller, more agile car navigating the narrow roads

more easily.

I parked beside the main house and was stepping out when Nick’s car arrived.

Bella jumped out before the engine was even fully off and ran toward the house, shouting,

“Grandma! Grandma! Is there cake?”

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Nick and I stood beside our cars for a moment. Then, without saying anything, we started walking toward the house. Side by side. Not too close. Not too far. He carried my small suitcase.

“Listen,” he began, hands in his pockets, staring straight ahead instead of at me. “I meant to call you.”

“But you didn’t,” I cut in, keeping my voice neutral.

“Gwen, I’m

sorry if I hurt you,” he said, stopping and turning to face me. “But-”

“Gwen!” Bella’s shout cut him off. “Phone call for you!”

She was standing in the doorway, waving frantically.

I looked at Nick.

“We’ll talk later,” I said, stepping away before he could continue.

I didn’t want to hear the “but.” I didn’t want excuses or explanations or whatever he was about to say. Not now. Not while I was still processing everything.

I climbed the steps to where Bella stood, went inside, and picked up the phone.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“Aunt Paula says it’s someone named Christian,” Bella replied, already running off to find Martina and

cake.

Christian.

I closed my eyes for two seconds and took a deep breath, already knowing exactly what was coming.

I lifted the phone to my ear.

“Hi,” I said, trying to sound casual.

My brother’s voice came through the line. Loud. Irritated. Filled with a tightly controlled fury I knew all too

well.

“What the hell did you just do?”

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