Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 675

Chapter 675

Gwen’s POV

If this event hadn’t been scheduled months ago, with printed invitations, blocked calendars, confirmed RSVPs, and a fully aligned team, I wouldn’t have gone.

I would have come up with an elegant excuse. An unavoidable meeting. A sudden migraine. A “last-minute emergency” delivered with the ease of someone who, honestly, could afford to disappear for a night.

But it wasn’t just a night.

It was a stage. A microphone. A photo. A title: Women and Leadership.

And in the last few days, my life had turned into a series of small survivals that didn’t fit neatly into a panel discussion.

I stood in front of the bedroom mirror, adjusting a simple earring, when Nick appeared behind me. He didn’t say anything right away. He just watched me with that look that always seemed to know what I wasn’t saying.

He stepped closer and rested his hands on the vanity on either side of me, without trapping me in. It was a simple gesture, and still, I felt like someone had set a comforting weight on my shoulders.

‘You’re not alone.’

“It matters to you,” he said. “And to those women. You’re an example, Gwen.”

I gave a small smile, but the exhaustion slipped through anyway.

“I know. I’m just not in the right headspace to be anyone’s example today.”

He kissed the back of my neck.

“Then go anyway. Not to prove anything. Just to remember who you are.”

I turned my face slightly, meeting his eyes in the mirror’s reflection. So serious. So steady. A man who carried guilt without theatrics, who carried his daughter in his chest like he was protecting an exposed heart.

“I wish you were coming with me,” I admitted before pride could stop me.

Nick smiled, and there was a soft kind of tiredness in it.

“I would love to sit in the audience and drool over you like a teenager,” he said, and I couldn’t hold back a laugh. “But…”

“But you promised Bella,” I finished.

He nodded, his gaze darkening slightly.

“I did. And I want to keep that promise. I want to talk to her calmly. See what’s going on in her head. Reassure her. No rush.”

“You’re right,” I said quietly. “She needs you. Dad and daughter.”

Nick pulled me in by the waist and rested his forehead against mine.

“Gwen…”

“