Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 683

Chapter 683

Renee’s POV

That Monday, I parked two blocks from Bella’s school and stayed in the car for a moment, studying my reflection in the window. The cut on my forehead was hidden under a discreet bandage. The bruises were covered by carefully chosen clothes. The rest was makeup and good lighting.

The school secretary recognized me before I even said my name. Not warmly. Professionally. The look of someone who has seen wealthy fathers, angry mothers, and children stuck in between. I showed my ID, signed the form, and offered a simple explanation about a “medical appointment” and needing to pick her up two classes early.

Mother.

That word opens doors.

No one asked if her father knew. No one wanted to step into that territory. Schools prefer not to buy into family wars. And I knew exactly how to use that cowardice in my favor.

Bella appeared at the classroom door with her backpack on, surprise written all over her face.

“Mom?” she said, and for a second that was all it was. A little girl seeing her mother outside the routine, her heart jumping with a flicker of hope.

I crouched to her level and opened my arms.

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m stealing you today.”

She let out a short, slightly guilty laugh and came into my arms.

On the way to the car, she glanced at me sideways, her eyes too observant for a child who supposedly didn’t understand anything.

“Why are you hurt, Mom?”

I smiled like it was all mildly ridiculous.

“It’s nothing, honey. I fell.” I waved it off. “A silly little fall. But nothing gelato and skipping class can’t fix, right?”

Her eyes lit up immediately.

“We’re getting gelato?”

“Yes. Your favorite place.”

She smiled fully, and I felt that quiet satisfaction that comes from measuring sweetness just right.

We sat outside the gelato shop. I ordered a small cup for myself to look normal and a large one for her with two scoops.

She stared at her spoon for a moment, and the smile faded halfway through.

“So… why are you so sad?” I asked gently, in that tone mothers use when they want to sound comforting but are really gathering information.

Bella stirred her gelato without enthusiasm.

“Because Dad promised he’d play video games with me on Friday… and he didn’t.”

I kept my face neutral. Inside, I smiled.

“And why didn’t he?”

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She took a deep breath like the injustice was too big for her mouth.

“He had to go get Gwen. And then he spent the whole weekend doing adult stuff.”

Adult stuff.

I almost laughed.

“Oh,” I said softly, as if something obvious had just clicked. “It must be baby stuff.”

Bella looked up immediately.

“Baby?”

I nodded lightly, as if it were just a detail of the weather.

“You know how it is when a woman is pregnant, right?” I began in a calm, instructive tone. “She has to go to the doctor all the time. Blood tests. Ultrasounds. Sometimes she feels sick, needs special food, has to take vitamins, can’t drink certain things, needs more rest… and then the dad has to handle everything.”

I listed it slowly. Real enough to feel inevitable.

Bella looked at me with a small, fragile kind of shock.

“My dad?”

“Your dad,” I confirmed gently. “Who’s also the baby’s dad.”

She swallowed. The gelato was forgotten.

“But…” she started, her voice thin. “That’s annoying.”

I lifted my spoon and nodded in mild agreement, like we were talking about homework.

“It is. And the baby isn’t even here yet.”

Bella pressed her lips together. Her chin trembled just slightly.

“But Dad promised he wouldn’t forget me.”

I let the silence stretch for one heartbeat. Long enough for a child to feel a promise wobble.

“And did he come back to play video games?” I asked softly.

Bella shook her head.

I gave her a sad, understanding look. The kind of mother who suffers alongside her child.

“I thought so,” I said softly.

Bella lowered her eyes.

And that was when I offered the solution. Because children can’t carry a problem without an exit. They need a door.

I was the door.

“You know what would be fun?” I said, brightening my voice like I had just come up with something exciting, “You and me playing video games.”

She blinked, confused.

“I… I didn’t know you played.”

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“I can learn,” I said simply, as if it were nothing. “You can teach me. We can play all the time.”

Bella bit her lip.

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“But…”

“And you know the best part?” I continued gently, not giving that but room to grow into resistance. “It would just be the two of us. Because we’re a team, right?”

She went quiet.

I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice into the secret tone children love.

“Mother and daughter. No new baby. No pushy stepmother. Just us.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I want Dad too,” she whispered.

I let out a soft sigh, like that broke my heart.

“I know, sweetheart. I know you do.”

I reached across the table and touched her fingers carefully.

“But sometimes… sometimes your dad wants the new baby more.”

Her eyes widened like I had said something forbidden.

“No…”

“Honey, look at what happened,” I said gently, pointing at the version of events I had carefully arranged. “He promised. And he didn’t come back. He had adult things to do. He ran out because of Gwen. He got busy.”

I didn’t say he chose them. I let her arrive at that conclusion herself.

Bella’s breathing grew uneven. Her eyes shone.

“So… so it’ll just be us?” I asked softly. “Would you want that?”

She gripped her spoon like it was something solid to hold onto.

She stayed quiet for a long moment.

I watched patiently as her mind tried to balance her love for her father with her fear of being left behind.

In the end, she did what children do when they can’t carry it anymore.

She chose the option that felt safer.

Bella gave a small nod.

I smiled.

“Good.”

I said it like I was protecting her, not laying a trap.

“It only depends on you now, sweetheart.”

She frowned.

“Depends… how?”

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Chapter 603

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I leaned in a little closer, making the secret heavier, more intimate.

“Tomorrow your dad is going to take you somewhere,” I said. “There will be a man in a suit.”

She made a face.

“I don’t like men in suits.”

“I know,” I said with a small laugh. “But this one will ask you a very simple question. He’ll ask if you’d rather stay with your dad

… or with Mommy.”

Bella went very still.

“And then,” I continued softly, “you just say ‘Mommy.””

Her eyes filled completely, like the world had suddenly grown too big.

“But… Dad…”

I squeezed her fingers gently, steady and reassuring.

“Your dad will still be your dad.” A lie wrapped in something that sounded true. “You’ll just live with me. And then we’ll have gelato and play video games all day. Deal?”

Bella stared at the melting gelato like she was looking at herself.

Her voice came out small.

“Okay.”

For a second, I almost wanted to applaud.

Instead, I smiled warmly.

“Good. That’s my girl.”

I finished my gelato slowly, savoring a victory that hadn’t even happened yet.

Then I wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin, like any caring mother would.

“Now let’s get you back to school so your dad can pick you up, okay?”

She nodded again, obedient, carrying something heavy inside her small body.

“And remember, this is our little secret, all right?” I added lightly.

Bella looked at me.

“Don’t tell anyone we came out for gelato today,” I said sweetly. “Deal?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“Deal.”

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