Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 739

Chapter 739 Extra 8

Zoey’s POV

I woke up with that immediate feeling that something was off.

Christian’s side of the bed was empty.

I blinked slowly, still half tangled in sleep, staring at the wrinkled mattress beside me like it might explain itself. Okay. I knew. He’d said he had to leave early. But… he didn’t even say goodbye?

I sat up, pulled the comforter to my chest, and took a breath, trying not to turn something small into a full-blown crisis.

That’s when my phone buzzed on the nightstand, like the universe had heard me and decided to correct me immediately.

I grabbed it.

It was a message from him.

[You looked so beautiful sleeping, I didn’t want to wake you. Love you.

PS: I’ll make it up to you tonight, so be ready.]

I read it twice.

By the second time, I was already smiling.

Of course. Christian being Christian. The man who wouldn’t wake me just to say goodbye.

“Okay,” I murmured to the empty room, a soft, silly smile on my face. “I’ll be ready, Mr. Kensington.”

When I went downstairs, breakfast was already set. Cut fruit, bread, yogurt, fresh coffee. I was always a little impressed by how efficient the staff was, like even everyday life had to meet a standard of excellence.

In the kitchen, the nanny was with Matt.

And Matt was, officially, the part of my life that made me feel the most vulnerable and the happiest at the same time.

He was three years old and somehow already had this scary ability to read my mood before I could. Sitting in his little chair, holding a cup of milk, wearing a T-shirt with something printed on it that I’d bought because it was “cute” and now regretted- because he refused to wear anything else. His hair was messy, and there was still a bit of banana on his mouth that no one had properly wiped off.

When he saw me, his whole face lit up like I’d just turned on the sun.

“Mommy!”

He reached for me immediately, impatient, his whole body leaning forward.

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I went to him right away, because there’s no force in the world strong enough to make me wait when he does that.

“Hi, my love,” I said, picking him up, feeling that small, warm weight settle into me like it belonged there. “Did you eat everything? Or did you eat… ‘almost everything’?”

He pressed his face into my neck and laughed, completely unbothered by existence.

“I ate!” he said—with way too much conviction for someone who definitely had not eaten everything.

I kissed his forehead and gently set him back in his chair, because he was already at that age where he’d get offended if I treated

him like a baby. Matt was little, but he had a stubborn dignity-straight from his father, unfortunately.

“I’ll take him to school,” I told the nanny, grabbing a grape from the plate and popping it into my mouth.

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“Is Mr. Kensington already waiting?”

It wasn’t an idle question.

We were still adjusting Matt to school, and it had turned into a full family operation. Usually, Christian and I took him together, like our combined presence was some kind of shield. Matt had… issues staying there.

And by “issues,” I meant my son clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping the world from ending.

Christian came along because when I hesitated, he’d grip my elbow and remind me-without words-that we couldn’t teach our son that fear gets to win.

I took a breath and answered like it was simple.

“Christian’s not coming today. He left early for Serene Port.”

The nanny nodded, like it was just logistics.

Matt, who heard “Serene Port” and understood absolutely nothing, repeated it like it was a new toy.

“Poto… Ale… gre.”

I laughed.

“That’s right, baby. Serene Port. That’s where Daddy works.”

I ate quickly, grabbed my bag, and a few minutes later, I was in the car with the driver, Matt in the backseat strapped into his car seat, chatting away like the world existed solely to listen to him.

When we got there, I got out, unbuckled Matt, and picked him up out of habit-but he immediately wanted down.

“Mommy, I go,” he announced, like he had a meeting to attend.

“You go,” I echoed, trying not to laugh and cry at the same time.

At the entrance, I crouched down to his level and adjusted his little backpack.

“You’re going to be okay?” I asked, keeping my voice light.

He nodded firmly.

“I will.”

The teacher appeared, smiled at him, and Matt…

Walked in.

Just like that.

No crying. No clinging to my leg. No looking back like I might disappear. He just lifted his hand and said, with a kind of calm confidence that knocked the air out of me:

“Bye, Mommy.”

I stood there.

Way too long.

Watching my little boy walk into that building like he had suddenly decided the world belonged to him too.

I felt proud. Of course I did. So proud my chest tightened.

But right alongside it came something I hadn’t expected-a sharp, stupid little ache.

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The feeling of being… less needed.

I swallowed and muttered, without thinking, to absolutely no one:

“Wow. Great. Everyone’s just abandoning me today.”

I heard myself and almost laughed, because it was dramatic-and because I knew I was being me.

But it wasn’t just about school.

On the way back to the mansion, I promised myself I’d enjoy the morning. I didn’t have anything urgent to deal with, so I decided to do something I almost never let myself do without guilt:

Take care of myself like I was a normal priority.

I went to the sauna, booked a massage, spent time by the pool. Showered. Got ready slowly. Put on perfume like I had somewhere to be-even though no one was there to see me.

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