Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 742

Chapter 742 Extra 11

Christian’s POV

I didn’t like lying to Zoey.

But right now, I had to.

And I had to do it quietly-for three reasons.

The first was simple and frustrating: I didn’t know if this would work. And if I didn’t know that, I wasn’t about to build expectations. Not for her. Not for me. Not for anyone.

The second was practical: it involved Kensington. And anything tied to Kensington could turn into headlines in seconds. Speculation. Rumors. Stories spreading across networks like they were facts. I’d seen it happen too fast to ever trust “no one will find out.”

The third reason was the one that made the guilt sit heavier-and at the same time justified everything: I wanted it to be a surprise.

Zoey deserved a real surprise. Not just something expensive or beautiful. Something that meant something.

So when I told her that morning I was heading to the Serene Port office early…

I lied.

I was actually flying to Solara Bay to make it all happen.

The car dropped me at the airport before the sun had even decided to show up. I walked through the terminal with a cap pulled low, moving with the kind of quiet discretion that comes from habit, not paranoia. Being a Kensington means living with an invisible spotlight that can turn on at any moment.

Boarding was quick. I sat down, opened my laptop, then closed it without typing a thing.

I wasn’t in the headspace for spreadsheets.

I had a different kind of list running in my mind.

Silence. Strategy. Surprise.

In Solara, everything moved fast.

Car. Meetings. Doors opening. Hands shaking. Eyes measuring.

It wasn’t something I did for fun.

It was something I did when I’d decided a part of my life needed to shift.

And up until that point, I felt… right.

Not light. Not carefree.

But right.

Like I’d finally moved something out of the way and could actually see the path ahead.

The rest of the day turned into a controlled marathon. Place to place. Strategic visits. Conversations that mattered Connections that needed to exist.

I knew when to smile.

When to be sharp.

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When to listen instead of talk.

I signed documents.

Commitments.

A contract that could change everything.

And when the pen hit the paper, I felt something rare.

Excitement.

Not the usual deal closed kind. I’d felt that a thousand times.

This was different.

Like I’d just placed a new piece on my own board.

I left with my chest lighter, talking to Marcus as we got into the car heading back to the airport.

He wasn’t officially involved with Kensington-he had his own empire, his own fires-but he was there, like always.

Cousin. Brother. The one who understood my silences.

Solara traffic was chaos designed to test the patience of anyone who needed control.

I should’ve been irritated.

I wasn’t.

I was just… energized.

Energized enough to forget that I had lied to the woman I loved.

That’s when my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Matthew.

I opened it automatically, the same way I would any urgent email.

And read.

[Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and my sister, but I’m boarding the Kensington jet right now with her and Matt to London. Thought you should know.]

For a second, the words didn’t make sense.

I read it again.

Zoey and Matt… going to London?

Out of nowhere?

Without telling me?

The excitement vanished like someone had opened a window and let it all out.

My chest tightened-not work-related. Instinct.

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