Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 744

Chapter 744 Extra 13

Zoey’s POV

“Okay,” Annie said, way too practical. “Let’s give them space.”

She grabbed Matthew with one hand and Nate with the other like she was dragging two kids away from an electrical outlet. Matthew still turned his head back, clearly wanting to stay.

And in that split second before they left, I saw his lips move close to Annie’s ear.

“We’re listening at the door, right?”

Annie answered without a trace of guilt, like it was a sacred oath of sisterhood.

“Obviously.”

The bedroom door clicked shut.

I stood there in the middle of the room like I’d forgotten how to exist in my own body.

Christian took a step toward me.

It wasn’t aggressive.

But it was decisive.

That was always how he moved. The world could be on fire, and he’d still find the center and choose exactly where to stand.

“You think I’m cheating on you?” he asked.

His voice was controlled.

But there was something else in it. Something I didn’t want to see.

Pain.

“How could you think that?” he added.

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

It was ridiculous. I had crossed an ocean. Packed a suitcase. Said the word divorce like it was something I could handle.

And now, standing in front of him, I felt like a kid caught doing something wrong.

“I… I…” I stammered, hating the sound of my own voice.

Christian exhaled slowly.

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“Zoey…” he said my name like it was both a warning and a plea. “Have I given you any reason to think that?”

I swallowed hard. I wanted to say no. I wanted to say I was just anxious, just scared, just overthinking.

But I couldn’t lie.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “You’ve been… off.”

He frowned.

“Off?”

“You have,” I rushed on, needing to justify myself before he could tear me apart. “You’ve been hiding your phone. Turning the screen away. Closing your laptop when I walk in. You lied to me. And… and you didn’t want me there.”

I saw his jaw tighten. A small vein pulse at his temple.

That was Christian at his limit. The man who never lost control-but got dangerously quiet.

“You’re connecting dots like it’s-”

“Like it’s proof,” I cut in before he could say paranoia. I knew him too well. And I wouldn’t survive hearing that word from him.

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a short, humorless laugh.

“I’ve just been busy with work.”

My chest tightened.

“That doesn’t justify lying,” I said. And my voice came out stronger than I expected. Maybe because I was tired of feeling small inside my own head.

Christian held my gaze for a long second.

“You’re right,” he said.

The simplicity of it disarmed me completely. I’d been ready to fight.

“It doesn’t,” he repeated, quieter. “But…”

He stopped. Left the word hanging.

I held my breath.

He took another step closer, closing the distance like the space between us bothered him.

“I wanted to surprise you.”

My face lit up before I could stop it. Automatic. Embarrassing. And impossible to hide.

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“A surprise?”

Christian nodded, and this time his expression softened.

“You’re turning thirty,” he said. “That’s a big milestone.”

A warm wave rose in my chest-and with it, a sharp flicker of embarrassment for even thinking he could be cheating.

“I thought you forgot,” I admitted quietly.

Christian laughed, and finally-it was his laugh. The one that always made me feel like I was home.

“How could I?”

I shrugged, feeling the knot in my throat tighten again.

“I don’t know… I just thought… I thought…”

“You’ve been thinking too much, haven’t you?” he asked.

I nodded.

Because I had.

Christian looked at me like he was trying to figure out where exactly I’d gotten lost on my own.

“Did you take the test?” he asked.

My eyes widened.

“Oh, come on!” I said, almost laughing. “How do you and my siblings know me this well?”

Christian smirked.

“They do because they grew up with you, so they’re obligated to love you.”

From outside, Annie’s voice shot through the door like a perfectly timed punchline:

“And it wasn’t easy!”

I laughed, and it came out shaky. Half a sob. Half relief.

Christian stepped closer until I could feel his warmth. His hand came up to my face, gentle.

“And me…” he said, his voice dropping, turning softer. More intimate. “I know you because you’re my

whole life.”

That hit me straight in the chest.

He didn’t rush. He chose every word like it mattered.

“I spent most of my life thinking I was the kind of man who stood on his own,” he said. “That I was

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enough by myself. I had a company, a family, responsibilities… and I confused all of that with identity. I convinced myself I was the center of my own universe.”

He let out a quiet, humorless breath.

“Then you showed up and proved me wrong,” he said. “I’m not the center of anything, Zoey. I orbit around you.”

My chest tightened in that aching, beautiful way.

“You’re my reference point,” he continued. “My right place. My quiet. I’m calmer when you walk into a room, and I’m more… myself when you’re next to me.”

He rested his forehead against mine for a second.

“So when you say ‘divorce’ like it’s an option, it’s like…” He paused, and I could see how hard the words were for him. “It’s like telling life I want to live without air.”

That was it.

I broke.

I wrapped my arms around him, tight, like I needed to make sure he was real. And the tears came-hot, unstoppable.

I hated being this emotional.

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