Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 670 Gwen's POV My head exploded before Zoey even finished the sentence. Problem. That word was a key. It unlocked every door I'd been trying to keep shut. Bella. Renee. The hearing. Gossip. Leaks. The kind of tragedy that shows up uninvited. My whole body went rigid. "What?" | asked, my heart already racing. "What happened? Is it Bella?" Zoey blinked like I'd just skipped twenty chapters. "No. No!" She grabbed my arm again, almost laughing. "Relax. It's nothing like that." "Then just say it," | demanded, hating the edge in my own voice.

Zoey inhaled with ridiculous solemnity, like she was about to announce a war. Then, with the seriousness of someone confessing a crime, she said: "The cake... it's not the right chocolate. It's not your favorite." ---- | stared at her. One second. Two. Until reality clicked back into place. "You..." I started, and the sentence died because | burst out laughing. A real laugh. The kind that hits so suddenly it almost makes you dizzy. "You pulled me over for that?" Zoey crossed her arms, playfully offended. "| have a PR reputation to maintain.

If the chocolate is wrong, I've failed as a human being." | rested my forehead against her shoulder for a second and hugged her tight, like | was holding on to a version of myself that still knew how to breathe without fear. "Sis," I murmured, "if all my problems were like this, I'd be the happiest person alive." Zoey softened in my arms. "Tonight, they can be," she said quietly. | pulled back just enough to look at her. ---- "Tonight, they will be," | answered. | kissed her cheek quickly, like my happiness needed to touch someone to become real.

| grabbed my juice from the bar and forced myself to do what I'd promised. Socialize without overthinking. Thank people without crying. Exist without bracing for the next hit. | moved from group to group like I'd been trained for it. And then | saw Annie. She was standing by a tall table, talking to a friend from my office, laughing with her head slightly tilted like the world weighed less when she decided it did. | walked over and hugged her without asking. "You came," | whispered in her ear, like | was still surprised.

of London. The three of us in a glass conference room. Bad coffee. Spreadsheets. Me thinking my future was nothing more than that. ---- And now | was here. A ring on my finger. Juice in my hand Nick's last name somewhere on my horizon. When it was just the two of us, | looked at Annie with the kind of closeness that didn't need ceremony.

terrifying." Annie laughed, and her eyes lit up "The best advice is to know absolutely nothing," she said easily. " That way you'll have to learn every day. And trust me, Gwen... there's nothing better than that." I nodded, my throat tightening for a second. "You say that like it's easy," | teased. "| say that as someone who almost loses her mind every day being married to Nathaniel," Anne replied, lifting her

"Your drink... is that juice?" Annie's eyes widened and she immediately put a finger to her lips. "Shh," she hissed, laughing and panicked at the same time. "For the love of God." | clapped a hand over my mouth, shocked, laughing. "Annie..." | whispered now, conspiratorial. "Annie!" She took a deep breath, like she had to admit something

her face. "You...?" Anne nodded, and for a second she looked so human | could've cried. "Isn't it crazy?" she went on, her voice filled with soft amazement. "We went through IVF, the adoption waiting list... ---- we have two beautiful kids and a

wedding," she replied, like she was reminding me my world had just turned upside down too. | took a breath and pulled back slowly. "Tonight we're collecting miracles," | said, trying to joke so | wouldn't fall apart. Annie smiled. "Tonight we leave the world outside,"