Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 641 Nicholas' POV The coffee Dante handed me went completely cold in my hand. | never took a single sip. | just sat there staring at the dark liquid, unable to do anything but wait. Waiting was torture. Every minute dragged like an hour. Every second felt heavy enough to crush me. The clock on the wall ticked loudly, each sharp sound almost designed to drive us insane. Three hours. Three hours since I'd arrived Four hours since Gwen had gone into surgery, according to Christian. How long was a surgery supposed to last? Was it normal for it to take this long?

Or did it mean something had gone wrong? No one talked much. ---- At some point, Zoey stepped out to "make calls." When she came back, her eyes were red. Mia kept pacing, unable to sit stil. Dante was buried in his phone, typing nonstop. Probably handling some corporate crisis that couldn't wait. Or maybe just using work to distract himself. Christian hadn't moved. He sat like a statue, staring at the opposite wall without really seeing it. | understood that too well Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened. Aman ina white coat walked in. Older. Gray hair.

Professional expression, but tired. We all stood at the same time, like we were connected by an invisible wire. "The Kensington family?" he asked, unnecessarily "Yes," Christian replied immediately, stepping forward. "How is she?" The doctor glanced at all of us before focusing on Christian. "The surgery was successful, given the circumstances," he ---- began Something in my chest loosened just slightly. "We were able to stabilize the major internal bleeding and repair the fracture in her left arm.

There was also significant head trauma, but fortunately there's no detectable brain hemorrhage on the scans." He paused, taking a breath "Her condition is serious, but stable at the moment. We've placed her in a medically induced coma to allow her body to rest and begin the healing process without additional stress. We'll keep her that way for at least forty-eight hours before considering gradually waking her." "Is she going to be okay?" The question left my mouth before | could stop it. The doctor looked at me with that careful expression medical professionals learn to wear.

"Can we see her?" Christian asked. "Yes, but I'll allow only one visitor at first," the doctor replied. " Short visits. We don't want to disturb her unnecessarily, even if she's unconscious. Her body needs quiet to recover." "| understand," Christian said. "May

felt useless. Serious, but stable. Induced coma. Seventy-two critical hours. The words kept spinning in my head. "She's strong," Zoey said softly, more to herself than to anyone else. "She'll get through this." Mia finally sat down and buried her face in her hands. Dante slipped his phone into his pocket and leaned back against ---- the wall with a long exhale We stayed like that, each of us alone inside our own fear. | didn't know how much time had passed. Ten minutes, maybe twenty. The door opened

stable. A lot of machines. A lot of tubes. But stable." Then he looked directly at me. "Hey, Nick," Christian said. "| convinced the doctor to let you go in for a quick visit too. Room three-twelve. Left corridor." | blinked, caught off guard. "Me? But... family-" "You are family," Zoey cut in firmly. "Go." | stood on unsteady legs. "Thank you," | muttered to Christian. He just nodded. ---- | left

signs led me to room 312. The door was slightly open. | took a deep breath before pushing it all the way and stepping inside. Nothing could have prepared me. Gwen lay in the elevated hospital bed, surrounded by machines that beeped and hummed softly An IV line ran from her arm. A tube extended from her mouth, connected to a ventilator. Wires were attached to her chest, monitoring her heart. But what hit me the hardest was her face. Pale as wax.

gently as | could. It was cold. Motionless. "Hey," | whispered stupidly, like she could hear me. "It's me. I'm here." Silence, except for the