Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 615 Gwen's POV | felt everyone at the table freeze at the exact same time, like someone had hit pause on a movie. Then Nick stood up so fast he nearly knocked his chair over, the scrape of wood against stone far too loud in the sudden silence. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice sharper than I'd heard in weeks. Renee gave a smile that didn't reach her eyes. Bella invited me," she said sweetly, stepping closer to the table with slow, calculated movements. "Didn't you, sweetheart? You told me your grandmother was making a special dinner tonight." Bella's eyes went wide.

She looked desperately at her father, then at me, and shook her head slightly. "Of course you did," Renee insisted smoothly. "You said your grandmother was making ragu, didn't you, Bella?" She was already pulling out an empty chair between Dante and Martina, sitting down as if she had been expected all along. "But lamb stew is even better than rag," she added brightly, ---- placing a napkin on her lap. "It's my absolute favorite.

Especially Martina's." "Renee," Nick said, still standing, rigid with tension, "this is a family dinner." "But | am family," she replied with that sugary, poisonous tone. " I'm Bella's mother. Or does that suddenly not count anymore?" The silence that followed was thick. Suffocating. Renee looked around the table slowly, her gaze lingering on each unfamiliar face. "Hi, everyone," she said with exaggerated cheer. "I'm Renee. Nick's ex-wife. And you are?" No one answered right away. Everyone was looking at Nick and me, waiting for direction. Dante was the one who finally broke the tension.

offering a polite smile. "Nice to meet you. Gwen's cousin. And this is her brother Christian, her sister-in-law Zoey, and our cousin Mia." "What an elegant and beautiful family," Renee commented, calmly serving herself some stew. "Did you all travel far for this dinner? It must be very special." ---- | reached for Nick's hand under the table and gently tugged downward, signaling for him to

beside me. "So," Renee continued, slicing into the meat delicately, "what exactly are we celebrating tonight? A birthday? A promotion? An engagement, perhaps?" | felt Nick tense again. "Just dinner," | answered before he could speak. "Getting to know each other better. Spending time together. Nothing formal. "Ah," Renee said lightly. "Well, that's still lovely.

clear the subject wasn't open for discussion. "How romantic," Renee said, in a voice that somehow managed ---- to sound both sweet and cutting at the same time. The conversation restarted, forced and brittle. Christian asked something neutral about the

Christian and Zoey, | thought | was going to melt." Renee visibly perked up, like a

a flawless mask of polite neutrality. "Family business," he said vaguely. "Nothing particularly exciting for dinner conversation." "Oh,