Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 583 Gwen's POV "So you're asking me to lie to my husband?" Zoey's voice came through my phone, heavy with disbelief and something that sounded suspiciously like reluctant amusement. And, well... yes. That was exactly my plan. We were on a video call again. Me, in the living room of my Florentia apartment, still in my work clothes because I'd gotten home less than ten minutes earlier. Zoey, at a spa, apparently relaxing with a generous glass of red wine and what looked like a green facial mask covering half her face. It made sense.

It was still afternoon where she was, sunlight pouring through the window behind her, while here it was already night, the city lights beginning to flicker outside. "I'm not asking you to lie," I corrected, adjusting a cushion behind me on the couch. "I'm asking you to... not tell my brother something." Zoey stared at me through the screen, her eyes openly skeptical even under the green mask. "Gwen, I can't do that," she said, taking a sip of wine. "I don't lie to Christian. Ever. That's, like, rule number one in our marriage. Zero lies.

I honestly thought you'd already talked to him about this insane idea of yours before promising to work with another winery." "Zoey..." I started, leaning forward. "Zoey, it's not another winery. Not in that sense. It's the entire life legacy of a man who-" I stopped, took a breath, tried to organize the thoughts crashing through me. "Who is one of the most decent men I've ever met," I continued, the words spilling out faster now. "A man who wakes up at five every morning to take care of a property his father built with his own hands.

Who's raising his daughter alone after his ex-wife walked away. Who works himself to the bone trying to keep everything afloat when it would be so much easier to just give up and sell." I inhaled again, emotion tightening my throat. "And Bella, Zoey. You should meet Bella. She's six years old and the sweetest child you can imagine. She draws pictures of the three of us as a family. She wears the necklace I gave her every single day. She treats me like I actually belong in her life." I watched Zoey set her wineglass aside, her expression softening even beneath the mask.

to help even though she barely knows me. She trusts me when she shouldn't, because I'm lying to all of them." My voice cracked slightly on the last sentence.

knowing smile. "You're in love," she said, not as a question, but as a statement. "No!" I shot back immediately,

possibly know if I'm in love?" Zoey laughed, lifting her wineglass again and taking another generous sip. "I don't know, Gwen," she said, her voice softer now, more sincere. "I think I knew the first time I danced with Christian and he looked me in the eyes. Even though I tried to deny it back then, because he was way too full of himself and kind of annoying with all that confidence." I couldn't stop the laugh that slipped out. "He's still kind

yourself otherwise." I stayed quiet for a moment, letting her words settle. "Maybe," I finally admitted, my voice lower, more vulnerable, "Nick is making me open myself up to that possibility again." Zoey studied me through the screen, and even with half her face covered in a mask, I could see the understanding in her eyes. "Then you need to tell him the truth," she said gently. "Before he finds out some other way. Before it's too late." "I know,"

"I'm not saying anything to Christian. Not yet. Because you are 215 Chapter 583 going to tell him. Soon. Like, within the next few days, not months." She paused, letting it sink in. "You know your brother, Gwen. He's a workaholic, obsessed with business, a