Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 569 Gwen's POV I answered the call with my heart racing, lifting the phone to my ear before I fully registered that it was a video call. "Hello?" "Gwen!" It wasn't Nick's voice. It was Bella. The screen filled with the girl's animated little face, her eyes shining, a huge smile taking up half the frame because she was holding the phone far too close. "Bella!" I exclaimed, unable to stop the smile that instantly curved my lips, even through the disappointment tightening in my chest. "Hi, my love. What a wonderful surprise!" Except it wasn't. Not completely.

Because for a split second, when I'd seen Nick's name on the screen, my heart had leapt with expectation. I'd imagined hearing his voice, deep and warm. I'd imagined seeing those green eyes looking at me through the screen. And instead, it was Bella. A girl I adored and missed, but who wasn't him. The realization bothered me more than it should have. "Look!" Bella spun the phone so fast the image blurred for a moment, then focused on what she was holding. "I made a drawing of us!" It took my eyes a second to adjust. The picture was colorful, drawn in crayon. Three figures.

One small in the middle, two taller ones on either side. The figure on the left had long hair and something that looked like a star on her neck. "It's beautiful," I said honestly, my chest tightening. "That's us watching cartoons." "Yes!" Bella flipped the phone back to her beaming face. "You remember!" "Of course I do," I replied, settling more comfortably on the bed and discreetly wiping away the last traces of tears that might still have been visible. "How could you let me forget?

You talked about that drawing." Bella laughed, that clear, carefree laugh only children have, untouched by real worries. "And how's school?" I asked, slipping easily into the child-friendly conversation mode that had become surprisingly natural during those days at the inn. "Did you learn anything new?" 1/4 "I learned about the seasons!" Bella said excitedly. "And about how plants grow.

latch onto a topic they love. She told me about a new friend at school, about playing during recess, about the book the teacher had read to the class. "And the inn?" I asked when

proudly. "I ate two pieces, and Daddy said I'd get a stomachache, but I didn't." We kept talking, Bella jumping from subject to subject in that chaotic but adorable way children do. She showed me the necklace she was still wearing and told me

and unmistakably irritated. I watched Bella flinch slightly, her eyes widening as she turned the phone toward the bedroom door. "What did we talk about taking my phone without asking?" Nick stepped into the camera's view, and my stomach jumped involuntarily at the sight of him. He was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, his hair slightly messy,

His gaze dropped to the phone in Bella's hand, to the glowing screen, and then his eyes widened when he realized it was a video call. That I was on the other side of it. I gave an awkward little wave, a silent hello, and immediately felt ridiculous. Who waves like that on a video call, like

my skin. "Hi," I replied, my own voice sounding just as off to my ears. 2/4 Silence followed. Awkward, heavy silence that stretched on for seconds that felt like hours. I looked at him through the screen. He looked back at me. Neither