Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 686 Gwen's POV The phone was still warm in my hand when | hung up. For a second, | just stood there in the living room, watching Bella curled up in Nick's arms like that embrace was the only safe place left in the world. Maybe it was. | couldn't just drop the word fire on top of that without steadying the ground first. | gave Nick a small look, and he understood immediately. "Sweetheart, pick a cartoon," he said softly, like it was just another normal suggestion.

"We'll be right back, okay?" Bella nodded without really looking at us, remote in hand, scrolling through options with a seriousness that cracked something inside me. When a child tries to be "strong," they turn into a tiny adult for a few seconds. That should never be necessary. Nick and | went into the kitchen. "It was Dante," | said. He dragged a hand down his face, already exhausted before he ---- even heard the rest. "What now?" "He called from the estate. Something about the fire." | watched his jaw tighten. "What exactly?" "He wouldn't say over the phone.

Just..." | took a breath, feeling the weight of it. "That it was important. And that we'd want to go there." Nick was quiet for a few seconds. His body reacted before his voice did. His shoulders dropped, like this was the last thing he needed. And it was. But he was still Nick. "Okay." He exhaled slowly. "I'll call my mom. Ask her to stay with Bella." | bit the inside of my cheek, thinking fast. "Or..." The idea slipped out almost before | made the decision." Bella could come with us." He looked at me like I'd just suggested bringing a crystal vase into a storm.

---- "Gwen..." "| know." | lifted a hand. "I know she might still be... distant with me. But maybe that's exactly why." He stayed quiet, waiting. "The estate is a place she likes. It's open. There's space. It smells good. It holds memories. We don't have to make it into something serious. It can just be a drive. And afterward we do something fun. Gelato. Whatever she wants." Nick frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked honestly. "After everything... she might shut you out again." | swallowed. "Then we change that," | said. And | meant it. "I'm not going to win this by disappearing.

into the living room like two adults performing normal. ---- "Bella," Nick called lightly. "We're going to take a quick drive to the estate. Dante called... there's something we need to check out. Do you want to come with us?" Bella turned slowly. Her eyes passed over me like | was a question she hadn't decided how to answer. | crouched down a little so | was at her

cornered. "But... there are grapes. And lots of space. And you get to pick the music in the car." One corner of her mouth twitched, like she was taking the offer very seriously. "| get to pick the music?" she asked. "You do," Nick confirmed quickly. "Just not the same song a hundred times." "But you repeat yours," she shot back, and | caught the first flicker of the 'normal' Bella.

car. Nick drove with the kind of focus that comes from trying to hold the world together with both hands. | sat in the passenger seat. Bella was in the back, her seatbelt snug She picked some random kids' song. Repetitive. Loud. | didn't

for someone who claimed he was fine. | could see it in the way his fingers turned white, then flushed again, like he was squeezing and releasing

adult on the side. Not a bridge. Until my brain found something that didn't sound like a serious conversation. Didn't sound like pressure. Didn't sound like

Simple. No explanation. No speech. The silence lasted a second longer than before. "Name?" she repeated. And this time, there was curiosity. | nodded casually. "Yeah. We're