Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 495 Madeline's POV The room was wrapped in a comfortable half-light, lit only by the soft glow of the bedside lamp. It was one of the hospital's luxury rooms-almost a suite, really, with a private bathroom, a couch, and most importantly in that moment: a double bed where Marcus and I lay side by side. My body still ached. Every muscle protested after the superhuman effort I'd gone through just hours earlier. But it was a good kind of pain. A pain that was worth it. Because now, somewhere in this hospital, in a nursery room, my daughter was sleeping. Our daughter.

I still couldn't fully believe it was real. That she was here. That it had actually happened. Marcus was lying on his side, propped up on one elbow, looking at me with that goofy smile that hadn't left his face since Aurora was born. His fingers played absently with a strand of my hair. "Did you see how tiny she is?" he said for what had to be the thousandth time, and I laughed softly." Seriously, Madeline. She's beautiful." "I know, Marcus," I replied tenderly. "I was there when she came out of me, remember? And honestly...

in that moment, she didn't seem very small." He laughed, a low, intimate sound that warmed me from the inside out. "You were incredible, you know that?" he said, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "I've never seen anything so powerful. So beautiful. You bringing her into the world." My eyes burned with tears. "I didn't want her to spend the night in the nursery," I admitted, knowing my voice sounded small, vulnerable. "I wanted her here with us.

I don't want to be away from her for even a second." Marcus brushed his thumb gently along my cheek, that comforting gesture he always used when I was worried. "I know, love," he said softly. "But the nurse thought it was better this way. You need to rest after everything you went through, recover from the delivery. And if Aurora starts crying in the middle of the night, you won't be able to rest properly. You'll want to get up, you'll push your body too hard. It's just for this first night, okay? Tomorrow she'll be here with us all day." I knew he was right.

it had been run over by a truck. But still... "I know," I sighed, curling closer into him. "I just didn't want to be away from my daughter. It feels wrong, her being there and me being here. Like I'm already failing as a mother on the first day." "Our daughter," Marcus corrected with a smile, kissing my

and incapable of talking about anything that wasn't Aurora.

to a lighter, more playful tone, wanting to bring back the warmth we'd had just moments before. "That we'd end up here like this... after some crazy woman invited you to come along on her honeymoon?" Marcus laughed-that genuine, unrestrained laugh I loved so much, the one that still made my heart race even after everything we'd been through. "Maybe it wasn't quite that detailed in my imagination," he admitted, his eyes sparkling with humor and

crazy bride jumped on the back of my motorcycle, still in her wedding dress, running away from her own wedding like she was in an action movie... I knew I was screwed." "Screwed?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow, even though I was way too tired to make it look truly threatening. "That's the word you choose to describe meeting the love of your life?" He leaned closer, his face just inches from mine, those blue eyes holding me completely captive. "But... screwed in a good

the pain and exhaustion. But it was still full of promise and love and gratitude and all the emotions we didn't even have words for yet. When we pulled apart, I rested my head against his chest,