Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 479 Madeline's POV The weeks passed in a whirlwind of activity and change. Marcus and I worked nonstop on ideas for the park-constant meetings with architects, designers, ride specialists, and security consultants. Every day brought new decisions, new challenges, new plans slowly taking concrete shape. It was exhausting, but also thrilling, watching something that had once been just a distant dream turn into a real, tangible project. In the meantime, life kept moving all around us. Nate and Annie's daughter was born-a beautiful, healthy baby girl they named Avery.

And as if one child weren't enough to complete their happiness, they had finally entered the final stage of adopting a three-year-old boy. Seeing Annie glowing with her two children, navigating motherhood with that mix of chaos and joy, filled me with hope for my own future as a mother. Matt, the firstborn of the new Kensington generation, had turned two, and his birthday party practically shut down the entire Highridge Valley.

Organized in the way only Zoey could manage, it was a spectacular event with an airplane-and-helicopter theme, since little Matt was completely obsessed with anything that flew. Christian had even hired a small plane to perform aerial stunts during the party-to the delight not only of Matt, but of every child there. Luke had come from Valentia, officially to help Marcus with the technical and management aspects of the park, but I knew the real reason was Olivia. They were officially dating now, seriously, and it was comforting to see my cousin so happy and in love. Dominic...

well, Dominic remained in the shadows. No visible moves. No new threats. No sign of his presence beyond the constant paranoia we carried like an invisible weight. And that was good, right? Maybe he had finally given up. Maybe he had realized he wouldn't be able to drag me back into that life of control and manipulation. Or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to strike again. But I refused to let that fear paralyze every decision I made. We had security. We had precautions. And we still had to live our lives.

Parks across Verdania, focusing first on a complete overhaul of the main unit here in Belmonte. "Then we'll

own identity, while still maintaining the Sullivan standard of quality." Marcus had drawn inspiration from the best amusement parks abroad-from Disney to smaller but innovative Euradian parks-and had ordered entirely new, modern rides, generously investing his own money whenever

and virtual reality experiences. It was completely innovative for the Verdanian amusement park market, and Christian was convinced it would be the differentiator

One afternoon, walking slowly through the park with Marcus-my seven-month belly already very prominent, forcing me into a careful, slightly clumsy pace-he asked what I thought of all the progress so far. I was far less present physically than I wanted to

by video call and reviewing projects remotely from the comfort of the couch. But every once in a while, when I was feeling okay and the anxiety of not seeing the progress with my own eyes became unbearable, I made a quick visit to the park. "Almost everything's ready," Marcus said with obvious pride, gesturing toward the attractions around us in