Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 462 Marcus' POV "Madeline?" I murmured, seeing her standing in the doorway like she was about to come in just as I was about to leave. Her eyes were red, clearly betraying that she'd been crying. Her hair was slightly messy, like she'd run her hands through it over and over. And her expression-she looked exhausted. Not just physically. There was a deep emotional weariness etched into every line of her face, a kind of fatigue that seemed to come straight from her soul and spread through her entire body.

"You scared me," I said, instinctively pulling her into an embrace, a wave of overwhelming relief washing over me just from seeing her there-safe, whole. She didn't resist, but she didn't hug me back either. She stayed still in my arms, passive, as if she were merely tolerating the contact instead of participating in it. It felt like I was holding a distant version of her. "I told you I was getting a ride home," she said when I pulled back slightly, her voice sounding more tired than defensive. "Davide brought me." "But how...

how did I get here first?" I asked, genuinely confused by the logistics. I'd driven fast-borderline reckless-to get home as quickly as possible. But the time I'd spent waiting for Mia, Luke, and Olivia to gather their things before leaving with me had given Madeline a head start. "Davide dropped everyone else off first," she explained, slipping past me and into the apartment with slow, deliberate movements. "I was the last one." I closed the door and followed her inside, watching the way she moved through our shared space.

"Why did you want to come back alone?" She let out a heavy sigh and sank onto the couch, the kind of exhaustion in her body that immediately worried me. It was as if the weight of the

seemed to need. She

rehearsed them the entire drive home. "I don't love you either. I'm grateful for what you've done for me and for my child... but I don't love you." It felt like the floor vanished beneath my feet. Her words echoed through the silent apartment, each one slicing into my

second nature to her, "this baby might be yours. And I know you want what's best for them. So... we can't keep lying to each other or hiding things." I went completely still, trying to absorb what she was saying. How had we gone from ten to zero so fast? Just a few hours ago, I'd been on the verge of telling her