Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 460 Marcus' POV I watched Madeline walk away from the hall, my frustration growing by the second. I had no idea what I'd done to deserve that icy treatment. I was seriously considering going after her when I felt someone step up beside me. "Trouble in paradise?" Dante asked casually, appearing with two glasses of wine and offering one to me. "Something like that," I muttered, taking the glass but never taking my eyes off the door Madeline had disappeared through. "I don't know what you did," he went on, "but I'm on her side. Women are always right." "What?

You don't even know-" "Let me guess," Dante cut in, leaning against the wall in that deliberately casual pose he'd perfected over the years. "She's having one of those inexplicable female mood swings? Loves you one minute, acts like you're radioactive the next?" I looked at my cousin with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "It's not exactly-" "Of course it is," Dante interrupted, with the confidence of a man who believed himself an expert. "Look, cousin, I've been through this more times than I can count. Women are complex, mysterious creatures.

The key is not trying to understand them." "Dante..." "No, no, let me finish," he said, gesturing dramatically with his glass. "You're making the classic mistake of a man in love. You're trying to decode every look, every sigh, every mood shift. Total waste of time, man!" I laughed despite myself. There was something oddly comforting about the absolute simplicity of Dante's worldview, even knowing it was completely wrong. "The formula is simple," Dante continued, clearly slipping into professor mode. "Flowers. Chocolate. A romantic dinner.

And if none of that works, jewelry always fixes things. Good sex helps too. Though I can't say whether you're an expert in that department..." I laughed out loud, slowly shaking my head. "You're giving serious relationship advice based on... what? Your one-night stands?" "Hey!" Dante protested, feigning offense. "Some of my conquests lasted several nights. A whole week once!" "A whole week," I repeated, shaking my head. "Impressive commitment." "Exactly!

to reveal the secrets of the universe. 1/3 "Never ask 'what's wrong?' when she says nothing's wrong," Dante declared. "It's a trap, cousin. A deadly trap. 11 "Dante, you do realize you're talking about my wife, not some girl I met at a bar, right?" "Wife, girlfriend, casual fling," Dante shrugged. "In the end, they're all part of the same beautiful, seductive, mysterious

cousin gesturing animatedly as he laid out his absurd relationship theories, and something clicked. Not that long ago, I'd been exactly where he was. The confident womanizer, only interested in uncomplicated fun, convinced that understanding women was impossible and unnecessary. As long as we were having a good time, that was enough. And now... now

Madeline was completely in love-melting into my arms, laughing at my jokes, looking at me like I was the best thing that had ever happened to her. The next, she was irritated, building emotional walls, refusing to talk, acting as if my presence caused her actual pain. But even with all the confusion,

every reason in the world to want to keep that relationship. She was carrying my child, or at least

want to mix up the message." "Dante," I interrupted, turning to him with sudden clarity. "Yeah?" "You know something? You're a Kensington. This is going to happen to you too." "What?" "First Christian, now me... your time's coming." Dante frowned, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?" around