Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 419 Marcus' POV I instinctively widened my eyes when I saw the look on Madeline's face. There was something completely unexpected there. A mix of surprise and shock that made me instantly forget our argument about schedules and missed calls. "Are you okay?" I asked, alarmed, taking a step toward her. My mind immediately jumped to every medical possibility. Pregnancy complications? Pain? Was it something going wrong that I wouldn't know how to handle? She didn't answer. She just kept staring at me with that strange expression, one hand still resting on her belly.

"Madeline, please tell me what's happening," I insisted, urgency creeping into my voice. "I'm sorry I got home late. I'm sorry I didn't call. I don't want to worry you, I don't want to stress you out or do anything that could hurt you or the baby and-" She interrupted me with another small cry, very similar to the first one, but this time there was something different in her expression. It wasn't fear. It was... amusement? "Madeline?" I said again, completely lost. Then she laughed. It was a soft, almost awed sound that only confused me more.

"I think he likes your voice," she said gently, her eyes shining with an emotion I couldn't immediately name. "What?" I asked, frowning, completely confused. stead of answering, Madeline reached for my hand and guided it carefully until it rested against her belly. Her in was warm through the thin fabric of her shirt, and I could feel the gentle curve that had formed over the ast few months. "Keep talking," she said softly, covering my hand with hers. "About what?" I asked, still disoriented, but instinctively doing what she asked.

thoughts, searching for something mundane to say while keeping my hand exactly where she'd placed it. "Well..." I began hesitantly. "Christian had this kind of crazy idea today about organizing a team-bonding retreat. He thinks if we

to set up a tent or-" I didn't get to finish the sentence. Something unexpected pressed against my palm from the inside. 1/3 It was subtle, but unmistakable. Like something small and determined had pushed back against my hand from within Madeline's belly. A gentle wave of movement that rippled through her skin. I stopped talking instantly, my eyes locking onto hers. "He kicked," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper of pure awe. We stared

"It's never happened before," Madeline said, her voice thick with emotion. "It's like he was waiting for you to get home." I stood there, my hand resting on her belly, feeling our baby move for the first time, and suddenly everything became

out about the pregnancy, through the escape, everything with Dominic, all the stress and planning and constant worry, part of me had still treated the baby as something abstract. A concept. A future possibility. A reason to protect Madeline, but not quite a real person yet. But standing there, feeling that small yet unmistakable movement, I understood it viscerally. There was a life growing inside her. Our child. Son or daughter. Already communicating with us. Reacting to our presence. Making their existence known

idea. Something that would happen someday. But now..." "Now it's a person," she finished. "A tiny person who recognizes your voice." We stayed quiet for