Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 418 Madeline's POV It had been two months since we moved into our own apartment in Florentia. Christmas had been strange. My first one away from my family in Verdania, without the traditions I'd known since childhood. But Marcus' family welcomed me so warmly that I surprised myself by realizing it was possible to create new traditions. Jonathan had insisted we celebrate at the country estate, and we spent an entire week among frost-covered olive trees and crackling fireplaces. Beatrice taught me traditional Valentian recipes.

Luke and Mia pulled me into every family joke and game. And Marcus... Marcus gave me a delicate necklace with a small pearl-shell pendant, whispering that it was so Aphrodite would never forget Apollo. Now, deep into the Valentian winter, with Florentia's streets coated in a thin layer of cold rain and people hurrying past in heavy coats, the two of us stayed tucked away in our apartment, trying to build something that resembled a real marriage. And I was starting to understand why so many relationships fell apart once couples decided to live together. They weren't big problems.

They were small things. Seemingly insignificant details that, added together, created a constant low-grade tension in the air. Marcus would leave his coffee cup in the sink after breakfast, always with that faint brown ring at the bottom that needed scrubbing. I, on the other hand, washed everything immediately after using it, unable to relax knowing there were dirty dishes, even though the cleaning lady would be there later. He liked waking up to the Valentian news blasting at full volume.

I preferred to start my day in silence, especially now that my morning sickness still showed up occasionally and I was finally sleeping a little better. Marcus took long showers and left damp towels on the bathroom floor. I folded mine carefully and hung them exactly where they belonged. Then there was the temperature issue. He was used to the Valentian climate and always thought the apartment was too warm, opening windows even when I was cold. Me, pregnant and with my internal thermostat completely out of sync, swung between sudden heat waves and constant chills.

people with different habits, quirks, and expectations. Olivia had wisely decided to live with Mia to give us space as a couple, but sometimes I wondered if it wouldn't have been easier to have a third person around to ease the tension between us. At least then we wouldn't

the apartment, exploring the city when I felt well or simply reading during the hours when nausea kept me at home. The solitude didn't bother me as

things from his past he still hadn't shared with

there was always that look of carefully contained frustration in his eyes. But nothing irritated me more than his habit of simply disappearing for hours without warning. It was Thursday night. I was making a simple dinner

tried calling his cell three times, but it went straight to voicemail every time. My anxiety started to spike. What if something had happened? What if Dominic had figured out where we were? What if the police had decided to cooperate with extradition? My mind spiraled, creating more and more catastrophic scenarios. When I finally heard the key turn in the lock at nine forty, I was practically climbing the walls with worry.