Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 310 Nathaniel's POV I'd spent the last twenty minutes discreetly searching for Annie around the Rosemont Hotel ballroom, weaving through endless clusters of conversation and obligatory greetings. I shook hands with executives eager to talk about future partnerships, smiled politely at important clients who couldn't stop discussing business even at a party, and made small talk with colleagues, all while scanning the room for that white dress that had caught my breath when she arrived. I checked near the buffet, where she might've been chatting.

I looked out on the terraces, thinking maybe she'd stepped outside for some air. I even peeked into the quieter lounges of the hotel, hoping she'd gotten pulled into a more private conversation. Nothing. Annie had vanished. We hadn't even had a real chance to talk yet. But that smile she had given me when our eyes met across the crowded room had been enough to reignite a hope I thought I'd lost for good. It was nothing like the distant, guarded look she'd given me when she left my apartment. There had been something there. Forgiveness, maybe. Or at least a willingness to try.

It was nearly midnight. The countdown to the new year was getting close, and I'd made a promise to myself: if I could get close to her and she smiled at me like that again, I'd finally take the kiss I'd been holding back. I didn't care who was watching. I didn't care if we still had to keep things quiet. I wasn't letting the new year start without trying. I was near the terrace again, checking one last time to see if she'd gone out for fresh air, when someone practically jumped in front of me. "Nate!" Tori appeared out of nowhere, clearly agitated.

made me stop cold. I looked at my sister properly for the first time and realized she was genuinely nervous. Her eyes were slightly wide, her shoulders tense,

my chest. Tori took a deep breath, like she was bracing herself. "There are photos of Annie going around in the Kensington employee gossip group..." "How do you even have access to that group?" I asked automatically, frowning. "Nate, that's not the point right now," she said impatiently. "What matters

I stroked her hair softly, trying to give

from shock, from the slow realization of what's happened. I kept stroking her hair, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, pouring everything I couldn't say into the touch. Every movement was a promise that she was safe now, that no one would hurt her again. And as I held her, details kept registering, each one tightening something in my chest. She was still clearly under the effects of something. Her pupils were dilated, her

Her clothes had been torn away. Seeing the evidence of what she'd endured made my blood boil all over again. But more than anything, it made one thing painfully clear. Whatever it took, I was going to protect her now. "Annie..." I murmured, a fresh wave of rage and pain tightening my chest. "What did he do to you?" She shook her head, the movement weak but deliberate. "You got here before the worst,"