Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 241 My feet carried me away from the terrace before I even realized what I was doing. Away from the stunned stares and the heavy silence Alexandra had left behind like a grenade. I found a side staircase at the back of the mansion that led down to the garden. A quiet comer far from the noise and the people. I sat on the cold marble step, the chill of the stone cutting through the heat of humiliation still burning in my face. Tears threatened, but I forced them back. I wasn't giving Alexandra that satisfaction.

I drew a slow breath and tried to steady the tremor in my hands, the tight ache in my chest from a mix of shame and anger. "Anniel" Zoey's voice echoed down the hallway. Worried. Determined. I heard her heels tapping against the marble as she searched for me. "Annie, where are you?"" "Here," I answered, my voice thinner than I meant. A few seconds later she appeared, her dress brushing around her legs as she moved toward me. The look on her face told me she wasn't just worried. She was furious for me.

"There you are," she said softly as she gathered her skirt and sat beside me on the cold step. We stayed silent for a few minutes. Just listening to the distant hum of the party continuing without us. Zoey didn't push or ask questions. She just sat with me. It was exactly the kind of quiet support I needed. My body relaxed a little just from having her next to me. "That woman is a snake," Zoey said at last. Her voice was low, but seething. "What she did up there was cruel and calculated." "It was," I said, fiddling with the hem of my dress. "And the worst part is...

she didn't lie." "Annie," Zoey said, her tone shifting into something more serious. "I know about you and Nate. I know about the plane. I know he's your boss and that it's complicated. But what I didn't know is how deep this runs for you." I let out a long breath. A weight slid off my shoulders. There was no point denying anything anymore. Zoey had put every piece together. "I'm not even sure I fully understand what I feel," I admitted as I finally looked at her. "I don't know if it's infatuation or chemistry or just me being stubborn.

to move on," I said, the frustration of the last few months bubbling up. "I go out with other men. I try to focus on work. I try to act like it doesn't matter when he brings me Verdanian coffee or when our eyes meet in the hallway. But nothing works. It's like he's rooted himself in my head." I

gossip. It's going to be the office topic for weeks. I wish I could say I don't care, but I do." 1/3 Zoey took my hand and squeezed. "It's because you're still completely tangled up in

you mean?" Zoey asked, frowning. "You're talking about Henry. As a distraction?" I shook my head fast. "No. Not Henry. Someone I met on a dating app." Zoey's expression changed instantly. Her eyes narrowed. Her protective big-sister mode clicked on with full force.

strangers online." "Zoey, stop," I cut in, a wave of defensiveness rising in my chest. "There's nothing dangerous about it. Not in the way you're thinking." "How can there not be? You don't even know who this person is." "I talked to him for days," I said, keeping my tone steady. "And the most intense thing he ever did was send flowers to my office. The second I cut contact and deleted the app, he respected it. He didn't chase me. He didn't try to find me. He didn't insist or push or

quiet as she absorbed that. "Then why are you thinking about him now? If you already cut him off." "Because..." I hesitated, searching for a way to explain something I barely understood myself. "He's the only person who ever managed to quiet all

draw was definitely that he pulled me out of this Nate tornado. I just... need something that lets me breathe again. And with Nate I can't have anything." Zoey watched me for a long moment. Her expression slowly softened. "You want to talk to him again?" she asked, her voice gentler now.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I sighed. The reality sat heavy on my shoulders. "It's over. I made my choice when I deleted everything." Zoey placed a hand on my shoulder and nudged me to look at her. "Annie, listen to me." Her voice dropped into that older sister wisdom I always ended up needing whether I liked it or not. "You