Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire

Chapter 176 Annie was perched comfortably on the edge of my bed, her legs swinging carelessly like a teenager's, watching me closely as I applied the final touch of mascara in front of the vanity mirror. "Do you think this lipstick's too dark?" I asked, leaning in closer to the mirror and turning my face from side to side, studying how the color caught the soft bedroom light. "It's absolutely perfect," Annie said confidently, absentmindedly picking up one of my pearl earrings from the vanity and holding it up to the warm glow of the lamp.

"It matches the elegant tone of your dress exactly." I was wearing a long-sleeved burgundy dress Christian had picked out for me a few months back, before everything in our lives had spun into emotional and physical chaos. It was elegant without being too formal, comfortable enough for an evening I instinctively suspected would be far more complicated and longer than Christian was letting on.

"You know," Annie said casually, still playing with my earring and scattering tiny dots of light across the wall,' it's really strange to think that just a few days ago you were unconscious in a hospital bed, and now you're here getting ready for a family dinner." 11 "It feels surreal," I admitted. "Sometimes it's like I'm still drifting through a long, confusing dream, not entirely sure where reality ends and my mind's blurry impressions begin. "At least it's a dream that looks like it's heading toward a happy ending," Annie said with a warm smile.

"You're recovering well, Matt's growing stronger every day, and soon you'll all be home together, finally a real family." "I hope so," I murmured, adjusting the pearl necklace around my neck. "Sometimes I still have this irrational fear that something else is going to go terribly wrong." "Nothing else is going to go wrong," Annie said with surprising conviction. "Especially after tonight." There was something deliberate in the way she said it. That made me glance at her through the mirror, trying to read the faintly secretive glimmer in her eyes.

I don't?" I asked suspiciously. "Maybe because I actually do," Annie said with a teasing grin, her eyes sparkling with that mischievous gleam I'd known since childhood. "Annie..." I began, turning in my chair to face her directly. "Speaking of people who really deserve unpleasant things happening to them," she interrupted abruptly, her tone shifting to something heavier, more serious. "Did you happen to see Elise while you were at the hospital?" Just hearing that name made my

our paths never cross again in this lifetime." "You'll definitely enjoy seeing her," Annie said slyly, her voice laced with a wicked satisfaction that made me frown in curiosity and concern. "'Enjoy' is a strange and slightly alarming word choice," I said, turning fully to face her, trying to read between the lines of her expression. "It's just that...well," Annie continued, clearly relishing whatever secret she was holding onto, "I really, really 1/3 want justice to handle Elise properly as she

"What do you mean, you're not telling?" I pressed, stepping closer with determination. "Annabelle Bennett, you tell me right now." "I'm not ruining the surprise," she said enigmatically, standing up and smoothing her dress with deliberate calm. "You'll find out soon enough, and when you do, you'll understand why I'm smiling like this." "Annie, you can't just drop something like that and then refuse to- The

in his blue eyes. It was a subtle tension he couldn't completely hide from me. "Are you two ready?" he asked, his gaze moving carefully from me to Annie, as if assessing

his hands naturally finding their way to my waist. "You look absolutely stunning," he said, his eyes traveling over my face with that particular intensity that still made me blush like a lovesick teenager. "Thank you," I murmured, reaching up to adjust his tie unnecessarily. It was more of an excuse to touch him than out of any real need. "You look incredible too. That suit has always been my favorite on you." He leaned

feel the tension in him-the subtle tightening of his fingers at my waist, the silent undercurrent of anxiety he couldn't quite mask. "Remember what we talked about earlier," he said quietly, his face still close to mine, his voice low and intense. " If at any point you feel uncomfortable, tired, overwhelmed, or you