Semua Bab Hired a Gigolo, Got a Billionaire: Bab 411 - Bab 420

Madeline's POV After lunch, Marcus invited me to take a walk through the olive groves that stretched across the entire property. It was a perfect Castorian morning. Sunlight filtered softly through the silvery leaves of the olive trees, creating a delicate dance of light and shadow on the packed earth between the perfectly aligned rows. The air was cool and clean, filled with the unmistakable scent of olive trees and a gentle breeze that made the leaves whisper in a soothing rhythm. We walked in silence for a few minutes. It was hard to believe that just two days ago I had been trapped in that horrible clinic, drugged and hopeless. Now I was here, in Valentia, free, walking beside the man who had risked everything to save me. "I thought your family was known for their wines," I said at last, admiring the trees. Some of them were so old their trunks were as thick as pillars, their rough bark telling stories of decades of growth. Marcus laughed, the sound genuine and amused as it

Madeline's POV I was sitting on the bed, watching Olivia choose clothes from the closet, when I suddenly felt the urge to say out loud what had been running through my mind for days. "Olivia," I started hesitantly, "I feel like I'm living some kind of teenage dream." She stopped rummaging through the clothes and turned to look at me, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. "What do you mean?" "It's just that…" I tried to organize my thoughts. "With Dominic, even back when I still believed we genuinely loved each other, everything was always more… practical." "Practical?" Olivia repeated, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. I sighed, searching for the right words to explain something I was only just beginning to understand myself. "It felt like an… adult relationship. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it was all about sharing responsibilities until they completely took over our lives, you know? Conversations about investments. Which social events we should attend.

Madeline's POV It had been ten days since we'd arrived at the Galleo property, and I found myself counting them like a prisoner scratching marks into a wall. Not because I felt trapped. If anything, there was something deeply freeing about being there, far away from all the toxicity that had dominated my life over the past few months. Still, there was a strange sensation of living inside a bubble, as if the real world had temporarily stopped existing. I was sitting on the terrace with Olivia, enjoying the golden late afternoon that had become part of our daily routine. She was flipping through a Valentian magazine she'd found in the house's library, while I watched the olive trees sway gently in the breeze. It was a scene of absolute peace, yet my mind refused to fully settle. "Don't you think it's strange?" I said, breaking the comfortable silence between us. "What?" Olivia asked, lifting her eyes from the magazine. "Dominic being so quiet. Ten days and… nothing. No moves, n

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

Madeline's POV "I need fresh ingredients if I'm going to cook for Annie and Nate," I told Marcus as I finished my breakfast. "I want to do everything myself. Not order delivery, not leave it to the cook." Marcus smiled, folding the Valentian newspaper he'd been reading. "Do you want to go to Central Mercato? It's the best place to find quality ingredients, and it's close to the historic center. We can take a walk around the city too." The idea immediately lifted my mood. We'd been wanting to do something like this for weeks, but there was always some concern or tension holding us back. Now, after the magical moment last night when we felt the baby move for the first time, there was a new lightness between us. "Perfect," I said, already standing to grab my bag. "I can't wait to talk to Annie about the pregnancy. She's already at thirty-five weeks! She must have so many stories." We left the apartment and walked through the cobblestone streets of Florentia. It was a cold wint