He Gave Her Strawberries, Gave Me Hives (Ford and Sylvia) novel Chapter 240

Chapter 16

While Damian was in and out of consciousness in a New York hospital, the real Lorelei had already been reborn.

listair had created a brand new identity for her.

till Lorelei, but no longer the rootless drifter, the loyalty tester.

nstead, she was the long–lost heiress of Miami’s Vaughn family, recently found and returned.

his background was clean, her origins clear, enough for her to leave her past behind completely and live openly in the light of day.

At this moment, she was vacationing with Alistair on a private island in the Mediterranean.

un, sand, and azure seas stood in stark contrast to the gloomy oppression of New York.

listair treated her exceptionally well, to the point of doting on her.

his meticulous care often gave Lorelei the illusion…

was Alistair who had been tasked with “seducing her.

espite this, Lorelei remained mindful of her mission, trying her best to play the role of someone attempting to make Alistair fall in love.

ut she was finding it harder and harder to tell who the real actor was in this performance.

ne evening, with a gentle sea breeze in the air, the two of them were having dinner on a seaside terrace, a decanted red wine giving off a rich aroma beside

tem.

fter a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere became relaxed and subtle.

listair casually steered the conversation towards the past.

Lorelei, I’d like to know, why did you choose that profession in the first place?”

he question was like a key, prying open a long–sealed door in Lorelei’s heart.

erhaps it was the gentle foreign night, or the inexplicable sense of security the man before her provided, or maybe the alcohol had lowered her guard.

he lowered her gaze to the swirling red liquid in her glass and, for the first time, revealed to an outsider the reason she had buried so deep in her heart.

For the money.”

er voice was soft, laced with a hint of self–mockery.

It’s tacky, I know”

Back then, my grandmother was very sick. She needed a lot of money for surgery, to keep her alive. The medical bills were an astronomical sum for me

Someone found me, offered me an insane amount of money. The target was Damian.”

I took it… thinking that once I got the money, I could save my grandmother

ter voice started to choke up.

But… before I could get the money, my grandmother passed away.”

Before she left, she held my hand and told me her greatest wish was for me to be happy, to find someone who truly loved me, and to live a peaceful life

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Chapter 16

A tear slid silently down her cheek and dropped into her wine glass, creating a small ripple.

“So later, when Damian said he didn’t care about my past, that he loved me and wanted to give me a home. I believed him.”

And I really… I wanted to leave that past behind completely and build a life with him.”

That eighty million dollars, I never touched a cent of it. I donated it all. It was… an atonement, and a farewell.”

she had never spoken of this to Damian.

Because he never allowed her to bring up that shameful beginning.

he could only bury this heavy past deep in her heart, letting it fester into a thorn.

ut now, with Alistair, she had found an outlet.

he wine went to her head, and all the suppressed grief, fear, and pain of the past days found a crack to burst through.

ler eyes were hazy with drink, her cheeks flushed, her voice thick with tears.

But… the abortion, it hurt so much… a thousand times, a million times more than I ever imagined…”

And that night, those men… they… I was so scared. I screamed and screamed, but no one came…”

kept calling his name, but he was holding someone else… he didn’t care about me…”

orelei’s words tumbled out incoherently, like a lost child, repeating the story of her soul–crushing pain.

I didn’t want to be like that… I never wanted to get close to someone for money…”

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