Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 322

Somehow, even though she had just wanted to hide her breakdown from him, the moment Nora saw Hudson, a tidal wave of vulnerability crashed over her. Her eyes stung with heat, the ache so intense she could barely hold back her tears.

"Mr. Lancaster," Arthur and Olive greeted simultaneously.

Hudson completely ignored them. His sole focus was Nora.

"Nora..."

His eyes swam with raw heartache. He reached out, wanting to take her hand and pull her into a comforting embrace. But the second his fingertips brushed her skin, Nora violently flinched. She recoiled as if she had been burned.

Hudson's hand froze mid-air.

An unimaginable agony pierced his chest.

"Nora?"

Nora's lips trembled, but before she could formulate a word, tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I... I can't control it."

Her voice broke into a sob. "I know it's you. I don't want to pull away, but my body just won't listen to me."

At those words, Hudson felt as if his heart had been shredded.

He desperately wanted to hold her, to soothe her fears away, yet he couldn't even offer the most basic comfort of an embrace. Fighting the suffocating pain in his chest, he forced a gentle smile. "It's okay. Take your time."

He slowly withdrew his hand, refusing to force his touch on her. Instead, he crouched down in front of her, looking up to meet her gaze. "Honey, let's go home, okay?"

Nora's tears fell harder.

She looked down at him, his usually cold, dark eyes reflecting nothing but her image and an overwhelming depth of adoration.

She bit her lip and slowly reached out. Even though her fingertips were trembling, she forced herself to bridge the gap.

Hudson stayed perfectly still.

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