Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 719

Nora's heart skipped a beat.

She turned to him in pure shock. The sharp lines of his profile flickered in the passing streetlights, his jaw tight and unyielding.

"If my bodyguards hadn't fought to the death to draw the killers away... If I hadn't coincidentally run into you..."

Nora felt the breath catch in her throat.

That had been their very first meeting.

She had never realized that the day he was hunted was the exact same day he became an orphan.

It felt as though fine wire was wrapping tightly around her heart, suffocating her with a crushing wave of despair.

Hudson turned, and seeing her tear-filled, reddened eyes, he let out a soft laugh. "Alright, don't cry. It was a long time ago. It's fine now."

He didn't tell her that during those dark, hopeless years, she had been his only light.

After that day in Northampton, he had returned to San Francisco to systematically take over the Lancaster empire, ruthlessly outmaneuvering all the vipers waiting to devour him in the shadows.

There wasn't a single day he wasn't scheming, not a single night he could sleep peacefully.

The only thing that kept him going was her.

Every so often, his informants would bring him updates on her life.

Where she went to school, what awards she won, who she hung out with, whether she lost or gained weight, if she bought a new dress, or how her eyes curved into little crescents when she smiled.

He read those reports and stared at those photos over and over again, treating those tiny fragments of her life as the only oxygen keeping him alive.

For over ten agonizing years...

He relied entirely on those sporadic updates to survive the mud and blood.

When he finally realized his feelings for her weren't just gratitude, but deep, unyielding love...

He mustered all his courage to confess to her, only to arrive in Northampton and find her standing next to Edmond Sterling, smiling brighter than the sun.

And right at that moment, he discovered he had been poisoned, his days numbered.

When every cure failed and Liam Harrison gave him the final diagnosis—a mere six months left to live—he took a desperate gamble. He orchestrated the arranged marriage substitution, just to have her by his side for one year.

Nora fought hard to hold back her tears as she looked up at him. "So, your parents' death... was connected to your uncles?"

"Basically."

Hudson's voice was frigid. "When I took over the family, I started investigating. At first, all signs pointed to Lawrence Lancaster. But once Arthur Lancaster returned, I realized the conspiracy wasn't a one-man job. Arthur's hands were covered in blood too!"

"They must have wiped all the evidence clean, right?" Nora frowned deeply.

"Yeah."

Nora's grip on his hand tightened.

"Then I'll have Soren look into it. The Fairchild Shadows' intelligence network might uncover something..."

Hudson chuckled lightly. "No rush. I've already set everything in motion."

His threats back at the Fairchild Manor hadn't been empty words.

If he couldn't secure the Ivory Pill, he would drag those bastards to hell with him!

The man she ultimately married was also Hudson.

And their parents had been classmates the entire time.

Two seemingly parallel lines had been deeply intertwined over two decades ago, long before either of them even knew it.

"There's one more thing." Hudson pulled back slightly to look at her. "The Vaughn family still has no idea that your mom, Felix, is connected to the Fairchilds."

Nora blinked in confusion. "...What do you mean?"

"That part, I'm not sure about. Maybe your dad seduced a good girl away from her powerful family?"

"..."

Hudson chuckled softly. "Honey, now that you've officially returned to the Fairchilds and claimed your rightful place... what about the Vaughns? Do you want to connect with them?"

Nora pursed her lips in thought.

She absolutely needed the Fairchilds' power.

And the Vaughns' influence? Of course she needed that too!

"Yes."

"Alright." Hudson squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Tomorrow is January 2nd, the day you traditionally visit your family for the holidays. We'll use the opportunity to ask them what really happened back then."

Nora nodded eagerly.

Internally, she couldn't stop marveling at how insane fate truly was.