The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 101

The next morning.

Nora Xavier pushed open the guest room door and walked down the secluded second-floor hallway toward the semi-open sunroom at the end. It was a place rarely visited, and she just wanted to find a quiet spot to be alone for a while.

The crisp click of high heels against the marble floor shattered the tranquility of the sunroom.

The footsteps stopped right behind Nora.

Nora opened her eyes and turned around.

Giselle Hayes, wearing a soft, pale-yellow silk dress, stood less than two steps away with her arms crossed.

With no outsiders around and Gideon absent, Giselle completely tore off the innocent mask she had worn for years.

Her gaze brazenly swept over the high collar Nora had deliberately pulled up, lingering on the faint glimpses of red, swollen skin before her lips curled into a malicious smile.

"Does your face still hurt?"

"Why are you here?"

Nora glared at her coldly, her voice trembling slightly as she suppressed her fury.

Giselle took a slow, deliberate step forward.

"I came to see your pathetic state."

Giselle didn't hide the venom in her eyes. "You looked so glamorous sitting next to Gideon in the dining room last night."

"The elders pushed for a baby, and Gideon bailed you out. He even served you food himself. You must have felt so smug, didn't you? Did you really think your position as Mrs. Hayes was perfectly secure?"

Giselle's smile widened.

"Too bad all that ridiculous pride couldn't even block a bowl of hot soup."

Giselle tilted her head, admiring Nora's pale complexion. "Look at yourself now. Your face is ruined, and you're hiding alone in this corner. And Gideon? He stayed in my room all night, coaxing me to sleep, worried sick about whether my hands were burned."

All color instantly drained from Nora's face.

Seeing her pale reaction, the malice in Giselle's eyes grew heavier.

"You can't even keep Nathan in line. He follows me around like a puppy now, doing whatever I say. You're a nobody to the Xaviers, and you're useless to the Hayes family. How do you have the nerve to keep leeching off us?"

Nora clenched her jaw, forcing down the lump of sheer humiliation rising in her throat.

She wanted to slap Giselle across the face, wanted to grab her by the hair and ask if she had a conscience.

But she couldn't.

In The Hayes Manor, the moment she dared to raise a hand, Giselle would immediately scream and squeeze out tears of grievance.

Then, all the staff would rush in. Giselle would simply collapse to the floor, cry a little, and Gideon would be the first to arrive on the scene.

When that happened, regardless of how it started or what vicious things Giselle had said, in Gideon's eyes, it would always be Nora bullying his fragile, innocent little sister.