The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 166

So that was it.

There was no corporate crisis at all.

The phone call that had drained the color from Gideon's face and sent him racing into the night was simply Seraphina Sterling complaining to Giselle Hayes, triggering Giselle into throwing a massive tantrum at the main estate.

He had rushed back so frantically just to pacify his sister, who was crying over her friend being ousted.

The heavy promise he had made as a husband in front of the city's entire elite, the ironclad industry blacklist he had declared, hadn't even lasted a single night against a few of Giselle's tears.

To protect Mrs. Hayes' dignity at the gala, Gideon had forcefully announced the destruction of the Sterling family. But the moment Giselle whined to him, he easily overturned his own decree and even compensated them.

The same went for Cassidy Quinn.

Giselle had hidden in the background, watching Gideon step up for Nora and crush anyone who dared offend her. Then, at the perfect moment, Giselle stepped out, shed a couple of tears, and played the victim. And just like that, Gideon instantly recalled all his punishments.

It turned out that every single time Gideon had protected her, it came with a prerequisite.

The prerequisite was that it couldn't upset Giselle.

As long as Giselle said the word, the very people who had targeted and humiliated Nora could continue to live glamorous lives in this circle without a scratch. Meanwhile, Nora's dignity and the public humiliations she had endured meant absolutely nothing to him.

Nora's face paled as her breathing grew shallow.

Leaving a trail of grating laughter, Seraphina strutted out of the studio on her stilettos, the sharp clicks fading down the hall.

The studio plunged back into a suffocating silence.

Sloane Miller and a few assistants had listened to the entire exchange. The way they looked at Nora was no longer just filled with disgust; it was now layered with blatant, undisguised contempt. The last shred of fear they held for the title of Mrs. Hayes was entirely gone.

Janie Fisher sat in her chair, her swollen, red eyes fixed on Nora.

She didn't understand the complex corporate politics, but she fully understood the bone-deep exhaustion and sheer despair radiating from Nora.