The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 185

Julian added that second half of the sentence, a ripple of pure tenderness surfacing in his eyes.

The woman he loved?

Julian actually had someone he loved?

Nora sat in her chair, staring at the man in front of her in sheer bewilderment.

For a very long time, during those pitch-black days when she was given the cold shoulder by Gideon and ostracized by the Hayes family, Julian always seemed to appear at exactly the right moment.

He would stand outside the atelier in the pouring rain to hold an umbrella for her, take off his trench coat to drape it over her shoulders, and offer unreserved praise whenever she secured a project.

The way Julian looked at her was always so focused, so incredibly gentle.

She had actually thought...

She had thought that Julian at least harbored some special affection for her. She had believed that those late-night waits and unconditional biases were because she held a place in his heart.

She had even intentionally kept a distance between them because of this misunderstanding, terrified that her battered and broken state would drag him down.

She had felt burdened by this potential affection, overwhelmed by a guilt she couldn't repay.

Now it seemed it was all just a laughable misunderstanding.

Julian's warmth was extended to everyone; his deep devotion was reserved exclusively for the girl he called the woman he loved.

All of his gentleness and help towards her were perhaps just the gentlemanly grace born of good upbringing, or simply him taking care of her as a favor to Arthur.

Nora let out a self-deprecating laugh in her heart.

She was so used to the cold exploitation from the Xavier family, the biting harassment from the Hayes relatives, and Gideon's chilling indifference.

Under that prolonged emotional suppression, Julian's appearance was like a piece of driftwood in the dark. She had naturally assumed his repeated approaches were born of romantic interest.

When someone is trapped in freezing, oppressive environments for too long, they are always prone to misjudging even the slightest sliver of kindness.

Nora quickly reigned in her chaotic emotions, snapping herself back into the professional mindset of a jewelry designer.

"The Ember".

The jewelry set Julian had purchased at the auction.

The entire set featured black diamonds as the main stones, framed by tiny crushed rubies along the edges, resembling the last sparks of a dying fire in the dark.

Nora had assumed Julian bought it to support Lawrence Atelier's business, or simply as a favor to her as the lead designer.

She clearly remembered Julian gently telling her that he had gifted the set to someone, and the recipient had absolutely loved it.

It turned out Julian bought "The Ember" purely because that girl liked it.

If the woman Julian loved liked "The Ember," it meant she favored flashy, bold design styles with an intense visual impact.