The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 19

Sitting across from her, Lucia stared in stunned silence after hearing the story.

"That manipulative bitch!"

Lucia finally snapped.

"Aside from being pretty, what is so great about Giselle? She acts like the whole world is out to get her just to get attention from men! Is Gideon's brain damaged? Why does he treat her like absolute royalty?"

Yes, what was so great about her?

Nora had asked herself that same question on countless agonizing nights.

How was she inferior to an adopted daughter who only ever caused trouble?

Giselle was undeniably beautiful, possessing a fragile, delicate charm. She had a luminous complexion and impossibly innocent features. When she smiled, her eyes crinkled in a way that made it seem like the evils of the world could never touch her.

But Nora knew that beneath that innocent exterior, Giselle's intentions were far from pure.

She carried a kind of naive cruelty. Like a clueless child trying to pick a flower, she would snap the stem and then stare at the wilting petals in feigned innocence, asking, "Oh, why did it die?"

When Giselle wanted something, even if it was deeply cherished by someone else, she would simply reach out and grab it. If she couldn't get it, she would cry until Gideon laid the world at her feet, happily trampling anyone who got in her way.

Once she had what she wanted, she could just toss it in the trash if she got bored, batting her eyes and claiming it was an accident.

Yet, somehow, she had everyone's unconditional favoritism.

Even Gideon's grandfather, who had adored Nora when he was alive, treated Giselle as the apple of his eye.

One winter, Nora had knitted a cashmere scarf for him. It was a beautiful, meticulous pattern in his favorite dark plaid.

The old man had been thrilled and put it on immediately.

But shortly after, Giselle had returned home, spotted the scarf, and pouted playfully. "You're playing favorites, Grandpa. You kept it for yourself instead of giving it to me."

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