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."

After she was brought back, he shadowed her constantly, one of the few people who pitied her past and wanted to protect her.

When Nora had decided to marry Gideon, Nathan had been worried but held her hand and said, "Nora, if this is what you want, I support you. If Gideon ever treats you badly, I'll risk my life to bring you home."

She thought Nathan would always have her back.

But everything changed after he returned from abroad and attended a welcome party.

That was the first time Nathan met Giselle at a social event.

She had been wearing a pristine white off-the-shoulder gown, the lighting making her profile look ethereally beautiful.

Nora had watched her arrogant, proud brother lose his mind over her in an instant.

For the rest of the night, Nathan was utterly captivated. Whenever Giselle laughed with someone, his eyes followed. When she took a sip of juice, his Adam's apple bobbed.