The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 192

Later on, she was treated as a bargaining chip and sent into the towering, untouchable Hayes family, married to the most dazzling man in the entire city.

She thought she could finally stand openly beside the boy who had given her half a cookie on that rainy night, build a real home with him, and finally have a warmth to call her own.

She thought she had escaped the darkness and stepped into the light.

Yet after spinning in circles for eighteen years...

She was still that isolated, helpless little girl.

Tears spilled from her eyes without warning, crashing heavily down her pale cheeks. Warm tears blurred her vision. Staring at the little girl's smiling face, an agonizing ache pulsed relentlessly through Nora's chest.

If she had met a director as kind as this back then, if she had been able to play carefree in a yard where she didn't have to fear beatings, perhaps her entire life trajectory would have been different.

When these children grew up and left the orphanage to enter society, they would probably always remember this new director who brought them warmth and hope, always remembering the peaceful days they spent in this courtyard.

But that teenage boy who shoved half a cookie into her hand on that stormy night eighteen years ago had completely forgotten about the little girl huddled in the leaky shed with a high fever.

In Gideon's memories, the St. Jude’s Children’s Home past belonged entirely to Giselle alone.

He had such an incredible memory. He could remember every word Giselle ever said growing up, every single time she got sick.

Yet he couldn't see a single trace of the little girl he briefly crossed paths with in that desolate corner, despite Nora looking at him with devotion for ten straight years.

"Why are you crying?"

Seeing Nora's tears, the little girl reached out her tiny hands in a panic, trying to wipe the tears from Nora's face.

Another little boy dug a slightly melted fruit candy out of his pocket and held it out to her. "Eat the candy. You won't cry if you eat the candy."

Only then did Nora realize her vision was completely blurred with tears.

She turned her head, wiping her tears away haphazardly with the back of her hand, and forced a terrible smile.

"I'm okay. The wind is just strong, I got sand in my eyes," Nora gently comforted the little girl.

Nora bit down hard on her lower lip, refusing to let herself cry out loud.

The little boy who used to take beatings for others in the orphanage never had any intention of being her hero.

He was Giselle's brother, and hers alone.

The rain started again.

Nora sat on the steps, making no move to find shelter.

The wind swept up a few dead leaves, sending them tumbling through the puddles. They drifted along with the rushing water until they finally came to rest against the edge of a pair of leather shoes.

Following the shoes, Nora slowly looked up, her gaze piercing through the hazy mist of rain.

A familiar figure holding a black umbrella stood tall and perfectly straight at the bottom of the steps.

"What are you doing here?"