The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 195

Back then, Gideon had mobilized every single commercial connection The Hayes Group had. He allied with several old-money families, laid out an elaborate trap, and employed the most ruthless tactics imaginable.

He forcefully drove Julian out of the city, all to prevent that deeply calculating man from stealing Giselle away from him.

When Julian left the city all those years ago, Giselle was heartbroken for a long time. She even refused to come downstairs for dinner for days, constantly asking where Julian had gone.

Gideon only found out later that on the very first day Julian returned to the country, Giselle had hidden it from everyone at the manor. She put on her prettiest dress and couldn't wait to run to the private club to find Julian, completely abandoning her promise to have dinner with him, her brother.

Giselle actually left him—the brother who had raised her with his own two hands—hanging at home, all for an outsider.

The girl who used to dive under his covers during thunderstorms and say she only wanted him to protect her for the rest of her life was showing that exact same reliance and spoiled affection to another man.

Thinking of this, Gideon's grip on the steel handle of the black umbrella tightened viciously.

And now Nora, the woman who carried the title of Mrs. Hayes, had actually become a tool for Julian to declare war on him and curry favor with Giselle.

"You went to see Julian."

Hearing that name, Nora, who was sitting on the steps, trembled uncontrollably in her frail body.

She looked up at Gideon's emotionless face, her lips moving, completely at a loss for what to say.

She didn't answer.

Gideon didn't care about her silence, either.

"I told you a long time ago, he's deeply calculating. Stay away from him."

And the result?

Julian had taught her a lesson. He used hundreds of millions of dollars and Janie's future to nail her to the pillar of shame as a traitor to her friend, all just to make a birthday necklace called 'The Radiance' for Giselle.

It was her own fault for being blind. She deserved it. To save the atelier, she had become someone else's tool to please the woman they loved.

Nora tilted her head back, meeting Gideon's chilling gaze, her voice hoarse and raw.

"You seem to have forgotten who issued the blacklist. Who cut off all of Lawrence Atelier's funds and materials? Who forced us into a dead end to begin with?"

Nora's words were laced with undisguised sarcasm, ringing sharp and piercing through the heavy sound of the rain.

"And now, you turn around and try to dictate who I ask for help, dictate who I get close to. If you want to wipe me out, don't stand here pretending to care about me."