The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 2

He didn't even glance at Nora. He dropped to a crouch beside the fallen Giselle, lifting her bleeding hand as a deep crease formed between his brows.

"Gideon... it hurts so much. Don't blame Nora, I accidentally bumped into her."

Giselle's eyes were red, her large, tear-filled gaze trembling like a fragile white flower ravaged by a storm. She looked utterly pitiful.

"Nora, why do you always have to target her?"

Target her?

Giselle was the one who approached her, the one who reached out to snatch the necklace. Nora had simply dodged and brushed her arm away. How did that translate into calculated targeting in Gideon's eyes?

"She tried to take it—"

Nora stepped forward, trying to explain what had just happened.

Before she could finish, Gideon stood up abruptly. His large hand swept through the air, delivering a merciless slap across her face.

The sheer force sent her stumbling, and she crashed straight down into the mess on the floor.

Shattered champagne flutes tore through the hem of her couture gown, piercing her calves, knees, and palms. A sharp, stinging pain radiated through her, yet it paled in comparison to the burning humiliation on her cheek and the suffocating ache in her chest.

Fighting through the ringing in her ears, Nora slowly turned her head, her throat tight and choking.

She looked directly at the man she had loved for years, her voice trembling slightly. "Gideon, you hit me for an outsider?"

Gideon frowned, a flash of impatience in his eyes, clearly displeased with her phrasing.

"Watch your mouth, Nora. Giselle is my sister. In this house, you are the outsider."

Outsider.

To this man, she had always been nothing but an outsider. She had loved him for seven years and had been married to him for three. A thousand days and nights by his side couldn't compare to a single scratch on his adopted sister.

"Get down in the glass and apologize to Giselle."

"Watch my wife. Make sure she stays down until she learns her lesson."

"Hello? Nora, are you listening?" Her mother's urgent voice pulled her back to the present.

Nora snapped out of the memory, offering a bitter smile. "Mom, he slapped me in public and had his bodyguards force me into broken glass to apologize to Giselle. And now, you want me to grovel?"

"Nora, even if it was her fault, you just have to swallow your pride and apologize. The Eastside Development Project in the second half of the year depends entirely on millions of dollars from The Hayes Group. If you piss Gideon off and he pulls the funding, what will happen to our family's business?"

The Xavier and Hayes families did share some history, but the Xaviers' business had been declining for years, completely reliant on the Hayes empire for survival.

After the wedding, Gideon handed the Xaviers several highly lucrative projects, barely maintaining their facade of wealth.

"Mom."

Nora clenched her jaw, summoning every ounce of courage to drop the bombshell.

"What if... I want a divorce?"