The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 255

Gideon's breathing grew heavy and erratic, his chest heaving violently.

Giselle... Giselle was just growing up.

Gideon repeated the mantra in his head like a lifeline.

There was no way she actually hated him.

They shared over a decade of history. She couldn't possibly sever their deep bond over an outsider.

Maybe. Maybe he was the one in the wrong.

Giselle was no longer that sobbing little girl trembling in his arms at St. Jude's Children's Home.

She had been raised in the Hayes estate, and he was the only male figure constantly in her life.

Now that she was an adult, the outside world was a dazzling maze of temptations and novelties she had never experienced.

On top of that, Julian had entered the picture.

That scheming bastard Julian had utilized his twisted, gentle manipulation tactics, dangling antique toys shipped all the way from Paris to thoroughly blindside her.

She was simply distracted by the shiny new world.

A young woman her age naturally craved freedom. She must have felt that his flawless protection had morphed into a suffocating cage.

She didn't want to shadow him everywhere anymore. She was even starting to resent his overbearing nature, finding him annoying.

Rebellious girls always fought against the people they were closest to.

The more he restricted her, the more tyrannical she would think he was. The more he banned her from seeing Julian, the more she would view Julian as a flawless victim, stubbornly taking his side.

Perhaps he really needed to stop micro-managing her life.

Gideon clenched his injured hand into a tight fist, using the sharp sting of his wounds to force himself into accepting this brutal reality.

Loosening his grip and giving her some freedom was the best way to salvage their current dynamic.

Once she stumbled out in the real world, once she grew bored of the superficial glitz and realized that sweet talk could never compare to his unwavering protection...

Once she realized she simply couldn't survive without him...

She would inevitably come running back to him.

Just like all those times in their childhood when she had gotten lost, eventually returning to sob in his arms.

She would call him by his name again, reverting back to the Giselle who only had eyes for him.

She would forever be The Heiress, his one and only priority. Their codependent bond was something an outsider like Julian could never, ever replace.