The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 288

The Maybach let out a low, aggressive roar, shooting out of the courtyard like an enraged beast and merging onto the desolate city streets.

Gideon gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned a ghastly white.

The streetlights and storefronts blurred into a streak outside his windows. His eyes frantically swept the sidewalks and closed shops on both sides of the road, desperate for a glimpse of her slender frame.

There was no music playing in the car, only the oppressive hum of the engine pushing itself to the limit.

A chaotic blend of guilt and panic swirled in Gideon's mind, thickening into an inescapable fog that clamped down hard over his chest.

He had no idea where Nora would go. Aside from Lawrence Atelier and their shared villa, she didn't even have a single close friend in this entire city to confide in.

She was dressed in a thin coat, and her hands were still wrapped in fresh bandages. If she ran into trouble, if she encountered the kind of street thugs that roamed the night...

The image of the young girl trembling in the corner of that storm-battered alleyway ten years ago violently hijacked his thoughts.

Gideon slammed his foot on the gas, pushing the car faster.

As he approached an intersection, the traffic light flipped to red. Gideon stomped on the brakes, sending a violent jolt through the heavy chassis.

He slumped back against the leather seat, his chest heaving aggressively.

Staring at the blinding red light, Gideon's racing thoughts suddenly slammed to a halt.

What was he doing?

Why was he panicking like this? Why did his heart feel like it was being roasted over an open flame?

But now, when she finally let go of all her obsessions—when she stopped looking at him with that desperate, hopeful gaze, when she stopped asking for anything, and when she walked away without a word of complaint on her own birthday...

Only then did he truly feel the gaping, agonizing void in his chest, as if a piece of him had been brutally carved out.

He couldn't endure the dead, empty look in her eyes. He couldn't endure the thought of her walking alone on the freezing midnight streets, and he absolutely could not endure the reality of her slowly peeling herself out of his life.

The light flipped green.

Gideon slammed the accelerator down, his gaze sharpening with absolute resolve.

He had to find her. He had to be in front of her right now.