The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 291

The late-night Metropolis had shed its daytime chaos, leaving only rows of streetlights casting mottled shadows across the pavement.

By the time they walked out of the dessert shop, the howling wind had finally died down.

Gideon opened the passenger door of the Maybach, shielding Nora as she slid inside.

He walked around to the driver's seat, fired up the engine, and smoothly guided the car onto the desolate streets.

The cabin was illuminated only by the faint blue glow of the dashboard, tracing the sharp contours of their profiles in the shifting shadows.

Gideon gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes locked on the empty road ahead, and was the first to break the silence.

"What happened at your family's house tonight... Make sure it never happens again."

He pressed the accelerator, letting the car pick up speed on the open road. "If the Xaviers are truly facing cash-flow issues, or if they need a stake in the East City development project, you can come straight to my office, or just tell me at home. As long as the request isn't completely unreasonable, The Hayes Group will accommodate it. There's absolutely no need for you..."

He paused, turning his head slightly to let his deep gaze rest on Nora's face for a fleeting second.

"As my wife, there's no need for you to help them scheme against me with such dirty, underhanded tactics."

Hearing those words, Nora's fingers—which had been resting quietly on her lap—instantly went rigid. Her entire body froze in the passenger seat.

She turned her head, her clear eyes wide with absolute shock.

"What did you just say?"

Her voice trembled violently from the sheer absurdity of his claim, her mind flatlining for a split second. "Scheme? What did I scheme against you?"

Everything that happened at the dinner table suddenly made horrific sense. Her parents' manic enthusiasm, their aggressive insistence on making Gideon drink despite his cold warnings, and even her mother's bizarre refusal to let any maids help in the kitchen.

Her parents, at a dinner supposedly hosted to celebrate her birthday, had tried to drug her husband.

Nora could vividly imagine the humiliating disaster they would have faced if Giselle hadn't made that suicidal phone call. If she and Gideon had finished that bottle...

By tomorrow morning, the entire Metropolis media circuit would be flooded with news that Mr. Hayes personally escorted his legal wife back to her family home for a night of passion.

Such a cheap, degrading tactic, orchestrated entirely by her own flesh and blood.

Gideon silently observed the shock, the terror, and the uncontrollable wave of deep shame washing over her face.

The lingering suspicion that had hovered in his mind all night evaporated completely.