The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 297

At that exact moment, disaster struck.

On the other side of the workshop, a heavy-duty forklift fully loaded with scrap stone was reversing.

The driver wore noise-canceling headphones, his line of sight severely blocked by the towering pile of rocks, rendering him completely oblivious to the distance behind him.

Crash!

A sickening thud echoed through the air.

The rear of the heavy forklift slammed brutally into the bottom load-bearing pillar of the storage rack right in front of Nora.

The massive force of the impact instantly destroyed the physical balance of the metal shelving unit, violently ripping the anchor bolts from the ground as the entire frame began to sway wildly.

Nora felt a violent tremor shake the ground beneath her feet, pausing her writing to look up in sheer bewilderment.

High above her, the twenty-foot steel structure, loaded with tons of raw ore, was collapsing directly toward her.

A massive shadow instantly swallowed her whole.

Heavy, jagged slabs of metal and falling rocks cascaded down toward her in an apocalyptic wave.

Nora's mind went completely blank.

The command to run simply wouldn't translate to her paralyzed legs. Nailed to the spot, she watched helplessly as the massive, lethal boulders plummeted toward her head, the scream dying in her throat before it could even form.

In that single moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely.

Nora closed her eyes with a bitter sense of self-mockery.

She thought her absurd, pathetic twenty-five years of life—filled with unrequited devotion and endless humiliation—was finally about to end right here.

Countless fragmented memories flashed through her mind, ultimately freezing on the image of that deep blue velvet box.

Dying beneath a pile of the raw gemstones she loved so much was perhaps fate's most merciful way of letting her go.

Panicked screams and cries for help erupted throughout the facility as workers scattered in terror.

"Nora!"

Nora's vision was completely blinded by the dense debris, and a sharp, high-pitched ringing pierced her eardrums, drowning out the roar of the machinery and the terrified shouts of the workers.

Pinned firmly against the cold, abrasive concrete, she was surrounded entirely by scattered debris.

Those powerful arms remained locked around her waist and back, shielding her entire body from the destruction and cocooning her in an absolute haven of safety.

Trembling, Nora opened her eyes, struggling to focus her vision in the chaotic darkness.

Peering through the hazy air, she could see the blinding halos of cold white light from the industrial lamps above.

Amidst that glowing halo, a familiar face consumed her entire line of sight.

It was Gideon.

The massive slabs of discarded stone and severed, heavy steel cables had all crashed directly onto his back.

Underneath the collapsed wreckage, his broad, sturdy shoulders had stubbornly held up an uncrushed corner just for her, blocking out every ounce of lethal danger.