The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 3

The line exploded instantly.

"Are you out of your mind? Divorce? Nora Xavier, I am telling you, divorce is absolutely out of the question!"-

"You were the one who practically begged to marry him! Everyone in the city knows you chased him for seven years. If you hadn't pushed so hard, he never would have married at all. Are you trying to drive your father to the grave by bringing this up now?"

"Because I insisted on marrying him, I deserve to be humiliated now, is that it?" Nora asked.

"What humiliation? He's given you all the respect of being Mrs. Hayes for the past three years. You want for nothing! He takes care of our family's business, and he doesn't have any mistresses on the side."

"He doesn't love me," Nora repeated.

"Can love pay the bills?!" Mrs. Xavier scolded, frustrated by her daughter's foolishness.

She paused, her tone growing heavy with exasperation. "He's just a cold man, he doesn't care for romance. No matter how much he spoils Giselle, she's just an adopted sister who will eventually get married and leave. She's no threat to your position."

"Your focus right now should be building a nest egg and giving him an heir. That's how you secure your place..."

Nora slowly pulled the phone away from her ear, the call timer still ticking by the seconds. Her mother was still lecturing on the other end, but the words became muffled.

She emotionlessly pressed the end button, and the world instantly went quiet.

Outsider. Manners. The bigger picture.

It was true; everyone in the city knew Nora Xavier was a lunatic who had chased the Hayes heir for seven years, finally forcing her way into his life.

Ten years ago, during a torrential downpour, sixteen-year-old Nora took a shortcut through a deserted alley and found herself cornered by a group of drunk, unruly thugs.

Just when she thought she was doomed, Gideon appeared.

The teenage Gideon, dressed neatly in his school uniform, was slender but already possessed a chilling, unapproachable aura. Bizarrely, he held a pink umbrella.

From high school to college, her frantic pursuit of Gideon became legendary in their social circles.

She bought him breakfast and saved him seats, but he remained cold, politely yet distantly rejecting all her advances.

Everyone told her to give up, claiming Gideon was an unthawable iceberg, a man entirely devoid of romantic nerves.

"Don't waste your time on me, Nora."

Nora didn't believe it.

"It's fine. My love is enough for both of us. Even icebergs melt eventually."

Armed with reckless courage, she stubbornly believed that if she got close enough and loved him hard enough, she could melt his icy exterior and reach his heart.

Until she witnessed, time and time again, that this so-called iceberg freely poured all of his warmth and absolute devotion into someone else.