The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 307

Nora lowered her head, her gaze falling on the ring finger of her left hand.

The vintage diamond ring glinted coldly in the faint morning light of the hospital room. Dark red blood from yesterday's collapse was still lodged in the crevices of the setting.

He had traded his life to save hers.

In that dust-choked factory, his boiling blood had splashed onto her face. His rock-solid back had shielded her, carving out a safe pocket for her to survive, and his impossibly weak, comforting words right before he lost consciousness now felt like heavy shackles locked tightly around her neck.

This massive debt of gratitude was like a towering mountain that had suddenly crashed down between them, tearing open a bottomless chasm that blocked her path to freedom and completely cut off her retreat.

Nora slowly curled her fingers into a fist.

She would absolutely not abandon her decision to divorce.

She had truly had enough of this one-sided drain, always being the one left behind, always the one waiting.

A marriage held together by obligation and gratitude was even more suffocating than a loveless arrangement.

She refused to accept a charity built on guilt, pity, and duty.

But what was she supposed to do about this debt?

Debts of money must be paid in cash, and debts of life must be paid in blood. It was the most unbreakable rule in the world.

If she stubbornly handed over the divorce papers right now, walking away while the entirety of The Metropolis watched the injured head of the Hayes empire.

Then she, Nora, would truly become the heartless, remorseless monster Nathan claimed she was, transforming into the ungrateful laughingstock of their entire social circle.

Standing by the bed, Nora felt consumed by a profound sense of confusion and helplessness.

In the past, she could righteously hate him. She could plot her exit without a shred of guilt.

But now, she was trapped in a painful deadlock between gratitude and absolute severance, paralyzed with no way forward and no way back.

The only thing she could do now was dedicate herself to caring for him until he fully recovered and was discharged.

It was the only way she could even begin to repay this debt.

Once Gideon's body was completely healed, and once Giselle's birthday banquet concluded smoothly.

She could finally hand him the divorce papers completely guilt-free, ending everything with her head held high.

Nora slowly bent forward, letting her long black hair cascade over his shoulder.

The space between them shrank, carrying the faint warmth of life that softly brushed against her cheek.

She could clearly smell the heavy scent of antiseptics clinging to him, mixed with his familiar, crisp cedar fragrance.

That scent used to be her most deeply coveted comfort through countless nights, but now it left her with nothing but overwhelming sorrow and exhaustion.