The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 334

"I... that was an accident."

The sheer humiliation made it impossible for her to meet his eyes. "Last night, in that private room... those drinks were drugged. I had no idea what I was doing after that. I couldn't control myself..."

She desperately wanted to distance herself from her uncharacteristic aggression, eager to prove that it had all been a ridiculous, drug-induced mistake.

Gideon sat on the edge of the bed, quietly listening to her frantic explanations.

Watching her awkward attempt to bury herself completely under the blanket, he raised a single brow almost imperceptibly.

Surprisingly, he nodded in agreement.

With an almost mocking level of compliance, he went along with her words, even reaching out to thoughtfully tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"I know. You were drugged, you weren't in your right mind, and you had no idea what was happening. Since you want to blame everything on the chemicals, let's just pretend you had a very vivid dream."

That dismissive, patronizing agreement pushed Nora's embarrassment to its absolute breaking point. She shot him a glare, turning away in sheer frustration to look for something to cover herself with.

But as the initial shame began to recede, a profound sense of powerlessness and desolation washed over her.

She had planned for so long. She had been so resolute in her decision to leave the Hayes family.

She thought that as long as she stayed away from Gideon, as long as she didn't look at him, she could sever all their ties. But reality had just played the cruelest joke on her.

In her most pathetic, degrading moment, right as she was about to be dragged into hell, he was the one who kicked down the door and brought her right back to this tangled cage.

Standing up, Gideon stared down at the woman on the bed with a commanding presence.

Looking at her lifeless, desolate expression, the anger in his chest flared back to life.

"Is this the so-called independence you're always preaching about when you demand a divorce?"

"Reducing yourself to this pathetic state, running off to some filthy club, and ending up drugged and nearly dead in the streets?"

"Nora, you don't even have the most basic ability to protect yourself. How do you plan to survive out there on your own? What exactly are you going to use to fight the wolves circling you?"

His interrogation was merciless, ruthlessly tearing away her bravado and exposing her most helpless reality.