The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 390

She began attending the most exclusive high-society galas, refused to wear anything but custom couture, and developed a temper, shattering priceless antique vases in the manor's grand hall whenever she felt the slightest bit wronged.

Silas Hayes adored her when he was alive; knowing how much she had suffered as a child, the old man directed all the warmth and kindness he possessed toward his adopted granddaughter.

Gideon remembered braiding her hair himself. From clumsy, crooked attempts at first, to perfectly woven plaits.

He would tie a pink ribbon at the end, and she would turn from the mirror with a blinding smile, asking him if she looked pretty.

Driven by the sedatives, his memories skipped erratically forward.

Returning to the Hayes family meant facing the ruthless scheming of his uncles and cousins.

The other children constantly mocked them for being orphans, whispering behind their backs and insulting them to their faces.

Once, a cousin shoved her into a thorny rose bush in the garden. A deep gash tore open her arm, her blood staining her gorgeous dress.

Enraged, Gideon grabbed a shovel and beat the older boy until he was covered in blood, only stopping when the guards dragged them apart.

As punishment for his brutality, Silas meted out a severe punishment.

The leather belt struck his back again and again, leaving deep purple welts across his skin.

He was stripped of food and water and locked in the cold, dark storage room for two solid days and nights.

Late on the second night, someone cracked open the wooden lattice window at the back of the room.

Standing on a pile of bricks, Giselle pressed her little face against the glass.

Clutching two warm rolls that still held her body heat, she shoved them through the gap.

She watched him slump against the wall in the pitch black, sobbing uncontrollably as she called his name over and over.

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