The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 502

That day, after finishing three grueling hours of physical therapy, Nora pushed open the glass door of the flower shop.

Her scarred hands had just been pulled from a therapeutic warm soak, the skin still flushed a faint pink from the treatment.

Gideon had a cross-border video conference today and was stuck upstairs in the villa's study handling business.

Under the therapist's intense joint-mobilization techniques, the ten knuckles on Nora's hands had barely regained a marginal range of motion.

The price was that her arms were now completely sore and weak; even pushing open an ordinary glass door felt exhausting.

Anya was behind the counter sorting through a stack of new delivery receipts. Hearing the chime of the door, she immediately dropped her pen and hurried over.

"Nora, why are you here so early today?"

The girl expertly took the light cardigan from Nora's arm, hung it on the wooden coat rack by the door, and went to pour a glass of warm water.

The afternoon in the small town carried a lazy, peaceful vibe.

The sunlight on the street was fractured into tiny, shimmering spots by the canopy of the banyan trees. When the breeze blew, the shadows swayed gently against the vintage pavement tiles.

"Nora, doesn't it hurt terribly doing those treatments every day?"

Anya asked, her face full of worry as she watched Nora's slightly clumsy movements.

"It hurts a bit more in the beginning."

Holding her water glass, Nora spoke calmly about the rehabilitation process. "The ligaments and joints need to be stretched again. The doctor says it's a phase I have to get through. Once you get used to it, it's bearable."

"Does Mr. Hayes stay with you for your treatments every single day?"

Anya continued the conversation, her eyes still holding that innocent curiosity about the adult world.

Nora's grip on her glass tightened slightly.

"Yes."

Gideon didn't just stay with her; he had practically taken over a huge chunk of the physical therapist's job.

He would use his burning palms to massage her stiff joints and offer his broad back to support her while she completed those agonizingly tedious fine-motor exercises.

He had completely infiltrated every crack and crevice of her life, leaving no blind spots.

Anya sat down beside her, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at Nora.

"I think you look much better now than you did when you first started at the flower shop, Nora."

Anya studied her face seriously before giving her verdict. "Back then, even though you smiled every day, I always felt like you were carrying something incredibly heavy. You were like a bowstring pulled completely taut."

"Now, even though you suffer so much doing those treatments every day, it feels like that icy aura around you has faded a lot."

Listening to Anya's words, Nora fell into a long silence.

Had the coldness really faded?

Perhaps it was because of that pencil she had finally set to paper again, because of that single, straight black line.

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