The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 78

Back in the day, she had aggressively chased after Gideon, blindly ignoring the brutal mockery from everyone around her. In their elite circle, absolutely no one respected a girl who threw away her dignity for a man.

While her family had technically saved the Hayes family years ago, society just viewed them as pathetic leeches clinging to Gideon's wealth. Joining the family had stamped her as a desperate gold digger, earning her nothing but disgust.

Gideon was violently cold to her, and Giselle never missed a chance to drop a condescending insult when no one was looking.

Only Silas treated her differently.

Whenever the staff dared to ignore her, the old man would violently smash his cane against the floor and scream at them. When she sliced her finger learning how to cook, he demanded the best medical team on site. Every holiday, he went out of his way to buy her lavish gifts, constantly reminding her that his family would never mistreat her.

He never looked down on her, and he never laughed at her obsessive crush. He just watched her with deep, parental affection, assuring her that he would never forget the debt he owed her bloodline.

In his final years, he dragged her out to the manor constantly just to play chess and listen to her ramble. In a world suffocated by greed and venom, Silas was the only source of pure warmth she had ever known.

It was entirely due to his dying wish that she had secured the title of Mrs. Hayes. While the ring had ultimately become her death sentence, she knew his intentions were pure. He just wanted to guarantee she had a billionaire's protection after he passed.

She vividly remembered their first winter as a married couple, when Gideon used the boardroom to avoid coming home entirely. She would sit alone at the massive dining table, staring at stone-cold food. The second Silas found out, he stormed into their house on his cane, dragged Gideon home by the collar, and tore him to shreds.

Pulling her down next to him on the couch, Silas had held her hand and swore that she commanded the full might of the Hayes empire, and absolutely no one was allowed to cross her.

Things were so violently shattered between her and Gideon right now; she had literally thrown signed divorce papers at his face. Logically, she had absolutely zero business attending a private family event.

But setting her catastrophic marriage aside, just considering how intensely the old man had loved her, there was no way she could just ignore the date.

It didn't matter how badly she wanted to rip Gideon's ring off her finger, or how desperately she wanted to run away. She had to show up for Silas.

She wasn't that heartless.

She would go to the cemetery to visit the only man who had ever truly looked out for her, the man who used to call her his sweet girl.