The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 89

The elders present were all prominent figures in the Hayes family, and everyone in their social circle knew that the Xavier family had only stayed afloat these past few years thanks to the Hayes family's charity. In their eyes, Nora was nothing but an outsider forcefully shoved into the Hayes family's door through the old man's dying wish.

The fact that the Hayes family had pinched their noses and accepted her, granting her the dignity of Mrs. Hayes, was already an enormous act of grace. Yet she actually had the audacity to demand a divorce, to throw tantrums at Gideon, and even turn the Hayes family into a laughingstock among their peers.

The way the crowd looked at Nora instantly changed.

Several aunts and cousins standing in the front row huddled together, brazenly whispering loud enough for everyone present to hear crystal clear.

“She always looks so meek and quiet, but she certainly plays a lot of dirty tricks behind our backs. Using divorce to manipulate Gideon—she really thinks highly of herself, doesn't she?”

“Exactly. An outsider who doesn't even count as a real member of the Hayes family actually believes she's the lady of the house. She doesn't even know her own place.”

“Gideon manages such a massive corporation every day, constantly on his feet. It must be exhausting for him to have to split his attention to placate her,” another wealthy aunt chimed in, her tone dripping with disdain.

“If you ask me, they should just divorce and be done with it. She takes up space without doing anything useful, can't even give him a child, and gives Giselle a hard time every single day. Does she really think the Hayes family is desperate for a wife like her?”

“Right? Does she think the Hayes family is some failing, insignificant household like the Xaviers? Coming and going as she pleases—she's practically trampling the Hayes family's rules under her feet.”

“She only got her position because of the old man's dying wish. She's not even a true member of the Hayes family. Where else could she possibly go if she leaves? She's acting all high and mighty now, but sooner or later, she'll be crying.”

“Looking at her is just bad luck. Giselle was already grieving enough today, and she had to come bring down the mood. She didn't even bother to greet anyone—absolutely no manners whatsoever.”

“Nora is definitely quite calculating. I thought when she ran away from home a few days ago, she'd never be able to step foot through the Hayes family's doors again.”

“That makes sense.”

Giselle's voice was frail, yet her tone was laced with absolute poison. “After all, if Silas hadn't aggressively forced Gideon from his hospital bed back then, Gideon never would have compromised. Without Silas forcing his hand, you never would have gotten your wish to marry into the Hayes family. Silas's grace toward you is practically boundless, so it's only right that you come to pay your respects properly.”

Giselle followed Nora's logic, using the most innocent tone to effortlessly deliver the most brutal, soul-crushing blow right in front of the entire Hayes family.

Her words struck like a ringing slap to Nora's face, mercilessly stripping away the tiny shred of dignity she had fought so hard to maintain all these years.

Giselle was blatantly reminding everyone that Nora's marriage was entirely reliant on an elder's coercion. She painted her as a parasite who had only managed to scrape by because a dying man had pressured them, proving she didn't even deserve to stand there.

Unsuppressed sneers immediately rippled through the crowd.