The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 9

On Nora's birthday, she canceled all her plans and waited for him at a Michelin-starred French restaurant she had booked months in advance.

She waited until nine o'clock. As the dining room emptied out, the door pushed open—not by Gideon, but by his assistant.

Holding a newly released luxury handbag, his assistant bowed apologetically at her table.

"Ma'am, Mr. Hayes was pulled into an emergency international video conference. He absolutely couldn't step away. He asked me to pick this out for you, told you to enjoy your meal, and the bill has already been covered."

That night, dressed in her carefully chosen gown, Nora sat alone in the deserted restaurant. Staring at the glowing skyline, she cut a cake she could never finish on her own.

Two months later, it was Giselle's birthday.

Gideon began planning a full month in advance. He cleared all non-essential appointments to personally tour venues and finalize menus. On the day, he rented out the city's largest private estate for a spectacular, heavily publicized bash.

As night fell, a dazzling firework display illuminated the sky.

Giselle, wearing a million-dollar couture dress, twirled joyfully beneath the explosions of light, her laughter echoing. Gideon stood by her side, a doting smile playing on his lips, exuding pure warmth.

Guests flocked to shower them with blessings, the atmosphere buzzing with electric excitement.

Nora stood on the second-floor balcony, holding a flat glass of champagne, quietly watching her husband engineer a flawless fairytale for another woman.

This blatant double standard had tortured Nora for three solid years.

Over the years, she had chipped away her own sharp edges just to appease him, thinking her flawless dedication and extreme humility would eventually earn her a second glance.

But tonight's slap, along with his parting shot calling her an "outsider," violently woke her from her ten-year delusion.

Nora lifted her head and looked into the mirror.

The woman staring back had a pale, luminous complexion ruined by a swollen left cheek, her eyes bloodshot from exhaustion. Her once-silky hair was a tangled mess, and her haute couture neckline was stained with dried alcohol.

Not in the past, not now, and definitely not in the future.

"Draft my divorce papers."

...

The next morning, Nora arrived at The Hayes Group headquarters.

She was there to resign.

Three years ago, determined to prove her worth to him, Nora abandoned her own thriving career to join The Hayes Group, starting from the bottom as a project specialist.

Gideon hadn't even read her application. He simply signed the paperwork, figuring that as long as she didn't cause trouble, he couldn't care less about her hobbies.

The bullpen was buzzing with noise when Manager Walsh marched over with a massive stack of financial reports, slamming them onto Nora's desk.