The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 99

"And what about Giselle?"

Nora stared directly into Gideon's eyes, dropping the name like a gauntlet.

"Why exactly did she do it?"

Nora's eyes were bloodshot, her voice laced with incomprehensible fury and pain. "Just because you reprimanded her once, she gets to throw boiling soup at someone with zero consequences? How can she be so downright vicious—"

"Nora."

Gideon's tone instantly plummeted into an icy warning.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop below freezing the second he cut her off.

Whatever fragile warmth had lingered during the medicating process evaporated entirely.

Sitting in his chair, his gaze darkened as he stared at the agitated woman.

"Giselle didn't do it on purpose. She was emotional and lost her grip on the bowl."

Nora froze.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the man in utter disbelief.

Lost her grip.

A heavy bowl of boiling hot soup had flown from the far end of the table, crossing half the dining spread to land with terrifying precision right on her face. And he dared to dismiss it with a casual "lost her grip."

Despite the undeniable evidence, despite witnessing it with his own two eyes, he still chose to blindfold himself, fiercely defending Giselle without a shred of logic.

Nora's pale lips trembled.

"Not on purpose?"

Seeing that devastated smile, Gideon realized he had pushed too hard in defending Giselle.

He had come to treat her wounds and soothe her precisely to make amends.

Gideon sighed and softened his tone, attempting to turn the page.

"I will compensate you."

Glancing at her swollen skin, Gideon stiffly laid out his bargaining chips. "Name your price. The development rights for the Eastside Project—I'll have them transferred to the Xavier family tomorrow. Whatever resources your studio needs, I'll pave the way."

Sitting on the bed, Nora's world violently spun out of control.

Compensation. Land. Resources.

Half her face was burned raw, yet in her husband's eyes, her suffering could be perfectly equated to millions of dollars and business contracts. As long as the payout was massive enough, Giselle's malice would be erased, and the utter humiliation Nora endured would be wiped clean from the ledger.