Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 537

Nora looked at her, her gaze calm.

Seeing her unmoved, Penelope cried harder. "Nora, please, just for the sake of the mother who carried you for nine months..."

"How do you plan to make it up to me?"

Nora interrupted, her voice so flat it gave away nothing, but it was enough to make Penelope choke on her sobs.

She looked stumped. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

Nora didn't wait for an answer. She just shook her head slightly. "I don't need it anymore."

When she had needed protection the most, her mother had abandoned her. She was long past the age of desperately craving a mother's affection to fill the void in her heart.

There was a time when she had been so starved for love that she would have treasured even the smallest crumb of attention.

But now, she knew what it felt like to be truly cherished, to be someone's entire world.

She no longer needed Penelope's shallow, conditional affection.

"Don't come back,"

Nora said softly, her tone final. "I won't see you, and I won't help you with anything ever again."

"Nora!" Penelope instinctively chased after her, only for Olive to step in and block her path with a deadpan expression.

Watching Nora and Olive disappear through the revolving doors, the tears still stained Penelope's face. Yet, the moment the glass clicked shut, every ounce of her feigned heartbreak vanished.

She wiped her face, scrubbing away the remaining tears.

That miserable brat!

How could she be so heartless!

After all that crying, she hadn't softened in the slightest!

She had raised an ungrateful wretch!

No!

She had to think of something else.

Either way, stalking the company was a lot easier than trying to sneak around Cloudwater Estate.

Just as Penelope was lost in thought, plotting her next move to lure Nora out, a rough hand grabbed her wrist.

Before she could even gasp, a massive force yanked her forward. She stumbled several feet, crashing into a dark alley beside the skyscraper.

It was a deserted spot, perpetually shadowed by the towering buildings, leaving the sparse greenery in the planters looking dead and neglected.

Arnold Vance's face was thunderous. The moment he released her wrist, he delivered a vicious backhand.

A sharp crack echoed off the walls.

Arnold licked his lips, relishing the thought. "If you hadn't ruined my plans back then, she would have been mine a long time ago. That Lancaster bastard wouldn't have stood a chance."

He looked down, his predatory gaze locking onto Penelope. "Try again."

Penelope flinched. "I..."

"Lure her out. Star Tower Back Alley. Just bring her there."

His voice was terrifyingly calm, like a snake preparing to strike. "If you fail, don't even think about sleeping tonight. I've got plenty of energy left for you."

Penelope violently shivered and nodded frantically.

Arnold patted her cheek with mocking satisfaction. "That's a good girl."

With that, he let go of her jaw and turned away, heading toward a rusted van parked nearby.

Penelope leaned against the wall, gasping for air, her clothes soaked in cold sweat.

She touched her scraped forehead, her fingertips coming away with a smear of blood.

Staring at the dark crimson stain, she slowly clenched her hand into a tight fist.

She had no idea how her life had spiraled so horribly out of control.

She had joined a wealthy family, becoming the envied high-society wife everyone admired. And now? Now she was being treated like a dog by this degenerate scoundrel fresh out of prison.