The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 389

Winter at the orphanage felt endlessly long, and the thin broth from the cafeteria was never enough to go around.

Gideon had sneaked out of the grounds with her, hoping to scavenge some discarded food on the streets.

Not far away, a warm pastry stand was selling treats. The sweet, buttery aroma and the heat radiating from the oven drifted through the freezing air.

Snowflakes landed on their shoulders, quickly melting and seeping into their thin clothes.

The little girl's steps grew slower and slower until she finally stopped, refusing to walk another inch.

She reached out with her chapped hands and clutched tightly at the hem of his jacket.

"Gideon."

Her voice was crisp and innocent, laced with absolute, unwavering trust in him.

"I'm so hungry. I can't walk anymore."

He turned to look at the tiny girl. Stripping off his tattered coat—his only defense against the biting cold—he wrapped it securely around her small frame.

Wiping the mud and tears from her face with his sleeve, he crouched down in the snow.

"Be a good girl, Giselle. Hop on."

Gideon patted his own shoulders. "I'll carry you. I'm right here, don't be afraid."

She obediently climbed onto his back, wrapping her skinny arms around his neck and pressing her freezing cheek against his nape.

He carried her, trudging through the snow-packed dirt road, every blast of wind cutting his face like a knife.

As they passed the pastry stand, he felt his completely empty pockets and kept walking.

"Gideon, where are we going?"

She mumbled against his back, her voice growing sleepy.

"We're going to find a place where we won't be cold."

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