She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 959

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I'm not the one who hit you..."

Gabriel asked bluntly.

Elara fell silent, but her glare remained sharp and venomous.

True, Gabriel wasn't the one who had beaten her.

But this whole nightmare was entirely his fault.

After the banquet ended, Alistair had taken her straight to a luxury hotel.

That was to be expected.

Ever since she became his fiancée, Alistair had treated her as nothing more than a convenient toy to satisfy his urges.

But right as they arrived, Alistair had received a phone call that instantly soured his mood.

Shortly after, he dragged her all the way to Averin.

Apparently, his business partner was located there.

She had simply waited in an Averin hotel suite, biding her time while he handled his business affairs.

He didn't return until late evening.

If she had it her way, he would never have come back at all.

Taking one look at his dark expression, she knew the negotiations had tanked.

She had opened her mouth, intending to ask him what was wrong, when his heavy hand suddenly struck her face.

The vicious slap rang through the room, making her ears scream with a deafening ring.

Elara collapsed to the floor, her mind completely blank, unable to process what had just happened.

Up until now, she had always seen Alistair as a disgusting, vulgar old man—but he had never actually struck her.

But at that moment, he descended on her like a rabid animal, raining blow after blow across her face.

She lay crumpled on the carpet, bruised, swollen, and bleeding from the mouth.

She hadn't understood... why was he doing this?

What had she done wrong?

She honestly thought he was going to beat her to death.

A million terrified questions burned in her throat, but she couldn't force a single word past her split lips.

She didn't dare call her family, either.

Her parents cared only about their business empires; as far as they were concerned, a married daughter was simply a financial transaction they no longer had to manage.

For the first time in her life, Elara felt completely and utterly alone.

She had just wanted to sneak into the ER, get some painkillers, and vanish. Bumping into Gabriel was the last thing she wanted.

But seeing him standing there triggered a landslide of grief and fury.

If she had never run into Gabriel at Silas Carter's banquet, if he had never reached out to steady her, Alistair would never have unleashed his violence on her.

It was all Gabriel's fault...

Everything was his fault!

Elara focused every ounce of her simmering rage squarely onto Gabriel's shoulders.

"This is your fault... It's all because of you! If you hadn't touched me, he wouldn't have beaten me like this!"

Her sudden, hysterical screaming made Gabriel recoil in shock.

Once she finally managed to choke out the details through her tears, Gabriel realized the horrible truth: his simple act of steadying a drunk woman in the private room had sent Alistair into a jealous, violent frenzy.