The Coldest Man in the Room Melted Only for Me novel Chapter 53

Pierce met her stare without flinching. "Didn't you?"

Didn't she?

Those two words slammed into Riley's chest with crushing force, sending a suffocating wave of despair rushing straight to her eyes, making them burn with unshed tears.

She opened her mouth to defend herself, but a heavy tightness seized her throat, rendering her entirely speechless.

It was incredibly, painfully ironic.

She hadn't even had the chance to voice her suspicions about Seraphina framing her, yet here they were, pinning the entire malicious scheme on her instead.

And the accusation had come directly from her own husband.

The betrayal stung so deeply that tears threatened to spill over.

Riley tilted her chin up slightly, forcing the moisture back, and clenched her fists to keep her voice perfectly even. "Why on earth would I drug her?"

"Riley, I know I drugged you a year ago, but I've already paid the price for that," Seraphina whimpered. "I spent a whole year alone and miserable abroad. I've realized my mistakes and I'm not going to fight you for Pierce anymore. You really didn't need to target me like this."

Riley let out a cold scoff, staring Seraphina down. "So you're saying because you drugged me a year ago, I decided to drug you tonight to get even?"

She shifted her gaze back to Pierce. "Is that what you believe, too?"

Pierce's scowl deepened. "Tonight was Alora's celebration. You shouldn't have pulled a stunt like this at such a public event. Half the elites in Riverport were there. If something had actually happened to her, it would have ruined her life. Do you realize that?"

Wow.

No wonder he had looked at her with such unbridled fury in the lounge.

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "Pierce, whether you believe me or not, I would never stoop to something as vile as drugging someone. It's beneath me.

Tonight was entirely too convenient. I checked the hotel security before coming here. The staff told me the cameras malfunctioned between seven and eight. The exact hour she was supposedly drugged."

Pierce's expression darkened. "What are you implying?"

"Maybe you should ask her." Riley aimed a frigid glare at the woman in the bed.

Seraphina stiffened. "Why would he ask me?" A second later, she gasped in faux horror. "Are you accusing me of staging this?"

"We both know the truth," Riley said, never breaking eye contact. "Tonight, you made a huge show in front of Beatrice about putting the past behind us. You knew I wouldn't cause a scene in front of my mother-in-law, so out of politeness, I handed you a drink from a passing waiter. And that waiter just happened to appear at the perfect second. You planned the whole thing, didn't you?"

Seraphina shook her head frantically. "I didn't! I genuinely wanted to make peace with you."