The Love I Begged For Was Never Real novel Chapter 328

She knew perfectly well that an old fox like Winston, who had survived in the business world for years, would never simply surrender a massive profit margin over a few drinks.

Nora picked up the glass of hard liquor, tilted her head back, and slammed the scorching liquid straight down her throat.

The high-proof alcohol burned a fiery trail straight into her stomach, triggering a violent, twisting cramp.

"Nice! Mrs. Hayes is a real straight shooter!"

Winston roared with laughter, instantly shoving the second and third glasses right in front of her.

Fighting back the intense cramps in her stomach, Nora forced the liquor down her throat, glass after glass.

The moment the fourth glass went down, Nora realized something was terribly wrong.

The violent burn of the alcohol rapidly faded, replaced by an absolutely terrifying wave of dizziness and complete muscle weakness.

Her vision began to split into harsh double images, and the deafening music in the room became a distorted blur.

A sickening, unnatural heat surged wildly from the pit of her stomach, rapidly devouring whatever scraps of sanity she had left.

The drinks had been spiked.

"Excuse me. I need to go to the restroom."

Nora clenched her jaw tight, spinning around and forcing her legs toward the door.

She only made it two steps before two massive bodyguards stepped directly in front of her, blocking the exit.

Nora stopped dead in her tracks, turning to glare at Winston, who was sitting on the couch grinning like a psychopath.

She bit down so hard on the tip of her tongue she nearly drew blood, desperately trying to use the agonizing pain to keep her mind tethered to reality.

A shrewd little businessman like Winston would never possess the sheer audacity to drug the wife of an elite patriarch on a whim.

A bone-deep frost swept through Nora's soul.

She had already made it abundantly clear to Giselle in the hospital hallway that she was done with the marriage and would surrender the title of Mrs. Hayes.

She had even started counting down the days until she walked away.

Yet that entitled Princess still viewed her existence as a catastrophic threat.

She still believed Nora was stealing her brother's attention, entirely convinced that Nora was the reason Gideon had ended up brutally injured in a hospital.

Giselle refused to let her off the hook.

What Giselle wanted wasn't just for Nora to get the hell out of the Hayes family. She wanted her thoroughly ruined, carrying a horrific scandal, permanently nailed to a cross of absolute humiliation like a pathetic, stray dog.

What an incredibly vicious scheme.