When Two Winters Met (Henrietta and Yosef) novel Chapter 174

Henrietta couldn't stop her in time. “Winona!” she and Charlotte cried in unison.

But then their eyes widened in shock. They had expected Winona to start chugging from the bottle. Instead, she swung it with all her might, smashing it over Shirley’s head.

“Drink this, you bitch!” she roared.

The room erupted into chaos. No one had seen Winona’s sudden explosion coming, least of all Henrietta, who was momentarily stunned.

Shirley collapsed to the floor without a sound. Artina and her friends stood frozen, their minds struggling to process what had just happened. When reality finally set in, they started screaming.

“What are you doing?”

“Murder! She’s a murderer!”

“Shirley, are you okay?”

“Call an ambulance! Quick, call an ambulance!”

Henrietta pulled Winona behind her and asked in a low, calm voice, “How hard did you hit her?”

“Don’t worry,” Winona replied. “She’ll live.”

This was their chance to get out. With Shirley injured and on her way to the hospital, the confrontation would be over. Winona had been itching to do it from the start; if Henrietta hadn’t come back, Shirley would have been on the floor much sooner.

As the others scrambled in a panic, Winona whispered, “Let’s go?”

“Mr. Nash should have people on the way,” Henrietta murmured back.

Winona’s eyebrows shot up. “Holy crap.”

Henrietta patted her hand reassuringly. “As long as she’s not dead, we’ll be fine.”

“Right,” Winona nodded. That had been her plan all along. As long as there was no permanent damage, they could handle the fallout later. She had controlled her strength, making the attack look more dramatic than it actually was.

Sure enough, one of Artina’s friends cried out, “It’s okay, she’s not bleeding! It’s not serious.”

Still, they frantically dialed for an ambulance.

Winona, seizing the moment, picked up another bottle. “Anyone else want me to take a drink? Step right up.”

Her bravado actually seemed to intimidate the other girls, who fell silent for a moment before one of them stammered, “Are you crazy?! Bodyguards, grab her!”

Winona brandished the bottle, committing fully to her act of madness. “The next one who comes near me gets this!”

Two of the friends pointed at her, shouting, “You’ve gone too far!”

Before she could say another word, the manager slapped her across the face. “She’s unconscious, not dead!” he snapped.

The girl stared at him, stunned. Another one demanded, “Who are you? Why are you helping her? Do you know who she—”

The manager cut her off with another sharp slap. “All I know is that she is a valued guest of this hotel! And who are you?”

A third friend, standing a little further away, chimed in, “Even if she is your guest, she was the one who started it! And do you have any idea who’s hosting this party? It’s someone you can’t afford to offend!”

The manager strode over and slapped her too. “I’m the hotel manager. Of course I know who it is! And even he would have to treat Ms. Sargent with the utmost respect!”

That silenced them. Artina’s group was completely baffled.

Artina found her voice, speaking in a low, tense tone. “What did you just say?”

The manager turned to her, his tone slightly more polite than it had been with her friends. “Ms. Harmon, you’ve picked a fight you can’t win. I suggest you and your friends apologize to Ms. Sargent and her friends immediately and beg for their forgiveness. Otherwise… I can’t say what the consequences might be.”

Artina was speechless.

The only friend who hadn’t been slapped pointed a finger at Henrietta. “Are you mistaken? Do you know who Artina’s fiancé is? How can you say that? Are you sleeping with that old hag? Is that why you’re helping her? You realize that if Artina’s fiancé finds out about this, you’re finished!”

Henrietta’s face turned to ice.