Betrayed By The Billionaire

101

Nicholas remained calm, his expression devoid of any guilt as he met her bloodshot eyes. "Cindy told me she was going to talk to you. I was worried things would spiral out of control, so I went to the Chen villa. My instincts were right—something did happen."

Instead of being mollified, Nora became even more aggressive. "Why does Cindy have your personal number? Why did you even pick up her call? You believed every word she said and rushed to her house in the middle of the night? Have you forgotten she tried to seduce you?"

She paused, a harsh, jagged laugh escaping her throat. "Worried? You were so terrified I’d hurt your precious little mistress, weren't you?"

Facing her relentless interrogation, Nicholas’s face twisted with pure annoyance. "As it turns out, my worry was completely justified."

He roughly unbuttoned his expensive blazer and tossed it aside, but seeing the mess on the bed, his expression darkened further. He threw the jacket onto a heap of discarded clothes.

"I told you, I drank too much! I was provoked, I lost control for a split second and pushed her. Do you really think I intended to throw her down the stairs?" Nora’s voice cracked.

She had been blinded by rage and alcohol last night, forgetting for a heartbeat that they were standing at the top of a flight of stairs. No matter how much she hated Cindy, she wasn't a murderer. She wouldn't throw her life away for someone as pathetic as Cindy.

"Drunk? You’re getting really good at making excuses, Nora."

Nicholas didn't believe a word of it. In his mind, she was simply refusing to take responsibility and trying to smear Cindy's character even further. When he had burst into the villa last night, he had seen the push with his own eyes. He had immediately scooped Cindy up to rush her to the hospital while Nora stood paralyzed at the top of the stairs—he had been nowhere near enough to smell the alcohol on her breath.

"You don't believe me? Chloe is downstairs right now! Go ask her if I was drinking with her last night!"

Nora pointed toward the door, reaching out to grab his arm to drag him out for a confrontation. But the moment her fingers touched his sleeve, Nicholas recoiled as if she were a leper, shucking her hand off with visceral disgust.

"Chloe Bishop is your best friend," he snapped. "You two are birds of a feather. Of course she’s going to lie for you."

Nora’s eyes turned a bruised, angry red. "Fine! If you don't believe her, ask the two bodyguards. I brought them from the Nora family estate—ask them if I was drinking!"

Nicholas sneered. "Those men are your personal lackeys. They report to your father. Do you really think I’d trust their testimony?"

Nora clenched her fists so hard her nails drew blood from her palms. "You don't trust Chloe, you don't trust the guards... what about your own sister? Xixi saw me when I got back last night. Call her in here and ask her!"

Nicholas let out a cold snort. "How would she know if you didn't just chug a bottle on the way home to create an alibi? Even if you were drinking, it doesn't mean you were blacked out. I know your tolerance, Nora. It takes more than a few glasses to make you lose your mind."

"So that's it then? You’ve decided I’m the villain. In your heart, I’m just that 'vicious' woman now, right?"

Nora’s vision blurred. She didn't want to cry—she hated showing weakness—but the tears betrayed her, hot and bitter. "Do you have any idea what Cindy said to me last night? She said you two slept together that night at the hotel. She said you made her call you 'hubby.' She said I was nothing compared to her..."

"Lies!"

Nicholas’s roar cut her off, his face flushing with fury. "Cindy and I are perfectly clean. There is no way she would say something so vulgar. Nora, you have become absolutely delusional!"

Nora’s voice was a ragged shadow of itself. She nodded slowly, her spirit breaking. "Fine. I’m delusional. I’m irrational. Nothing I say matters anymore, because Cindy has already cast her spell on you."

The gap between them has become an unbridgeable canyon. Nicholas is looking at his wife not with love, but with pure, unadulterated revulsion. Downstairs, Chloe and Lyra can hear the screaming match reaching a crescendo. If Nicholas doesn't believe his own sister, will he believe Chloe if she forces her way into the room?

Or will the "Demon CEO" Xavier Grayson need to step in to protect his wife's friend from the Nicholas family's collapse?