Chapter 939

A wave of sheer terror violently washed over Jude.

He didn’t even need to turn around to know exactly who it was.

Nina slid perfectly into his line of sight, a predatory smile plastered across her face. “Jude, you’ve been here all this time and you didn’t even come say hi?”

Jude forced a strained, painful smile. “You look so stunning tonight, Nina, I honestly didn’t even recognize you for a second.”

Nina practically beamed, thoroughly charmed. “You always know exactly what to say, Jude. I just love talking to you.”

Jude’s face felt like it was going to crack from the fake smiling.

Meanwhile, on the exact opposite side of the spectrum, Seth was thriving.

Every single drink offered to Noreen tonight was seamlessly intercepted by Seth. Halfway through the gala, she hadn’t touched a single drop of alcohol.

Initially, Noreen had been incredibly worried about his allergy, but Seth casually mentioned he had taken a Loratadine before arriving.

Noreen froze for a moment.

The only reason he was this experienced with pre-medicating for alcohol was so he could block drinks for Bianca.

Noreen’s mood instantly sank.

Unsurprisingly, by the time the event wrapped up, Seth was heavily intoxicated.

Noreen helped him into the back of her car, fully intending to have her driver drop him off at his place.

But the moment she opened her mouth, she realized she had absolutely no idea where he lived now.

She looked at the man beside her.

He was thoroughly drunk.

She called his name twice, but he didn’t respond. With a sigh, she reached out and lightly patted his cheek. “Seth. Wake up. You haven’t told me where you live yet.”

Seth mumbled something entirely incoherent.

Noreen couldn’t catch a single word, so she leaned her ear closer. “Where?”

Seth fell completely silent again.

His breath was burning hot, brushing against her skin and making her instinctively pull back.

She exhaled a heavy sigh and looked up at the driver. “Just head to the Harcourt family estate.”

The estate was completely out of the way, but Noreen had the driver take the detour anyway.

When they finally pulled up to the gates, Noreen tried to shake him awake again.

He cracked his eyes open groggily. When his blurred vision finally focused on. Noreen’s face, the cold tension in his brow instantly vanished. He melted against her shoulder, clearly intending to go right back to sleep.

“You’re home. I’m having the driver take you inside,” Noreen said firmly.

Seth squinted at the massive gates outside the window, then shook his head. “I don’t live here.”

“Then where do you live?”

Silence.

Noreen rubbed her temples, a headache beginning to form.

If she had known he’d be this useless, she never would have let him drink so much.

She had absolutely zero experience taking care of a drunk man, and she was completely out of her depth.

Defeated, she told the driver, “Just find the nearest decent hotel.”

The driver executed a swift U-turn, heading back toward the city center to find a place for the night.

As the car passed through a major intersection, a half-asleep Seth

suddenly lifted his hand. He pointed

out the window at a dilapidated,

dilapidated ës

abandoned house that looked entirely out of place amidst the surrounding luxury real estate. “Look. That was my old home.”

Noreen followed his gaze, her entire body stiffening.

His old home.

Those three words sent a sharp, suffocating ache straight through her chest.

Once upon a time, she had truly believed that place was her home. The place where she was going to spend the rest of her life.

That was why she had poured her absolute soul into designing it.

From a bare concrete shell to a fully realized masterpiece, she had spent countless hours communicating with the construction crew, agonizing over every single detail. During that time, she was so exhausted she barely slept, but her heart had never felt fuller.

Because she had hope.

No one fully understood how deeply moved she was when Seth handed her complete control over the renovations.

Even Claire had told her it was his way of officially recognizing her status-that he

was undoubtedly planning to marry her.

She had believed it.

She had truly believed it.

The bitter ache threatened to swallow her heart whole. Noreen sharply turned her head away, her brow pulting into a tight knot. Her voice

Pped to a freezing temperature. “What’s there to miss You demolished it yourself