Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel 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.

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 pulling into a tight knot. Her voice dropped to a freezing temperature. "What's there to miss? You demolished it yourself."