?Chapter 1331:


    He hit her.


    William Briggs—who’d always been a gentleman, always kept his cool, even when furious—had just pped her.


    For Ste.


    William crouched down, slow and deliberate, and grabbed her chin. Forced her to look at him. His eyes were ice. “You think I didn’t know?” he said coldly. “You think you could keep scheming behind my back and I wouldn’t notice?”


    He leaned in, voice low and venomous. “I gave you a chance at the vi. I told you to stay out of this. But you didn’t listen.”


    Then he stood, gave a simple hand gesture. One of the men dragged over a bucket. Nina barely had time to register the smell before they dumped the contents straight over her.


    Freezing, foul-smelling seawater soaked her head to toe.


    “Ahhh!!”


    She screamed, gasping from the cold, her whole body shaking uncontrobly. Hair stered to her face, makeup streaked, dress ruined—she lookedpletely destroyed.


    Her eyes welled with tears as she copsed to the cold, wet floor, sobbing.


    “William… how can you do this to me?” she cried. “You’re lying to yourself. You say you hate her, that you’re getting revenge, but look at you. You panic the second she’s hurt. You’re terrified of losing her. You still love her, don’t you?”


    The words stabbed deep, cutting through the wall he’d built around himself. Because they were true.


    And that truth—that ugly, undeniable truth—only made his rage re higher.


    He didn’t need Nina spelling it out.


    Didn’t need her peeling back the one lie he still let himself believe. Even if it was self-deception… it was his.


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    His eyes reddened, fury rising fast and hard. The air in the room shifted—heavy, suffocating.


    “Shut up,” he growled, voice low and dangerous.


    Nina froze, terror flickering across her face.


    Without another word, William pulled out his phone and dialed. “Luca. Spread the word—no one is to work with Daniel Carter. Anyone who does goes up against the Briggs Group.” His tone was ice-cold. “I want Daniel cornered. Crushed. Make sure he deres bankruptcy in three days.”


    Daniel’spany had nothing to do with Lance or Karson. He’d built it on his own, years ago—determined to prove his worth to Karson.


    And to be fair, he’d made something of it. Carved out a decent slice of Choria’s business scene.


    But to William? Still just background noise.


    On the other end of the call, Luca responded without pause. “Understood, Mr. Briggs. I’ll take care of it right away.”


    William ended the call and turned to look at Nina. Her face had gone ghost-pale. And in his eyes, she was already a stranger. There was no warmth. No softness. Just cold, clean distance.


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