CHAPTER 185: CHAPTER 185: HENRY PRESTON WAS DRUGGED

Azure Vaughn’s eyes were filled with hatred toward me, and with no one else around, she didn’t bother to hide it.

"You’ve already killed my parents, isn’t that enough? I haven’t even settled that score with you!" Azure’s eyes reddened as she mentioned her parents. "If it weren’t for what you did, how could I have gotten so sick? And how could my parents have gotten in a car accident on their way to the hospital to take care of me?"

Azure’s usual way is to blame everything on me.

Everything wrong she did was for true love, and it was all because I forced her.

Yet my normal retaliation was deemed vicious.

Her worldview was growing ever more twisted—maybe the more she hated me, the more twisted it became?

"Your parents’ deaths were your doing; no one else can be blamed. Don’t block the door; I have nothing to reminisce about with you," I replied calmly, my emotions unruffled.

Because I felt no guilt at all, Walter Vaughn and Laura Lawson should blame their own daughter’s actions.

If Azure’s jealousy and competitiveness hadn’t been so strong back then, if she’d just stayed hidden behind Henry Preston like a pure little white flower, Henry wouldn’t have been so heartless toward her.

Even for the sake of Winter Tate’s heart, he would have taken care of Azure.

"Zoe, Henry’s feelings for you are just stubbornness; you should understand that," Azure insisted, a peculiar smile of pride on her young face. "The one he truly likes is still me. I have proof, but I don’t wish to tell you."

Fed up with Azure’s relentless hostility, I retorted, "Azure, the more people lack something, the more they flaunt it. If Henry truly loved you, you wouldn’t have to keep showing up in front of me for validation, right?"

My words struck a nerve, and Azure’s face visibly darkened. She bit her lip, glaring at me in silence.

If she knew how much Henry adored her in the past, how madly he was infatuated, she might end up jealous of her own self.

In the past, Azure was smart, always hiding in Henry’s apartment, never responding to me, leaving me to confront Henry like a crazy woman looking to challenge her everywhere.

Someone walked by just then, and since Azure was the star of the evening, she couldn’t let anyone see her entangled with me. She shot me a vicious glare and left.

Free to enter the room, I prepared to rest. This luxury yacht wouldn’t dock until tomorrow morning, but if necessary, a boat could take me back to shore earlier.

After lying down for a while but unable to sleep due to mixed emotions, I decided to send Ivan Underwood a message: I’m leaving the ship to rest at home.

Ivan quickly returned my call, "Where are you? I’ll leave with you."

"I’m resting in Room A08," I replied. "Will you come find me?"

"Okay, wait for me," Ivan agreed without hesitation, telling me to wait for him before hanging up.

I got out of bed to wait by the door to meet up with Ivan.

"Bang!"

As soon as I unlocked the door, it was slammed open with a loud crash from outside.

Luckily, I stepped aside quickly and wasn’t hit by the door.

"Henry?!" I exclaimed in surprise upon recognizing him, immediately putting on a wary demeanor.

Henry smelled faintly of alcohol but didn’t seem drunk. His eyes were bloodshot, his face unusually flushed, and in our brief close encounter, I felt the heat radiating off him.

He was missing his jacket and wore only a black-and-white interwoven shirt.

"Bang!" Henry turned and shut the door, locking it. He looked at me for a few seconds, clearly trying to endure something.

His demeanor obviously indicated he had been drugged. The question was, who did it?

Suddenly, there were noises from outside the door.

"It must be here; he disappeared around here!"

"Let’s wait; he’ll come out eventually."

"But Miss Azure Vaughn isn’t here, right? Maybe we have the wrong place?"

Hearing the exchanges outside, my heart sank; someone was trying to catch Henry in a compromising position. He had been set up—one person drugged him, others were waiting to witness and expose it.

As I listened closely at the door, I momentarily forgot about the person behind me, already burning with desire. When I felt a surge of heat from behind, I was pressed against the door.

"Henry, there are people outside waiting for a scandal on you. Hold on a bit; I’ll call Silas Lockwood to help!" I turned, trying to calmly comfort him despite his dangerously aggressive gaze.

Beads of sweat glistened on Henry’s forehead and his shirt was damp, showing how hard he was holding back.

"I’m about to explode; it’s unbearable," Henry said in a shaky voice, still managing to lower it and talk to me, testament to his remarkable self-control.

"How could you be so careless, letting someone drug you?" I asked, trying to divert his attention.

He took a breath before answering, "I went to find Wendy Hawthorne, she gave me a drink, and I didn’t expect her to drug me!"

This shocked me; I was already puzzled about why he’d go to Wendy. "Henry, don’t tell me you had some romantic past with her?!"

Wendy was shockingly inappropriate in age!

Henry was already uncomfortable, and my question made his gaze darken as he glared at me, "Do you think I’m a pervert? She’s the biological mother of the Tate sisters, Winter and Fern. Understood?"

"Winter’s mother?" I was stunned at first, then suddenly understood.

No wonder Azure was her goddaughter; her daughter’s heart used to be Azure’s, and Azure even resembled Winter a lot.

I hadn’t expected that Wendy, all these years, went abroad to become the remarried wife of a successful person. Quite impressive.

"Mm, stop talking," Henry urged, frowning intensely, abruptly interrupting me.

"Then I’ll call Silas—" I took out my phone, intending to contact Silas Lockwood.

Henry completely lost his rationality then, leaning in to seal my lips, a passionate mix tainted with the scent of alcohol invading my mouth.

His hand was like a fireball, scorching scarily as it touched my arm.

My pupils trembled, and I immediately reached out to push Henry, but he was entirely in a lustful state, his mind consumed by desire, giving me no chance to resist.

"Henry, let go of me! Do you want me dead?" Seizing a tiny moment to breathe, I suppressed my panic, trying to awaken his rationality.

I couldn’t scream; if the people outside heard, everything would be over. Comparatively, I preferred not to let them see any of this.