Chapter 3

The drug took effect quickly. No matter how I knocked, no one responded. I had to ask Griffin for help.

At least they'd have some fear of him.

"Griffin, please, I'm begging you! Help me, please..."

Heat coursed through me, making me growl like a small beast. Leaning against the cold door kept me barely sane.

"Nora, when you drugged me back then, did you think you'd end up like this?"

Griffin sneered, watching me beg at his feet.

"Nora, how can someone be so cheap?"

"You schemed to marry me, and now you want to drug me."

"Do you feel no shame trying to climb into my bed like this?"

"The drug—I drank it for you, you can't do this!"

I ignored his insults and accusations. My body's unquenchable thirst made me want to bash my head in.

"Griffin! You can get out, I know you can. I don't care if you stay faithful to Cora, but please... I don't want to die like this!"

"Just get me to a hospital, just this once! I'm really... about to die..."

I clutched Griffin's hand, begging shamelessly.

It felt like he touched my face, but he just threw me into the bathtub.

It was just a fleeting illusion.

The cold shower shocked me, but I lost all strength and couldn't crawl out.

"It hurts..." I whimpered instinctively.

"Hurt? If you shed a few tears, I might believe you."

"Stay here and keep cooling off."

The icy water soaked me, while he watched from the door, arms crossed.

I swallowed back the words I wanted to say.

It was useless; he wouldn't save me.

"Griffin, I really regret it, regret ever being so foolish to like you."

"Your kind of love only scares me."

Seeing me stop struggling, Griffin left the bathroom.

I heard him laughing with his friends on the phone.

"Unmoved by temptation, Griffin, a modern-day Saint, our role model!"

"Oh my, Griffin, your wife must be head over heels for you..."

"But Griffin, won't leaving Nora like that cause problems?"

"What could happen? She drugged me last time, and I soaked in cold water too."

"Let her learn her lesson."

…………

The cold water and my body's heat tormented my senses. Even biting my knuckles was futile.

Griffin noticed I had stopped resisting and left the bathroom.

I overheard him on the phone, laughing with his friends.

"Griffin, you're a paragon of restraint, truly admirable!"

"Wow, Griffin, your wife must be absolutely enamored with you..."

"But seriously, Griffin, just leaving Nora there, won't she be okay?"

"What could possibly happen to her? She tried to set me up last time, and I ended up soaking in cold water."

"Let her learn from her mistakes."

…………

The mix of cold water and feverish heat overwhelmed my senses, and biting my knuckles didn't help.

My mind was clouded, and the sensation of needles piercing my nerves was relentless. I felt myself sinking, suffocated by the sensation of drowning, unable to escape.

But I couldn't accept it. I was so close to being free.

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