Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3613

A ruthless smirk curved Carson's lips. "I looked into it. Sean Shepherd. Your high school classmate. The two of you used to date."

"Freddy wasn't your first love, Marina. Sean was. Right?"

He let out a harsh laugh. "I couldn't figure out why you acted like a completely different person after I came back from a two-day business trip. Turns out, your first love waltzed back into town and rekindled the flame! You dumped me without a single word of explanation. Am I really that disposable to you?"

Marina's knuckles turned white as she gripped the photos. Her face paled. Without a word, she stood up and headed for the door.

Carson's expression darkened instantly. He lunged forward, closing the distance in quick strides, and seized her arm. He glared at her, his voice rough. "Explain this to me!"

She wrenched her arm free, her movements dripping with disgust. Her eyes were arctic. "You're right. I do like Sean!"

"So what if I like him? Our agreement was crystal clear. If either of us found someone we liked, we'd come clean and end things immediately!"

"We never defined this relationship, and I never had feelings for you. What betrayal? You have zero right to interrogate me!"

His grip tightened, his face like a thundercloud. A raw, piercing pain flickered in his eyes. "Don't you think you're being a little too cruel, Marina?"

Tears shimmered faintly in Marina's eyes. She wrenched her head away, forcefully tore her hand from his grasp, and walked out without looking back.

*

Trixie Bell had just gotten off work when Marina called. "Are you done for the day?"

Trixie's eyes darted nervously. Guilt kept her silent for a second before she answered with forced detachment, "Just about. Why?"

"I'm downstairs at your office building. Let's meet," Marina said.

In the fading twilight, Marina's striking features were carved from ice. "I've known since high school that you were manipulative, Trixie. But Summer and I always thought that despite your scheming, you had a good heart. That's why the three of us stayed friends."

"Things changed when you got a boyfriend. You pretended to be worried about my arranged marriage, but secretly, you constantly flaunted Colby in my face. I knew you were reveling in my misery, but I let it slide. We don't have many friends left from those days, so I kept my mouth shut."

"Then Carson came along, and it shattered whatever twisted sense of superiority you'd built. Your jealousy flared up again. But I never imagined you'd stoop so low as to secretly snap photos of me and send them to him."

"You made me realize that this friendship I cherished—everything I've put into it over the years—was nothing but a joke."

Tears streamed down Trixie's face. "You're right! I am jealous of you! We had the same grades. We're equally pretty. But just because your family has money, everyone fawns over you and treats you like royalty everywhere we go!"

She wasn't stupid—she could see right through Colby's lingering looks at Marina, too.

Background was the ultimate trump card. No matter how hard she worked, she could never bridge that gap!