He Chose His "Bestie", so I Took Everything Back novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The day before Xenia’s wedding, we threw a bachelorette party along with some of our closest friends. Everyone was drinking and chatting as the laughter flowed nonstop.

Suddenly, someone said cautiously, “Yvonne, Anderson’s sentence has been reduced. He might be released sometime next year.”

My hand stilled around my glass. Then, I replied quietly, “Is that so?”

“Will you- ”

“Will I what?” I said, laughing. “Will I go pick him up? Will I get my revenge?”

Everyone fell silent. I swirled my glass gently.

“It’s all in the past now. He can come out and start anew. It was my choice to move forward. We won’t meet again.”

Xenia was the first to raise her glass. “Good! Let’s drink to Yvonne’s new life!”

“Cheers!”

Our glasses clinked cheerfully together. After the party, I felt rather tipsy, so I went onto the balcony for some fresh air.

My phone suddenly rang. It was an unknown number.

I picked it up.

“Hello?”

All I heard was silence. After a long time, long enough for me to assume it was a prank call, someone finally spoke up. “Yvonne.”

It was Anderson’s voice. I remained silent with my phone next to my ear.

His voice was extremely hoarse, almost as if he’d been sick for a long time. “My jail sentence was reduced.”

“I know,” I replied calmly.

He paused before asking, “Have you been doing well?”

“Extremely.”

“That’s good,” he said, choking up.

“That’s great.”

He fell silent for another long pause before saying, “Yvonne, can I… can I see you one last time?”

“No,” I said decisively,

He laughed bitterly. “I knew it,”

“Anderson?” I said.

“Yes?”

“Don’t wait for me, and don’t come looking for me!

I carried on slowly but clearly, “Everything between us ended the day you said you had no reason to keep the Shermans afloat. Since you’ll be out of jail soon, live an honest life from then on.

“Maybe you’ll find someone new to spend your days with, but I’ll never be that person for you ever again.”

Low, broken sobbing could be heard on the other end of the line,

I listened to him quietly. Once he was done crying, I said, “Take care,”

Then, I hung up. I deleted the number from my phone, I looked up at the sky. There were plenty of stars visible that night.

I thought about something, Anderson had said many years ago. He’d pointed at the sky and said, “Yvonne, in the future, I’ll buy a star and name it after you.”

His promises had been so wonderful back then. They had been so wonderful that I had forgotten how out of reach the stars were. They were so far that I could have spent my life trying to reach them and still fail.

Xenia’s wedding was the very next day, I was in a bridesmaid’s dress and stood next to her.

Her hands were trembling from nerves, “vonne, my makeup’s still intact, right? Does my hair look okay?”

I chuckled as I helped her straighten her veil, “You’re perfect. Absolutely perfect,”

“Really?”

“Of course,”

Shane was waiting for her at the end of the carpet. The moment he saw her, his eyes lit up. 1 knew right then and there that Xenia had truly found the right one for her.

During the ceremony, the officiant asked, “Do you, Zenia Sullivan, take Shane Lindon as your lawfully wedded husband for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, through sickness and through health, till death do you part?”

Xenia looked at Shane as tears fell from her eyes. “I do.”

“Do you, Shane Lindon, take Xenia Sullivan as your lawfully wedded wife-”

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