He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 1003

Yardley sat in his office, his face ashen, his expression frozen. He could barely breathe.

His chest was a pressure cooker of unvented rage; he felt like he was on the absolute edge of an explosion.

His fingers gripped the edge of his desk so hard his knuckles turned stark white.

Finally, unable to contain the suffocating pressure any longer, he slammed his fist onto the desk. The impact did little to soothe the crushing weight in his heart, but it let out a fraction of the tension.

There was no denying it.

Even though he knew perfectly well that any chance with Scarlett was dead and buried, even though he knew he should have moved on long ago.

He just couldn't. He couldn't stop wondering how far she and Julian had actually gone, wondering if their relationship was truly as perfect as it looked from the outside.

He desperately wanted to figure out where he had gone so wrong, clinging to a pathetic shred of hope as he spied on their new life. He had hired someone to tail them, record their interactions, and send him the footage.

He hadn't expected that the moment the audio and video came through, his morbid curiosity would instantly turn into self-inflicted torture.

The thought of Julian whispering those flirtatious, suggestive things to her made his blood boil.

The realization of just how intimate they had become felt like claws tearing at his insides.

And knowing that she was completely, happily reciprocating... it felt like a thousand arrows piercing his chest.

He clutched his heart, aggressively massaging his throbbing temples. Just as his anger peaked, rendering him completely unable to work, the office door was pushed open.

Clarissa, whom he hadn't seen in ages, stood in the doorway holding a stack of files.

When he looked up, he froze in shock.

"Clarissa, what are you...?"

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He couldn't reconcile the woman standing before him with the flawlessly groomed, elegant older sister he used to know.

"If you're just tired, take a break. You don't have to throw everything away."

"Are you mad at me because I couldn't get you out sooner? I swear, I tried every possible avenue, I..."

She quickly cut him off. There was a profound, almost unearthly calm in her eyes now.

"I'm not blaming you. I've just finally seen clearly."

"I plan to become a nun. I want to leave the secular world behind and devote myself to spiritual practice. I need to atone for all the horrible things our family has done, and seek forgiveness."

She gripped his hand tightly.

"Yardley, I rarely call you by your first name... but this is the last time I will."

"The Flynn family's future rests on your shoulders now. Fix the mess. Don't keep going down this toxic path, or else total destruction is all that's waiting for us."