He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 144

The man's warm palm gently caressed the back of her hand, sending a faint current of electricity straight to her heart. It threatened to shatter every single defensive wall she had painstakingly built over this entire period.

For a brief, agonizing moment, Scarlett truly wavered.

Looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms, she remembered the hopes she had harbored the day she found out she was pregnant. She had wanted to give her daughter a complete home, allowing her to grow up surrounded by her parents' love.

But just as her emotional barricades were on the verge of collapsing, Yardley's next words struck her like a bucket of ice water.

"Scarlett, let's start over. Let's just put everything that happened in the past behind us, okay?"

"Treat what happened to your mother back then as a tragic accident. Don't dig into it anymore. Please?"

"From now on, the three of us will live a good life together. I promise you, I will never let you suffer another grievance."

Scarlett's pupils shrank instantly.

She remained dead silent for a few seconds. Then, using every ounce of strength she possessed, she shoved violently out of his embrace.

"You really haven't changed at all, Yardley."

Taking a step back, her eyes iced over, burning with a coldness even sharper than when Corinne had been in the room.

"What makes you think I would ever trade my mother's innocence and dignity for your twisted version of a happy family?"

"I will investigate what happened to my mother until the very end. I don't care who is involved. I will not let a single one of them get away with it."

She stared straight into his eyes, every word slicing like a dagger.

"So don't even try to smooth things over. Now, it's my turn to ask you a question."

"If I uncover the truth of the past and your mother is one of the suspects, will you choose to help her cover up her crimes, or will you stand by my side and get justice for my mother?"

"Make your choice, Yardley."

Yardley was completely caught off guard.

He never expected that after exhausting himself—even going so far as to forcefully rebel against his own mother just to soften Scarlett's attitude—they would be instantly dragged right back to square one over a feud from the previous generation.

Yardley's broad shoulders tensed. A profound sense of powerlessness crept up from the depths of his chest, forcing him to take a deep, heavy breath.

He had already caught a glimpse of the bitter history through the livestream incident a while back.

He desperately wanted to reconcile with Scarlett and spend every waking moment by his daughter's side. But he couldn't bear the shame of being branded a completely unfilial son by severing all ties with his own mother.

He suddenly felt like he was trapped in that ancient, impossible dilemma: if your mother and your wife fall into the water at the same time, who do you save first?

It was a question that plagued countless men, and in that moment, it was torturing him deeply.

He stood frozen in place for a long time, ultimately unable to provide an answer.

And during his agonizing silence, he could clearly feel Scarlett's attitude hardening back into solid ice.

The situation had devolved into a complete stalemate when a hoarse, indignant female voice suddenly rang out from the doorway.

"Scarlett, why are you still keeping this jerk around? Are you waiting for the holidays to finalize this divorce?"