He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 175

That kick carried one hundred percent of her strength, fueled by the agonizing resentment and fury of countless sleepless nights.

Caught completely off guard, Yardley let out a muffled grunt. The force sent him flying backward, slamming heavily against the padded headboard before tumbling awkwardly off the edge of the bed.

A second later, Scarlett scrambled out of bed.

Ignoring her lack of shoes, she bolted toward the coat rack, snatched her clothes, and frantically threw them on.

Clutching his stomach, Yardley’s sleep-addled brain snapped into sharp clarity.

He watched her trembling back and hurriedly stood up, trying to pull her into his arms again. "Scarlett, don't push me away. Couples shouldn't hold grudges overnight, we can—"

Smack!

Before he could finish, a sharp, deafening slap echoed through the room.

She had put every last drop of her strength into it.

Yardley’s head whipped to the side, his cheek burning with intense pain. His grip on her wrist loosened instantly, and he stumbled back two steps, staring at her in sheer disbelief.

A dead silence fell over the room.

Scarlett stood rooted to the spot, her chest heaving violently. Her eyes were as sharp and cold as daggers, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles were stark white. "Do you think your little insomnia issue deserves sympathy?"

Her voice shook with rage.

"Compared to the absolute hell I went through, what is two months of bad sleep?!"

"Did you really think you could just play the victim, show me a little tenderness, and everything would magically go back to normal? That all your sins would be forgiven? Let me tell you right now—not a chance in hell!"

"My heart completely died the second I gave birth to Dawn!"

Yardley was utterly paralyzed.

He had initially felt a spark of anger at being hit, but hearing her lay bare every agonizing detail of her suffering made it feel as though a massive chunk of his own heart had been ripped out.

That gaping hole bled profusely. He felt sick to his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Scarlett. I... My family and I neglected you..."

"I genuinely didn't think it through back then. I just assumed you had the doctors at the hospital, and the nurses and staff at the recovery center, so I..."

He wanted to slap himself across the face.

Back then, Scarlett had always been so independent, so fiercely capable, that he had foolishly assumed she could handle everything on her own.

He hadn't known his family had been so vicious. He hadn't known that on the day she gave birth, his mother had walked out the moment she heard it was a girl, never to return.