He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 198

Julian's attitude toward Sylvia was just too cold—so cold it chilled Yardley to the bone.

And Julian's protectiveness over Scarlett was completely unexpected, catching him entirely off guard.

Julian didn't struggle. He just looked down at the hands gripping his collar, then slowly raised his eyes to meet Yardley's directly.

"Why I married Sylvia back then... you should know better than anyone."

Julian's voice was quiet, but it hit Yardley's chest like a sledgehammer.

"That night, we were both drunk. You and I were sleeping in the same room. But when I woke up the next morning, it wasn't you sleeping next to me. It was Sylvia."

"To this day, I still don't know what actually happened that night. I've always prided myself on my self-control, and even black-out drunk, I would never just sleep with someone casually."

"But you were standing there with red eyes, fists clenched, demanding that I take responsibility for your cousin."

At this point, Julian's grip on Yardley's wrist tightened, his eyes revealing the emotions he had kept buried for years.

"Yardley, I only agreed to marry her because I considered you a friend."

"You should know better than anyone why I married her, and whether or not I even touched her that night."

"I've always wondered... where did you go that night? Why did you disappear, and how did Sylvia get into the room?"

"My marriage to Sylvia... are you absolutely sure you didn't set me up?"

When Julian delivered that last line, a faint trace of hatred laced his words.

Out of respect for their friendship, he had planned to take these questions to his grave, never breathing a word of them.

But now that their friendship was completely destroyed, the old doubts felt like a thorn lodged deeply in Julian's heart.

He couldn't find peace until he pulled it out.

Standing to the side, Scarlett felt like she had just stumbled onto an earth-shattering secret. Her mouth dropped open in absolute shock.

So, what Julian was saying was...

He still remembered the sheer shock and fury he felt when he opened the door and saw Julian and Sylvia in bed together.

That was the cousin he adored most in the world, sleeping with his best friend... He had seen red, immediately grabbing Julian by the collar and forcing him to take responsibility.

As a protective older family figure, he genuinely believed he was doing the right thing. And Julian hadn't fought him on it. He simply stated he would take responsibility, but that it would just be a marriage of convenience. He couldn't promise love, and they'd just have to see where it went.

Sylvia had agreed on the spot, and that was how their marriage began.

Yardley's prolonged silence made Julian's lips curl into a cynical smile.

"You can't explain it, can you?"

"Then let me explain it for you. I only found out recently that the reason you were so desperate to force me into marrying Sylvia was because you and Sylvia almost crossed a major line that night, right?"

As soon as the words left Julian's mouth, Yardley's pupils shrank to pinpricks, and alarm bells instantly went off in Scarlett's head.

Scarlett couldn't help but blurt out, "What major line?"