He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 20

Clutching her bruised back, Scarlett trembled violently, a cynical smile locked on her lips. She instinctively tried to step forward, but before she could take two steps, she swayed dangerously and collapsed. The world around her plunged into total darkness...

***

Yardley carried Sylvia back to her ward.

Not long after, Yardley's mother, Corinne, arrived with a thermos of nourishing soup.

Walking through the door, Corinne smiled brightly. "Sylvia, are you feeling any better? I specifically had the chef prepare some premium soup..."

"Oh my! What happened to your face? Why is it so swollen?" Corinne quickly noticed the glaring red finger marks on Sylvia's cheeks and gasped in horror. She rushed over, cupping Sylvia's face to inspect it closer.

"Did someone hit you? Who did this? Tell me right now, I'll handle them for you!"

Sylvia, who had just managed to stop crying, broke down in fresh sobs. "Aunt Corinne..."

She cast a pitiful, helpless look at Yardley. With just one glance, Corinne immediately understood.

Spinning around, she glared viciously at Yardley. "Was it Scarlett?!"

Yardley instinctively tried to cover for her. "Mom, no..."

"I already know!" Corinne cut him off coldly. "She crashed Caleb's christening party, then went back to Orchard Villa and nearly burned the house down! Who else could it be?!"

"Her jealousy is completely out of control! Sylvia is family, and she's Julian's wife! What the hell is she being so incredibly petty over?!"

Furious, Corinne shoved his hand away. She paced over to the window and let out a heavy sigh. "I told you not to marry her! A marriage without equal social standing is doomed from the start! And sure enough, she could only manage to give birth to a girl!"

She turned back to look at Sylvia and the baby in her arms, her previous disgust shifting into warm approval. "Sylvia marrying Julian was the right path. She's exceptional, giving The Croft family their firstborn son. Everyone in the elite circles of Bay City is praising her!"

"But you? You became the laughingstock of the city when you married her, and now that she's had a daughter, where are your father and I supposed to show our faces?" Hands on her hips, Corinne grew angrier by the second. "She actually dared to lay a hand on Sylvia! Who does she think she is?! I'm calling her right now and making her come here to apologize in person!"

With that, she whipped out her phone. Yardley stood to the side, making no move to stop her. In his eyes, Scarlett had truly gone too far this time. Sylvia was completely non-confrontational, yet Scarlett couldn't even tolerate her and had actually resorted to physical violence. She definitely owed Sylvia an apology.

Sylvia spoke up in her soft, pitiful voice. "Aunt Corinne, it's really fine. I don't mind taking the hit, as long as..."

Corinne waved her off. Right in front of everyone, she dialed Scarlett's number and put it on speaker.