He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 23

Sensing the heavy tension in the room, Talia nodded. "Alright. I'll be right outside. Shout if you need anything."

She walked out and clicked the door shut behind her.

Corinne scoffed. "Corinne? How dare you address me by my first name like we're equals?"

Scarlett met Corinne's glare head-on. Memories flashed through her mind—five years of desperately trying to please this woman, only to be met with constant disdain.

In the past, no matter how terribly Corinne treated her, Scarlett would always respectfully call her "Mom," bending over backward to fulfill her every demand. But now, thinking back to the day she gave birth—how Corinne had turned on her heel and walked out the second she realized it was a girl... Forget calling her "Mom," Scarlett couldn't even stomach calling her "Mrs. Flynn."

"You told me a long time ago not to call you Mom. What, now that I've stopped, your feelings are hurt?"

Corinne choked on her words for a few seconds before her anger flared again. "Watch your tone with me, Scarlett!"

Not in the mood to beat around the bush, Scarlett cast her a glacial look. "I'm sure you heard the recording. Sylvia admitted herself that she still has feelings for Yardley. If I release this audio, you know exactly what will happen."

Corinne had come here to demand answers, yet here was Scarlett threatening her with consequences. She was momentarily thrown off guard. "Of... of course I know what would happen! But I know Sylvia was just speaking out of anger. She and Yardley are cousins. There's absolutely nothing between them..."

Scarlett cut her off. "If there's nothing between them, then why are you panicking?"

Corinne faltered again, her embarrassment quickly morphing into fury. "I'm not panicking! I'm just furious that you're stirring up trouble out of nowhere!"

A mere employee at Flynn Group who had managed to bed the big boss after a drunken night, eventually tying the knot... Every time Corinne thought about it, she felt physically sick.

And whenever she thought about the scandalous history of Scarlett's mother, Jacqueline, it was like swallowing a massive fly she'd been trying to choke down for five long years.

She had assumed that if Scarlett could just produce a male heir for the Flynn family, she would reluctantly accept her for the sake of her grandson. But it took five years for Scarlett to finally get pregnant, and the baby ended up being a useless girl.

Knowing that the child carried Jacqueline's genes made Corinne's blood boil. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the baby, let alone feel any joy about being a grandmother. She had long since made up her mind to force Yardley into a divorce, kicking Scarlett and that girl to the curb once and for all.

Meeting Corinne's snobbish, ruthless glare, Scarlett felt a suffocating wave of despair crash over her.