He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 26

A glint of triumph flashed in Corinne's eyes, but she feigned maternal grace, patting Yardley on the shoulder. "Son, try to talk things out. We don't want to make a scene in the hospital."

She shot Scarlett one last venomous glare before turning elegantly and strutting out of the room.

A dead silence fell over the room. During her struggle with Corinne, Scarlett had accidentally yanked her IV line. The needle had shifted, causing the injection site to swell drastically, but she didn't feel a hint of physical discomfort.

She kept her head down, refusing to look at Yardley. She had once loved him more than life itself, but now... every ounce of affection had soured. She couldn't find a trace of the love she used to feel.

Noticing the swollen wound on her hand, Yardley frowned. He sat on the edge of the bed, gently taking her freezing hand in his. He carefully adjusted the needle and reapplied the medical tape. Done, he blew softly over the site, his voice unconsciously softening. "Does it hurt? You're always so clumsy. You need to be careful with an IV."

He was always like this. Just when she braced herself for his anger, he would disarm her with sudden tenderness, making the rage burning in her chest feel like a punch thrown into empty space, leaving her with nowhere to vent her frustrations.

She snatched her hand back, instinctively leaning away from him to create distance. "Spit it out. You don't need to play this game."

Yardley sighed, his voice still gentle. "Scarlett, we're husband and wife, and we just had a daughter. Why are you acting like we're strangers?"

"Unreasonable?" Scarlett went rigid, trembling all over. "Yardley, you spent my entire pregnancy taking care of another man's wife! You were even by her side while she gave birth and through her entire postpartum recovery. Your own daughter is over a month old, and you haven't even given her a name. Have you even thought about her once?"

Struck dumb by the accusation, Yardley opened his mouth, but couldn't make a sound. Watching him falter, Scarlett let out a bitter laugh. "You haven't, have you?"

Her heart sank even further. She looked out the window at the lush greenery beyond the hospital walls. "It's fine. I never expected anything from you anyway. I'll get her birth certificate sorted myself. Her name is Aurora. And she's taking my last name."

Yardley's stomach dropped. His expression instantly froze, making him look like a puppet whose strings had been abruptly cut.