He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 346

"If you don't shut your mouth right now, I will throw you out of this car!"

The words died in Sylvia's throat. She stared at Yardley, her eyes wide with a mix of disbelief and sheer helplessness. Huge tears spilled over her lashes.

"Yardley... you... you're yelling at me?" she whimpered, her voice trembling with manufactured heartbreak and endless grievance.

Yardley glanced at her, a brief flicker of guilt passing through him. He softened his tone, though it remained sharp. "I'm already dealing with enough right now. Stop adding to my headache."

He looked out the window. "Get out at the next intersection. I have someone I need to see."

Sylvia opened her mouth to pout and manipulate her way back into his good graces, but the murderous look on his face forced her to bite her tongue.

The driver pulled over, and Sylvia reluctantly stepped out onto the curb.

Once the door clicked shut, Yardley gave a curt order. "Take me to Cloudbank Villas."

A short drive later, Yardley stood outside the luxury riverfront estate, the cold night wind whipping at his jacket. He pulled out his phone and dialed Julian Croft.

It picked up almost immediately. The man's crisp, elegant voice came through the speaker, tinged with a distinct chill. "What is it?"

"Are you home?" Yardley asked.

Standing by his floor-to-ceiling windows, Julian stared down at the solitary figure standing outside his gates. His eyes narrowed. "I am. What do you want?"

Yardley hesitated for a moment. "Can I come up? I... need to talk to you."

Julian pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "Did you really drive all the way to my house in the middle of the night to ask me trivial questions?"

Yardley finally reined in his temper. His Adam's apple bobbed as he forced the words out. "My mother, my aunt, Mrs. Morgan, and Mrs. Lowell were all arrested tonight because of Scarlett and her mother. And soon, the investigation is going to drag your aunt into it as well. You know exactly what that means, don't you, Julian?"

Yardley leaned forward, searching Julian's face for any sign of panic. He had fully expected the mention of Julian's aunt to strike a nerve.

Instead, Julian's reaction was chillingly calm. It was as if Yardley were talking about a complete stranger.

A faint, mocking smile touched the corner of Julian's mouth. "And? Did you come here because you want me to help you?"

The bluntness of the question pierced straight through Yardley's thinly veiled agenda. His jaw tightened, a flush of humiliation creeping up his neck.