He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 36

"Gordon, you're close with Scarlett. You need to talk her down."

"There has to be a limit to this hysteria. She can't just use having a baby as an excuse to act like an irrational lunatic and burn everything down."

The faint smile completely vanished from Gordon's face. His eyes darkened with dangerous intensity.

Before Yardley could finish his sentence, Gordon crushed his half-smoked cigarette into the ashtray. His voice was deadpan.

"You honestly think Scarlett is just being hysterical?"

Harbour jolted in his seat. Seeing the murderous look on Gordon's face, he quickly reached out and tugged at Gordon's sleeve to calm him down.

Gordon ignored Harbour. He stood up and marched straight up to Yardley, his voice vibrating with rage.

"Ask yourself. How has Scarlett treated you these last five years?"

Yardley's expression hardened. "Gordon... are you taking her side?"

Gordon fired back.

"When you decided to marry her five years ago, I told you her background was complicated but her heart was pure. When she commits to someone, she gives them everything. I told you that you didn't have to love her, but you couldn't break her. If you married her, you had to treat her right. And what did you do?"

Realizing Gordon was attacking him, Yardley shot to his feet, his gaze turning fiercely defensive.

"Haven't I treated her well? I gave her the status of Mrs. Flynn! What hasn't she gotten from me over the last five years?"

"What have you given her?"

Gordon sneered, stepping aggressively into Yardley's personal space, his fury practically spilling over.

"Yardley, do you seriously believe that slapping a title on her was some majestic act of charity?"

He took a ragged breath, unable to mask the tremor of rage in his voice.

"Yardley, how many of those 'accidents' happened this past year?"

"Scarlett called you in the middle of the night with a one-hundred-and-two-degree fever, and you told her to drink some water. But the second Sylvia coughed on the phone, you chartered a private jet and flew to Country A overnight!"

"You went to every single one of Sylvia's prenatal checkups, didn't you? But what about Scarlett? Did you go to even one? Do you have any idea how hard she cried when she was three months pregnant, and the doctor told her the baby's levels were off and she needed an amniocentesis?"

With every brutal word Gordon spat, Yardley's face grew uglier.

Harbour knew things were spiraling completely out of control. He pulled desperately at Gordon's arm, but Gordon was completely derailed, determined to unleash everything he had held back.

"You say Scarlett nearly burned down the bedroom? It's one thing to neglect her, but you couldn't even bother to show up for your own daughter's one-month milestone! Do you know how sickening it was when the guys and I happily showed up to the banquet, only to realize you were throwing a massive celebration for another man's son?"

"And her demanding money from your mother? I don't think that's out of line at all. Honestly, it's about time she wised up. For five years, to prove she didn't marry you for your wealth, she broke her back working at your company while secretly taking freelance gigs just to cover her daily expenses. She holds the status of Mrs. Flynn, but has she spent a single day living the pampered life of a billionaire's wife?"

"Yardley, she hasn't changed. She just completely gave up on you."