He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 469

The doctor’s expression was thunderous.

"Where is the family? Who is with this patient?"

"I am," Julian answered instantly.

Yardley had opened his mouth, but the words died in his throat as Julian stepped forward. He stared at his former friend’s broad shoulders, ultimately swallowing his pride and choosing to stay quiet.

Naturally assuming Julian was the husband, the doctor directed her blistering lecture straight at him.

"Are you her husband? What kind of husband lets this happen? She is severely malnourished, dangerously underweight, and utterly exhausted! It hasn't even been five months since she gave birth, and her cesarean incision hasn't completely healed! How is your family taking care of her? Working her into the ground like this is absolute negligence!"

Julian’s hands balled into tight fists at his sides, his knuckles turning stark white. He took the doctor’s furious reprimand head-on. His jaw flexed, but he didn't offer a single word of defense.

"...It was my negligence," he finally said, his voice low.

Standing slightly behind him, Yardley felt his stomach plummet. He wanted to step in, to clarify that *he* was the husband who had failed her, but the words wouldn't come. Correcting the doctor now would only cause a scene and invite humiliating stares from the passing staff.

He could only watch in agonizing silence as another man took the blame for his colossal failures. The guilt sat like a lead weight in his gut.

Seeing that he wasn't making excuses, the doctor’s tone softened slightly, though it remained sharp. "You need to take this seriously. She has to be admitted for rest and IV nutrition, and we need to run a full panel of tests. Go handle the admission paperwork. Don't delay."

Julian nodded immediately. "I’ll do it right now."

The doctor turned on her heel and went back into the ER.

Standing alone in the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the hallway, Yardley was swallowed by a suffocating wave of regret.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Sylvia.

"Where are you? My dad and I are waiting. I booked a private room at Bay City Marina."

Reality crashed back down on him. He had promised to run interference for her with Craig Schmidt tonight. Glancing at his watch, he realized if he left right now, he would just barely make the dinner reservation. If he flaked, Sylvia’s life with her new family would become even more unbearable.

He let out a heavy sigh. Julian had everything under control here. There was no space for him anyway.

Pulling out his phone, he opened his banking app and wired a million dollars into the old joint account Scarlett used to use.