He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 487

Yardley's SUV was just rolling off the Sutton City highway exit when his phone buzzed with a screenshot from Melanie.

His mind was consumed by his daughter's illness and Scarlett. The second he finished dealing with the fallout back home, he'd rushed straight back here.

He hadn't lifted a finger to stop Craig Schmidt from pulling his contracts—along with two other real estate firms—from Croft Design Studio. In fact, he welcomed it. Yardley would rather see the studio go bankrupt and the partnership between Scarlett and Julian dissolve entirely. It would finally strip Julian of any professional excuse to hover around Scarlett like a persistent fly.

Yardley's resentment toward his former best friend had curdled into pure, unadulterated disgust. If Julian hadn't been constantly inserting himself into Scarlett's life, Yardley was convinced he and his wife could have repaired their marriage by now.

The frustration gnawing at him was unbearable. But when he finally glanced down at the screenshot Melanie had sent, his stomach completely dropped.

He dialed her number immediately. "Melanie, where did you get this? Are you absolutely sure these are my daughter's medical records?"

"Of course I'm sure," Melanie shot back. "Veronica got it directly from the attending physician. There's no way it's fake."

She didn't even pause for a breath before launching into a frantic, impatient plea. "Yardley, I know you were hanging onto the marriage because of the kid. You didn't want to divorce Scarlett. But look at this! She's terminally ill. She probably doesn't have much time left anyway. You need to use this opportunity to finally cut ties and divorce Scarlett!"

A blind rage spiked hot and fast to Yardley's head. His voice turned to absolute ice. "What the hell is wrong with you? That is my flesh and blood. You think I'm just going to walk away and let her die?"

"This is exactly when Scarlett and my daughter need me the most! I'm not the kind of monster who kicks his own family when they're down!"

Melanie practically exploded on the other end of the line, her voice turning shrill. "Yardley, you—you are completely out of your mind!"

Melanie aggressively wiped the tears from her cheeks and shot her older sister a vicious glare. "That little brat has leukemia! And your idiot brother is refusing to get a divorce! He wants to stay by their side and play the devoted family man!"

"Tell me, is he completely psychotic?!"

Clarissa froze, her brain struggling to process the sudden outburst. "What brat? You mean Scarlett's daughter?"

The reality of the words suddenly clicked, and her voice shot up an octave. "Wait, you're saying our niece has leukemia?!"

She gasped, a hand flying up to cover her mouth in sheer disbelief. "What? How is that even possible? She's just a baby..."