He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 600

But Julian's absolute certainty made her throat tighten, and her eyes welled up all over again. She nodded slowly.

"Thank you. You might not be my actual family, but you're a better brother to me than I could have ever asked for. You always know exactly what to say to pull me out of the dark."

Her voice was entirely sincere, radiating pure platonic gratitude.

Julian’s jaw tightened.

A flash of bitter disappointment swept through his eyes. For a fraction of a second, he wanted to tear down the walls, confess everything, and make her understand exactly how he felt.

But he knew better. Her heart was in a million pieces. She was in survival mode; she physically couldn't handle the weight of a new romance right now.

His only choice was to stay in the friend zone, protecting her until she was ready to heal.

Forcing a warm smile, he gave her shoulder one last reassuring pat before stepping back to give her space.

"Of course. I promised Gordon I'd look out for you, didn't I?"

A tiny, inexplicable pang of disappointment fluttered in Scarlett's chest, but she brushed it away instantly.

She knew it. Julian only saw her as a little sister. That was why he felt so comfortable being fiercely protective of her without any awkward boundaries.

—

Meanwhile, at Flynn Group.

Listening to the dead tone of the disconnected call, Yardley replayed Scarlett's cold demands in his head. The veins in his temples pulsed furiously.

She had turned into a ruthless mercenary. She had already bled him for millions, and now she was nickel-and-diming him at the eleventh hour.

She used to be someone who completely ignored material wealth. How had she become so painfully petty?

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

A knock interrupted his seething rage. Nathan stepped into the office, placing a thick manila envelope on the desk.

"Mr. Flynn, this was couriered over for your eyes only."

Yardley ripped it open. It was the invoice Scarlett had promised.

The stack of paper was massive—over a hundred pages of hyper-detailed accounting.

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