He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 777

"You're not the one who was wrong. You don't need to apologize to me," she murmured, gently but firmly pushing his hands away.

As she slowly stood up, the agonizing emptiness in her eyes shifted into a deep, impenetrable coldness—the kind of weary detachment that only comes after surviving a catastrophe.

Julian stood up with her, his gaze still swimming with protective ache.

"Don't be sad. He's just—"

"Sad?" She shook her head, cutting him off. When she looked at him, her tone was practically glacial. "No. The moment I decided to sign those divorce papers, I swore I would never shed another tear for him."

And she had kept that promise.

What she had just experienced wasn't sorrow, and she hadn't cried. It was pure, unadulterated revulsion.

It was the first time she realized that when love reaches its absolute, terminal end, it doesn't leave behind hatred. It leaves behind a bone-deep, visceral nausea.

Observing the finality and coldness on her face, his emotions were a tangled mess. "I'll get you some water."

He turned away without pressing the issue, walking over to the minibar to pour her a glass.

By the time he turned back around, she had stepped out of the bathroom.

As she took the glass from his hand, she took a long, steadying breath. It was as if, in that very second, she had finally made a definitive choice.

"The contract marriage you brought up to my brother... I'll do it."

"Maybe getting married again immediately is the only way to completely sever ties with him and his family. It's the only way to make him give up for good."

"But," she hesitated. "I know your family holds marriage in high regard. If we do this, won't they feel like we're treating it like a cheap business transaction?"

She wouldn't know how to respond. It was easier to cover her ears, shut her eyes, and pretend the confession had never happened.

He seemed to understand. His words skirted around the word "love," yet every syllable was steeped in it.

It was a silent pact—a riddle where the clues were glaringly obvious, but the answer was never spoken aloud.

And a contract marriage was the perfect camouflage. It advanced their professional goals, and underneath its protective shell, she could finally escape the suffocating swamp of the Flynn family.

It was the perfect solution.

She fell into a long silence.

After giving her ample time to process, Julian gently patted her shoulder.