He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 80

Scarlett closed her eyes, a fleeting shadow of pain and loss crossing her face.

"Having Dawn is enough for me. No man on this earth is worth going through that kind of agony ever again."

The conversation grew heavy. There were deeper, darker truths that Scarlett kept locked inside.

They say that during childbirth and postpartum recovery, a husband's love and empathy are the greatest medicine a woman can have against the pain.

It is the most excruciating, vulnerable time in a woman's life, the moment she is most desperate for care and protection.

But when Scarlett was in the trenches of that agony, she had absolutely nothing. She had survived it entirely alone.

Because of that, she would never, ever forgive Yardley Flynn.

Talia listened in stunned silence. The boutique manager, who was helping Scarlett adjust the hem of her dress, chimed in sympathetically.

"It's the devastating truth. Natural birth tears you apart, C-sections leave you sliced open. The sheer agony of just using the bathroom for the first time after giving birth is enough to make you question your existence."

Talia covered her mouth in horror. "Oh my god. You guys are terrifying me! I don't even want to have kids now. That sounds horrific!"

The manager offered a wry smile.

"That's why it doesn't matter how obsessed a man is with you before the baby. It's all just talk. True love is when a man watches you bleed, deals with all the gross bodily fluids, sees your body completely stretched and scarred, and still cherishes and protects you. That's the only real proof."

The topic drew the attention of several other customers and staff, who eagerly jumped into the conversation.

One woman immediately began bragging about her husband's devotion.

"My husband was exactly like that! He held me up every time I went to the bathroom, he cleaned me up himself, he finished all my leftover meals during my recovery, and he massaged my swollen legs and helped me pump..."

Another customer eagerly chimed in.

"Yes! My husband is amazing too. I didn't lose a single night of sleep during my recovery. He woke up for every midnight feeding, took the baby the second she cried, and made sure I was completely rested."

"I hired the nanny with my own money. And I'm buying these clothes because I want them."

"I am perfectly capable of giving birth on my own, hiring my own help, and spending my own money to make myself happy. Why would I need a husband? Just to give myself a headache?"

The customer was rendered utterly speechless, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

Scarlett's gaze swept over the woman with devastating coolness.

"If your husband is great, good for you. But a deadbeat husband is far worse than having no husband at all. Relying on yourself is a beautiful thing. Why does happiness have to be handed to you by a man? I can give it to myself perfectly fine."

Talia had been terrified Scarlett was going to be triggered, but her friend was entirely unbothered, delivering a brutal reality check with effortless grace.

Talia was about to cheer for her when a deeply resonant, incredibly smooth male voice echoed from behind them.

"Well said. A woman who lives entirely for herself, without relying on a man, is the most worthy of admiration and respect."