He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 961

Dead silence settled over the room.

Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the office, casting a glow over Scarlett's slightly trembling shoulders and illuminating the faint glisten of tears she refused to let fall.

She had kept these words buried in her heart for far too long.

During the countless sleepless nights before their divorce, through every moment of crushing grievance and isolated despair, she had wanted to ask Yardley one simple question: *Did you ever realize what you did wrong?*

But back then, her words carried no weight. She had no right to demand answers. And the Yardley of the past—arrogant, conceited, and entirely self-absorbed—had been incapable of self-reflection.

Now, the tables had completely turned.

Standing behind her was Julian, the power of the Croft Group, and the unwavering support of her brother, Zachary. She had a family who loved and cherished her. She possessed all the leverage, confidence, and strength she would ever need.

Asking the question now wasn't a hysterical demand for justice. It was just the wistful sigh of a woman seeking closure after the dust had settled.

Julian knew this was the one conversation Scarlett needed to put her past with Yardley to rest. Without a word, he quietly stepped aside, giving them the space they needed.

Yardley stared at Scarlett's reddened eyes. The realization that she could still feel even a ripple of emotion over their shared history gripped his heart like a vice, making it impossible to breathe.

He stood frozen, his posture as tight as a drawn bowstring, his throat working hard as he swallowed.

"You gave me everything, and I turned a blind eye. Instead, I demanded you be independent and cooperative. You warned me about boundaries with Sylvia, and I didn't listen—I just doubled down and broke your heart. You begged me to stay away from Veronica, and I thought you were just jealous. My stubbornness is the reason I'm chained to her now."

"It was me. I ignored your genuine advice. I pushed away the only person who actually cared about me."

"I used to think marriage was just a transaction, a way to weigh pros and cons. I thought aligning with Thorne Industries would take Flynn Group to the next level. I calculated every move, used everyone around me, and in the process, I destroyed the one person I never should have hurt."

As he spoke of the past, Yardley couldn't hide the raw choke in his voice. The bloodshot veins in his eyes darkened.

He hadn't slept in days. Veronica's relentless scheming, his mother's humiliated silence, the constant provocations from his father and Irene, the impending doom hovering over his company—every single moment of his current life was a blaring alarm, reminding him of how catastrophically stupid his choices had been.