My best friend is marrying my husband novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They chose to meet at the park they used to visit as children.

The bench where they had carved their names was still there, beneath the same sycamore tree where they once buried

a time capsule.

The park was quiet at dusk. Maria followed the familiar path inward. From a distance, she saw Julia collapsed beside the

bench, a dark pool of blood spreading beneath her.

Julia!”

Maria ran forward, panic rushing through her as she tried to lift her up. Julia’s eyes fluttered open. When she saw Maria,

her pupils tightened in fear.

“Maria… run…”

Before she could finish, two masked men burst out of the bushes, brandishing crowbars as they charged straight toward

them.

Maria reacted on pure instinct. She spun around and shielded Julia with her body, taking the blow squarely across her

shoulder blades.

A white–hot agony flared across her shoulders, stealing the breath from her lungs. She gasped but refused to fall, holding

her ground between Julia and the attackers.

“Who are you?!” she demanded, voice trembling, trying to hide Julia behind her.

One of the men sneered and raised the crowbar again. The blow never landed.

“Stop!” Stephen’s voice exploded through the clearing like thunder. Stephen’s security team descended like a tactical unit.

neutralizing the threat before the echo of his voice had even faded.

Julia…

He scooped her into his arms, his voice shaking. “Stay with me. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Julia’s blouse was soaked in blood. She leaned weakly into Stephen’s chest. Her gaze drifted to Maria, lips twitching as if to

speak, but no sound came out.

Stephen rushed off with her, never slowing, never glancing at Maria, not even once.

Maria forced herself upright. Pain surged, blackening the edges of her vision. She staggered after Stephen’s car. her nails digging into her palm just to stay conscious.

Outside the emergency room, the red light blazed overhead Stephen stood in the hallway, Julia’s blood staining his

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clothes, his hands trembling.

When he turned and saw Maria, rage filled his eyes. “You still have the gut to come here?”

He strode toward her. “Maria, to ruin the wedding, you even laid hands on your best friend?”

“I didn’t!” Maria whispered in pain.

Stephen let out a cold laugh. “If you hadn’t insisted on staying. Julia wouldn’t have been hurt.”

He stepped closer, voice low and trembling with fury. “I know you’re jealous. I know you can’t accept any of this. If you

want to take it out on someone, take it out on me.”

“But why hurt Julia? She knows nothing. She’s a good soul. She treated you like her closest sister…”

I’ll say it again. I didn’t.” Tears broke past Maria’s lashes. “Stephen, I love you, but Julia is my friend. I want her safe more

than anyone!”

“Enough.”

Stephen cut her off, disgust twisting his expression. “I’m done with your theatrics. This ‘crying wolf act has reached its

expiration date.”

*Confine her. I want her under 24–hour surveillance. Before the wedding, I don’t want a single accident.”

Two bodyguards seized Maria immediately.

“Stephen! Investigate it! It wasn’t me!” Maria struggled, the torn skin on her back reopening as fresh blood soaked her

shirt again.

When Julia wakes up, I’ll deal with you.” Stephen shot her one last look before turning toward the emergency room.

Maria was dragged to the car and taken straight to the Greyson family’s basement.

This time, they locked the door from the outside. Dark. Silent. Only the sound of her own ragged breathing filled the

space.

The first day, there was no food, no water. Her untreated wound burned with searing pain. She lay on the cold floor.

every breath tugging at torn muscles.

The second day, hunger clawed through her stomach, thirst scraping her throat raw. There were no windows; she

couldn’t tell day from night.

Her wound swelled and throbbed The signs of infection.

On the third day, fever struck hard. Her consciousness flickered in and out. Her mouth was so dry she could barely

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swallow. She tried pounding on the door, calling out, but no one came.

The fourth day, the infection worsened. Pus seeped through her thin clothes, the stench heavy in the small space. Every

movement ripped the raw flesh open again.

The fifth day, she no longer had the strength to crawl. Lying in the darkness, she began to hallucinate.

She saw her daughter ran toward her, laughing. Stephen hugged her gently and said, “Maria, let’s go home…”

The sixth day, the fever drained the last drop of moisture from her body. Her lips cracked and bled. Her throat felt

sanded raw.

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