The Comeback: How I Destroyed the Friend Who Ruined Me novel Chapter 3

Dominic made some calls. He knew exactly who to reach. The biggest influencers. The most connected reporters.

Within minutes, they showed up. Phones out. Cameras rolling. Streaming live to thousands of people.

"You are not going to believe this," one of them said, pointing the camera at my face. "Look at this woman. See her? Plain, simple, looks harmless? She is rotten to the core."

"For years, she's been living off her best friend. Money, favors, whatever she wants. And her friend is pregnant, and she still treats her like a servant. Runs her errands. Holds her hair back when she's drunk."

"And how does she repay that kind of loyalty? She spends her friend's money like water. When the cash ran out, she made her sell her wedding ring. Made her steal from her own husband. All to pay off gambling debts. To pay for male escorts."

"On top of all that, her personal life is a disaster. She's engaged, but she sleeps around constantly. Heard she picked up something nasty. Got pregnant, didn't even know who the father was, got an abortion without telling her fiancé. Made her pregnant best friend sit in the hospital with her."

The influencers kept piling on. Spinning everything bigger and uglier.

The comments exploded:

@ChicagoRealTalk: wait wait wait... so the friend is PREGNANT and she's still playing nurse for this woman?? hell no

@SweetLikeHoney: i'm literally shaking rn. how is someone this evil real??? her friend and her fiancé need to run far far away

@SouthSideSally: not the abortion without telling the fiancé 💀 this girl is pure trash

@WindyCityWatcher: bro her friend sold her WEDDING RING for her??? and she repays her like THIS?? i can't

@ChiTownMom: this makes me sick. she shouldn't be allowed near decent people ever again

@BeautyByBella: the way i would NEVER do this to my best friend. this is beyond disgusting

@LurkerDan: someone needs to put this girl in her place fr

@CubsFan101: nahhh this is wild. her poor friend. her poor fiancé. everyone in her life honestly

My face was everywhere. Within hours, I was trending as "The Leech," "The Toxic Friend," "The Parasite."

The influencers kept fanning the flames. The crowd's rage built. People started throwing eggs and rotten vegetables at me.

Some guys who'd been eating nearby hurled beer bottles at my feet. Glass shattered everywhere.

I stood there in the trash like a prisoner waiting for execution, taking every single insult.

Then I saw Julian pushing through the crowd.

My chest tightened.

To me, Julian was my rock. He loved me. He trusted me. No matter what. When the world beat me down, he'd stroke my hair and make it better.

I trusted him. He was my safe place.

In that moment, I needed him more than anything.

"Julian!" I called out.

He saw me. His face went pale. He started running toward me.

But Dominic's men saw him too.

"Get that guy," Dominic said. He didn't even look. Just waved his hand like he was swatting a fly.

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