The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 389

Jocelyn let out a sudden, dry laugh.

"To think, this is the first time we've ever actually had a completely honest conversation. What a rare treat."

Adrian kept his brow tightly knitted, remaining completely silent.

The atmosphere between them had frozen over.

Just as Jocelyn was about to speak again, his thin lips parted, and he uttered words she never thought she'd hear.

"I'm sorry."

Jocelyn stopped, stunned.

Hearing those words from Adrian was like watching the sun rise in the west.

But strangely, it made her feel an overwhelming sense of relief.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said softly. "For a while, I let the bitterness and the pain eat me alive. It was stupid, really."

"I should have walked away from you and your family a long time ago. I was just too obsessed, desperately trying to salvage something from the wreckage."

"Honestly, I'm to blame too."

If she had just cut her losses early, she wouldn't have suffered so much.

Adrian's hand hovered in the air between them.

He had a sudden, desperate urge to pull her into his arms.

But he didn't dare.

It was laughable.

The great and powerful Mr. Lowell, terrified of making a move.

"Adrian, I don't hate you anymore. So don't hate me, either. From now on, we go our separate ways. If we ever cross paths again, let's just treat each other like strangers."

Adrian pressed his lips together, fighting the suffocating tightness in his chest.

"We can't even be friends?"

It sounded almost pathetic.

Jocelyn scoffed softly.

"You and me? Friends? Never going to happen."

The abrupt ringing of a phone shattered the tension.

It was Sarah calling.

Jocelyn pressed the phone to her ear.

Sarah's furious voice blasted through the speaker.

"Son of a bitch! Adrian Lowell is an absolute piece of trash! How dare he dump all that garbage on your name? Does he have zero shame?!"

"I'll head back to the office later and we can talk. I'm in the middle of something right now."

Before she could finish, Liam hung up on her without a second of hesitation.

That guy...

Jocelyn shook her head with a smile and tapped the gossip link Sarah had forwarded.

As she read the article, her smile turned icy and sharp.

"Well, Adrian."

She held the screen up to his face. "Looks like being friends is definitely off the table now."

Eleanor Lowell had moved with terrifying speed, releasing a public statement about the divorce.

Predictably, the Lowell PR machine pinned all the blame on Jocelyn.

The headline offense? In three years of marriage, she had failed to provide the Lowell family with an heir.

It went on to claim she had a terrible temper, constantly instigated domestic disputes, and was violently hostile toward her sister-in-law.

...

The kicker was at the very end.

The article claimed it was an "amicable split," that they "remained friends," and bragged that the generous Lowell family had gifted Jocelyn a luxury apartment at The Astoria and a sports car as a settlement.