The Man Who Waited vs. The Man Who Wasted novel Chapter 454

She truly had overreacted.

But with everyone watching, she refused to swallow her pride and apologize.

Liam was already nursing a grudge from their last fight, which was exactly why he had deliberately excluded her from the invitation.

He knew she would show up whether he asked her or not.

Sensing the rising hostility, Ethan quickly dragged Kyle into a corner.

They weren't about to get caught in the crossfire.

Jocelyn sat there, completely bewildered.

What on earth was going on between them?

She had hoped this farewell dinner would give them a chance to smooth things over.

How did it manage to get even worse?

"Sarah." Liam's brow furrowed deeply. "I gave you an out, and you refused to take it. Who do you think you are? Do I need to get on my knees and beg you?"

Sarah scoffed coldly.

"Be my guest. If you want to beg, I'm not stopping you."

Liam let out a harsh, frustrated breath.

"You only came here to ruin the mood and piss me off, didn't you? If you didn't want to be here, you shouldn't have come. No one forced you."

"You think I wanted to be here? If Jo hadn't dragged me along, you think I'd show up? Who do you think you are? You think you're some VIP who deserves a grand send-off?"

Jocelyn winced inwardly. Now she was getting blamed for it.

Liam was so furious he couldn't even formulate a sentence.

Julian rubbed his temples and spoke up.

"Sarah, Liam is leaving tomorrow. Give him a break."

A sharp pang hit Sarah's chest.

"Are you saying that to me as my boss, or as my friend?"

If he was speaking as her boss, she would listen.

If he was speaking as a friend...

Absolutely not.

"As a friend," Julian said.

"Great! Since we're all friends here, I'll just say whatever the hell I want!"

Sarah's emotions were spiraling completely out of control.

"Why should I give him a break! Who the hell does he think he is that I need to accommodate him!"

"Fuck this!"

Liam viciously kicked the side of the sofa.

"This is absolutely insane!"

The atmosphere in the room turned ice-cold.

A perfectly good farewell dinner had devolved into this.

Liam had completely reached the end of his rope. Blinded by rage, he didn't care what came out of his mouth anymore.

"Get the hell out of here! I don't ever want to see your face again!"

Sarah turned on her heel and sprinted out the door.

It wasn't just Julian who noticed something was off.

Jocelyn felt it too.

She had known Sarah for years; they knew each other inside and out.

But recently, it felt like Sarah was carrying a heavy burden.

And she clearly didn't want to share it.

Jocelyn had a strict policy of never forcing people to talk, so she hadn't pried.

She let out a soft sigh.

"Julian, no matter how strong a friendship is, does it inevitably fade with time?"

Julian's answer was brief and resolute.

"True friendship never fades."

The door to the private room swung open.

Jocelyn thought Sarah had come back.

Instead, a tall, breathtakingly handsome man walked in, exuding an aloof elegance.

Standing next to Liam and Julian, he matched them perfectly in presence.

This had to be the owner of The Sovereign Club.

The "Sean" that Julian and Liam had been talking about.

It was true what they said: birds of a feather flock together.

They were all apex predators in their own right.