My Boyfriend Hated My Best Friend Until I Came Home Chapter 04

My Boyfriend Hated My Best Friend Until I Came Home Chapter 04

Three days after I made that call, Finnick stormed into my office. He slammed the door so hard the entire room seemed

to rattle.

Seraphina, did you go to Lilia’s parents?*

Her mom called last night and yelled at her for a full hour, calling her ungrateful, saying she had wronged you. Lilia cried so hard on the phone she almost passed out. Are you happy now?”

I huffed a soft laugh.

“You two dared to do what you did, and you’re scared of other people finding out?”

A sharp, sudden ache squeezed my chest all the same. I had never forgotten how kind the Moore family had been to me in the old days. After I built my fortune over the years, I paid them back tenfold, even a hundredfold.

Eleanor had apologized to me profusely and nervously over the phone, but the person who owed me the biggest apology

had said nothing at all.

Finnick took a deep breath, suddenly calming down.

“Seraphina, I’m giving you one last chance. Go apologize to Lilia right now, and I will pretend this never happened.”

It sounded like the most absurd joke I had ever heard.

“Apologize? I’m not the one who owes anyone an apology here, am I?”

His face turned icy.

“Starting today, I am terminating all cooperative ties with you. The Eastside District project you’re pushing forward? All key partners on that project are my connections. You should know that project can’t move forward without me.”

“I’ll give you three days to think about it. You’ve been sharp your entire life, Seraphina. Don’t make a foolish misstep

now.”

I watched his retreating back, and the last faint thread of warmth I still held for him vanished completely. When Finnick cared about someone, he would shower them with every treasure in the world, but once he turned on you, he was unapologetically ruthless.

He stayed true to his word. All partners pulled their funding overnight, the project ground to a halt, and panic spread through the entire company.

But I never begged him for mercy. Ten years ago, I was an orphan with no family to turn to, gritting my teeth to carve out a life for myself entirely on my own. Ten years on, I am just as capable of fighting my way out of this predicament.

A month later, I received a message from Lilia.

Lilla: Seraphina, Finnick and I are getting married next month. You’re the most important person in my life, and I want your blessing. I know I wronged you, but please, just this last time okav?l

I glanced down at the message once. then went back to my meeting and work, and did not reply.

On the day of the wedding. I still showed up on time.

Lilia stood pressed close to Finnick’s side, clinging to him like a gentle little bird, her eyes shining with sweet, blissful happiness. The moment they saw me, both their faces fell.

The entire room full of guests fell silent immediately. My relationship with Finnick had never been a secret over the years, and in just six months, the bride had been replaced.

Finnick instinctively stepped in front of her, his gaze guarded.

Lilia looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes.

“Seraphina… I…..*

I looked at the two of them and smiled softly.

“Don’t be nervous. I promised we would never miss each other’s most important moments. So today, I’m here to give you

my–wedding gift.”

Behind me, the large screen playing the couple’s sweet wedding vlog suddenly went black.

Chapter 5

The large screen went completely dark.

The guests whispered among themselves, and Finnick’s face changed drastically. Lilla subconsciously clenched the sleeve

of his shirt even tighter,

The next second, a photo popped up on the screen. It was a post Lilla had shared on her social media and deleted seconds after, from when I was away in Averland. Finnick was wrapping his arms around her from behind, the two of them standing on the balcony of my home. Behind them were the rose bushes I had planted with my own hands.

The entire venue burst into an uproar.

Finnick jerked his head up, “Turn it off! Who allowed you to play this?”

But right after, the second and third photos appeared one after another. They were hugging in my living room, cooking in my kitchen, smiling at each other in my bedroom. All of these were taken when I was still in Averland, before Finnick

and I had broken up.

Finnick finally lost his composure, striding toward me, “Seraphina, are you insane?”

I stood rooted to the spot, staring at him without moving. “Originally, out of respect for our past relationship. I was

willing to accept that you two betrayed me, and just cut all ties clean. But instead of feeling ashamed of what you did,

you targeted me at work. So I had to let everyone see what kind of person the high and mighty Mr. Hale really is. Do you

even deserve to be my business partner?”

“Three months ago, you offered to take care of my best friend while I was away, and you took care of her right into your

bed.”

“Now you’re holding your wedding trampling all over my feelings, and you still expect my blessing?”

I turned to look at Lilia, whose perfectly done makeup could not hide her deathly pale face. “Lilia, you asked me if I could forgive you one last time.”

“My answer is…”

“No.”

The guests who knew me started murmuring among themselves. Some pulled out their phones to record, while others wore looks of disgust.

Finnick’s mother was the first to lose her composure, rushing over and yanking at his arm, “Finnick, what is the meaning of this? Didn’t you say you and Seraphina broke up amicably?”

Lilia’s parents were livid, and Eleanor’s eyes were red with tears, “Lilia, you… how could you do such a thing? All these years, Seraphina has treated you, treated our family so well…”

Lilla’s lips trembled, and large tears rolled down her face, “Mom, I… it’s not like that…”

But she could not come up with any words to defend herself. Because every single one of these things was something shie

had actually done.

I looked calmly at the two people who had once been the most important in my life.

‘Our past relationship ends here.”

“Happy wedding.”

The harsh sunlight stung my eyes, making them burn, but my heart was calmer than it had ever been. From that day forward, I would never shed another tear for either of them.

Over the next week, the incident blew up faster than I had expected. Finnick’s company’s stock price plummeted immediately. Two partnership deals under negotiation fell through, and the board of directors held an emergency overnight meeting demanding he give an explanation.

Betrayal of trust is the biggest taboo in the business world, let alone the unsavory act of stealing his fiancee’s best friend. The partners who had once fraternized with him as close peers started avoiding him, and several long–term suppliers terminated their contracts under various pretexts. The reputation Finnick had always been so proud of hit rock bottom overnight.

Lilia had it even worse. Half of her socialite friends had been introduced to her by me. Now no one wanted to associate with her, and some even made snide remarks on their social media mocking her for knowingly being a homewrecker. The Sweet Haven Bakery Finnick had opened for her also landed on boycott lists, and its sales tanked drastically.

She sent me countless messages, starting with apologies, then begging, and finally descending into hysterics. She said I had no regard for old times, that I was cold and heartless, that I had forgotten how kind she had been to me back in the day.

I stared at those messages, and finally sent a reply.

[Lilia, I have more than repaid all the kindness you ever showed me. From now on, we are even.]

Then I blocked all her contact information.

A month later, I handed over company affairs to a reliable deputy, and left for Averland with a new project. As the plane flew over the Aurelian Ocean, I glanced down at the clouds outside the window. All those painful memories would stay right here. When I returned, I would be an entirely new person.