The Best Mate He Trusted Wanted Me More Chapter 01

The Best Mate He Trusted Wanted Me More Chapter 01

After I finally got Julian Hartley, he was still colder to me than a London flat in January with the heat off.

When The System asked what reward I wanted, a reader feed popped up in front of me.

“If I were Clara, I’d make the male lead’s best friend, the one who looks down on her, fall for her instead.”

“Whoever said that deserves a medal. The guy who called her a simp ends up becoming the biggest simp of all? I need to see that.”

So when Julian decided not to come home again, Rowan Blackwell showed up at our Notting Hill townhouse to cook.

When Julian stood me up, Rowan was already waiting by the door with his car to take me out.

When we went out together and my shoelace came loose, Julian hadn’t even moved, but his best friend was already down on one knee, tying it for me.

The reader feed went wild.

“This man is speed-running his own downfall.”

“Someone tell the best friend not to walk straight into this mess. But when it’s his turn, he runs in like he has zero survival instinct.”

My cold boyfriend finally lost it for the first time.

“I worried about everyone else, and it was you the whole time? You told me to break up with her every single day just so you could steal her?”

The more the reader feed pushed Rowan as my next option, the more I wanted to reject it.

Sure, Julian was cold, but I genuinely loved his face.

I’d met his best friend a few times. Compared to Julian’s restrained, icy good looks, Rowan was handsome in a much sharper, more aggressive way.

And Rowan disliked me even more than the feed made it sound.

Maybe it was because the wealth gap between Julian and me was too wide, or maybe because I’d been so open when I pursued him.

Rowan had hinted to my face more than once that I was nothing but a gold-digger.

I wasn’t exactly looking for someone to make my life harder. If he was going to pursue me, I’d have to deal with that scowling face every single day.

The System nudged me again.

“Host, have you made up your mind?”

I nodded.

“I don’t need to…”

Before I could finish, my phone rang.

I swiped to answer. It was my boyfriend, Julian.

“Clara, don’t wait up for dinner. I’m working late.”

Before I could say anything, he hung up.

I stared at the full table of food, my shoulders slowly dropping.

The reader feed started jumping.

“Julian is actually hopeless. He’s clearly crazy about Clara. He stares at her for hours every night while she sleeps, but he still keeps his distance.”

“Blame his Mayfair friends. They’re always warning him to be careful. They drag him to the private club the second he’s off work. This time too, they pulled him away just to break them up.”

“Stop making excuses for men. He’s a finance heir. If he can’t even make his own decisions, then when his girlfriend dumps him, he could flood the Thames with tears and I still wouldn’t feel sorry for him.”

My brow furrowed slightly.

Julian wasn’t working late today?

Before I could check, my phone buzzed with a message.

It was from Rowan.

In the photo, Julian was sitting in a corner of the Mayfair private club, looking rough and drinking alone.

Before I could get a good look, the message disappeared.

“Sent to the wrong person.”

I took a deep breath as the reader feed exploded.

“That was straight-up provocation!”

“Last time he called Clara a simp. Now this. Rowan is the messy second lead, no question.”

I stared at the winking emoji he’d sent and felt my temper start to rise.

“The System, I choose Rowan Blackwell. Make him come after me.”

I gritted my teeth.

He walked right into this one.