I Married The Same Man As My Best Friend Chapter 01

I Married The Same Man As My Best Friend Chapter 01

My best friend and I married into the most powerful family in Sterling, one of the wealthiest cities in the nation.

I married Julian Roth. She married his younger brother, Dorian.

We lived in matching mansions across the street from each other. We promised to be sisters for life.

Until the night Julian was supposed to be overseas.

I went to Vanessa’s house without calling first.

That’s when I saw Dorian peel off a silicone prosthetic mask and reveal Julian’s face underneath. He pulled Vanessa into his arms and whispered, “I only pretend to be out of town so I can sneak time with you and Leo. I’m sorry you two have to live like this.”

My heart stopped.

There were no brothers. There was only Julian. Playing both parts from the very beginning.

I walked away in shock.

But that night, Julian stormed into our house and shouted at me violently and shoved me aside.

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” he snapped.

“Even if Vanessa and I lied to you, Elise, that doesn’t mean you can hurt her kid.”

“You wanna play dirty? I’ll show you what it really feels like to lose a child.”

He locked our daughter away and terrified her until she broke.

He harmed her so deeply that she was gone forever.

I begged. I screamed. I clawed at his shirt.

Julian didn’t even blink.

“Vanessa’s son is still in the hospital. Remember this.”

He walked away. I broke free from his security and threw myself in front of the car.

But it was too late.

Lily was already gone.

That was the moment every last drop of love I had for Julian Roth burned to ash.

……

Lily’s body had already turned cold.

She felt light in my arms, like a crushed pile of autumn leaves.

I sat on the freezing asphalt, holding what used to be my little girl. The one who used to scream “Mommy!” every time I picked her up from preschool.

Now she was gone, taken from me too soon.

Ninety-nine times.

Julian took his favorite Porsche and hurt his own daughter on the same private road where we’d once driven home from our wedding reception.

“Lily… No more hurt. Mommy’s taking you home.”

I couldn’t cry anymore. My throat tasted like copper.

I carried her back to the house across the street. The one where Vanessa lived with the man I thought was Dorian.

When I pushed open my own front door, Julian was sitting on the leather couch, slowly unbuttoning his shirt cuffs.

He’d changed into a light gray sweater—the one “Dorian” always wore. But the face underneath was the same nightmare.

He didn’t even look up.

“You’re back? Go shower. Don’t get anything on the floor. Vanessa’s kid isn’t stable yet, and wipe that sour look off your face.”

I stood there frozen. I looked down at the unrecognizable lump in my arms. Then back at him.

My voice came out like broken glass.

“Julian. Lily is dead. You killed your own daughter.”

“Enough.”

He stood up and crossed the room in three steps.

He glanced at the “thing” in my arms like it was rubbish.

“Elise, how long are you going to keep this act up? It was a doll. Security dragged a doll around for a few miles. You’re really going to fake our daughter’s death for attention?”

A doll.

I looked down at Lily’s tiny fingers, still clutching gravel from underneath the car.

My chest split open.

He had seen what happened. He just chose to call it an act so he could sleep at night.

“Look at her, Julian! She had a heartbeat. She had bones. She used to hug your leg when you came home from work!”

I tried to shove Lily toward his face, to force him to see.

“Get off me.”

He pushed me so hard I hit the floor.

Lily’s body slipped from my arms and made a wet, hollow sound against the marble.

Julian didn’t even glance down.

He just wiped his hands like he’d touched something dirty.

“I told you. If you touch Vanessa or Leo, I will make you pay a hundred times over.

Now get up. We’re going to the hospital. You’re going to apologize on your knees.”

He grabbed my arm and forced me toward the door.

Behind us, Lily’s pink hair bow fell onto the floor.

It glowed bright against the dark mark on the floor.

“Julian! That was your daughter! Your own flesh! You’re cruel and heartless!”

I scratched at his hands until my nails left deep grooves in his skin.

He stopped.

Then he smiled.

He leaned down close to my ear and spoke in a voice so soft it made my skin crawl.

“My daughter? Elise, Julian is your husband. Dorian is Vanessa’s husband. Since I made up Dorian… then Lily was just a prop I had to produce to keep the lie going.”

“Vanessa gets my heart. Leo gets my name. You and that little mistake? You were just covering.”

He shoved me into the back of the Porsche.

The same car that had dragged my daughter for ninety-nine miles.

The leather still smelled like smoke and lingered marks.

“When we get there, if Vanessa doesn’t forgive you, I’ll pick up your parents from their retirement home. And they can try those ninety-nine laps on that road themselves.”

He started the engine.

In the rearview mirror, I saw his cold, unfamiliar profile.

I curled up in the back seat and dug my nails into the leather.

Lily, did you hear that?

Your father said you were just a prop.

I closed my eyes and let the tears run into my mouth.

Julian. Vanessa.

You want a show?

Fine.

Let’s play.