My Boyfriend Hated My Best Friend Until I Came Home Chapter 02

My Boyfriend Hated My Best Friend Until I Came Home Chapter 02

Finnick stood up, pressing his lips into a thin line. his face twisted with complicated emotions.

I owe you an apology. I’ll cede 20% of the profits from all our past collaborative projects. If you ever need my help in the

future, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

I only have one request. You mean the world to Lilia, and she cannot bear to lose you as a friend.”

I lifted my head to look at him, as if I had just heard the most absurd joke ever spoken. I laughed so hard that tears

spilled down my cheeks unbidden.

Three months earlier, I had used the exact same line to ask him to look after my best friend.

Three months later, I was the one being asked to make concessions for that same friend.

I heard my own voice waver slightly.

‘Finnick, do the two of you truly not realize how out of line you are?”

“What makes you think I, Seraphina Carter, deserve to be trampled all over by the two of you? I will make every last

thing you’ve done public. If you had the guts to do it, you have the guts to own up to it.”

Finnick stepped back, narrowing his eyes slightly.

“Seraphina, stop throwing a tantrum. You built your empire from scratch, and getting to where you are today was no

easy feat. Don’t throw everything away over a moment of reckless impulse.”

That faintly warning tone sent an involuntary shiver down my spine.

Finnick stared down at me from his lofty vantage point, every inch the powerful, untouchable magnate he was.

Outsiders always said Finnick was cold, detached, and completely unapproachable.

I had never agreed with that assessment before.

But in that moment, I realized the rumors were entirely accurate.

He had once lavished every bit of his tenderness on me, and now he was simply giving it all to someone else.

“I’m heading back first. She won’t sleep well at night if I’m not there.”

“I’ll take her away tomorrow. I’m sorry you have to put up with this for tonight.”

The door clicked shut behind him, and I finally collapsed onto the pillow, breaking down into ragged, uncontrollable

sobs.

Outside the window, the glittering, bustling city skyline stretched out endlessly.

I had rushed home exhausted from my business trip, only to be stranded in this ice–cold, impersonal hotel room.

Just a few hundred meters away, the two people who had once meant more to me than anyone else in the world were whispering sweet nothings while curled up in my bed, inside my own home.

How bitterly ironic.

The next day, I hid my puffy, red–rimmed eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses and parked my car outside Sweet Haven Bakery.

Lilia was in her work uniform. When she spotted me, her eyes first lit up with excitement, then dimmed immediately as she lowered her head dejectedly.

She brought me a cup of coffee and sat down across from me, her smile strained and forced as she spoke in a careful,

tentative tone.

“Seraphina, I know you’re furious with me. This is all my fault, I’m so sorry. I know you’ve always looked out for me, I never would have made it through these last few years without you…”

“Look, I have a job now. I will pay back every cent I owe you, I promise…”

I let out a cold, scoffing laugh as my gaze locked on her. She was nothing more than a regular baker, yet she was wearing jewelry worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“You’ll pay it back? On the salary you make from this job?”

Lilia froze, stunned.

She had gotten married right after graduating from Havenwood University, and became a full–time housewife.

immediately.

Her ex–husband had treated her well back then, indulging every last one of her petty little tantrums.

Combined with my own unconditional indulgence of her whims, Lilia’s life had been completely smooth sailing until half a year ago, when her husband cheated on her with his personal secretary.

He finalized the entire asset division in just two months, and kicked her out of their home with nothing.

If I hadn’t shown up just in time, she would have likely starved to death on the streets.

She had wanted to start a new life, but she had been so disconnected from the professional world for so many years that she was completely unqualified for most ordinary jobs,

Luckily, she had spent her years as a housewife experimenting with baking as a hobby, so she applied for a baker position at this very bakery.

I said nothing, simply waving a hand in the manager’s direction.

The store manager hurried over respectfully, bowing slightly as he came to a stop right in front of me.

“Ms. Carter, it’s a pleasure to see you.”

Lilla’s face drained of all color, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

I pulled off my sunglasses and spoke in a cool, even tone.

“You were completely shattered after your divorce, until you told me you wanted to get a job and build a new life for

yourself.”

“Lilla, you’re not an idiot. Why did you never stop to wonder why, when every other job application you sent was rejected immediately, you just so happened to get an offer from this bakery? And why on earth would they hire a baker with zero professional work experience?”

“I gave you my full, unreserved loyalty and care, and this is how you choose to repay me?”

Lilia’s eyelashes fluttered wildly, and hot tears streamed down her face, her voice shaking so hard it was almost unrecognizable.

“I didn’t know… I had no idea…”

She suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my hand in a vice grip.

“But he’s so good to me, he loves me. Seraphina, you’re so strong and capable, you can thrive no matter who is or isn’t by your side. But I can’t.”

“You said before that you would share everything you have with me. I don’t want anything else from you. I just want him. Please?”

I stared at her silently. We had known each other since we were three years old, twenty–five full years of friendship, and it was now completely shattered beyond repair.

“Ever since we were little kids, I have given you everything you ever asked for.”

“But Lilia, taking something that isn’t yours without asking? That’s stealing.”