The Best Mate He Trusted Wanted Me More Chapter 10

The Best Mate He Trusted Wanted Me More Chapter 10

I wasn’t sure who threw the first punch.

They were grappling on the ground.

I was done. I went inside, filled a bowl with water, and threw it over both of them.

Sometimes reasoning doesn’t work. Cold water does.

They both froze, soaked, like it snapped them back to reality.

I tossed a towel at Julian and went to get the first-aid kit.

“This isn’t going to scar, is it?”

The little cut on his cheek made me wince.

I wasn’t done looking at that face.

“Clara Sutton, are you serious? I’m hurt too!”

Rowan’s voice came from behind me, dark and sharp.

I didn’t turn around.

“First-aid stuff is on the table. Help yourself.”

Julian’s eyes lit up.

He stared at the antiseptic swab in my hand for a few seconds before speaking, his voice raw.

“Clara. No more seeing him. We go back to how it used to be. Okay?”

My hand paused mid-swipe.

I could hear Rowan’s breathing behind me, and for a second, I hesitated.

“Of course.”

The second the words left my mouth, I heard Rowan’s teeth grind.

“Fine, Clara.”

He stormed out.

I stood up and put the bottle away.

“There was nothing between us. Just a couple of meals.”

Julian sat there, still and silent, staring at nothing.

Whether he believed me or not, I couldn’t tell.

The two of them were clearly done with each other.

Julian started flooding his Instagram Stories with our photos, like he was marking his territory.

Whenever he wasn’t at work, he kept me close.

During work hours, he’d suddenly video-call.

A few times late at night, I caught him staring at my phone.

I handed it to him. He wouldn’t take it.

“I wish I could go back to the day we first met. I’d follow my heart this time. I wouldn’t let other people talk me into pulling away from you. I wouldn’t ignore you or stay out all night…”

On Julian’s birthday, he invited no one.

Sitting in front of the cake I’d made, he closed his eyes to make a wish.

I heard the first words and cut in.

“Don’t wish for the past. Wish for the future.”

When he opened his eyes, the corners were red and wet.

“Then I wish Clara stays with me forever. Only me…”

His voice died as my phone rang.

I reached over and silenced it.

But Julian couldn’t finish his sentence.

The candlelight flickered.

He stared at me.

“I just wish you’d stay with me. That’s enough.”

Rowan didn’t know when to quit.

Right after Julian made his wish, his mother Margaret Hartley called.

While he took the call, I stepped outside to take out the trash.

I barely made it past the door before someone cornered me against the wall.

Rowan reeked of liquor.

His breath was hot against my neck.

“Clara. You drive me crazy. You won’t answer calls or texts. You pull me in, then shove me away.”

I cut him off.

“What do you actually want? You’ve been waiting this long. That’s all you have to say?”

His voice broke.

In the dark, I could see a flicker of fire in his eyes.

“What’s he got that I don’t? I’m not bad-looking, am I? Why him and not me?”

I paused.

“Because he looks beautiful when he cries. And… I only started this to get back at you.”

Rowan’s jaw was tight.

“I can cry too. I… you want revenge? Then take it. Take your revenge. I’ll take it.”

I didn’t need to check the reader feed to know they were calling him a simp.

Just like he’d called me one.

I pushed him off and walked back inside.

Julian was still sitting by the cake. Like he’d just hung up.

“Clara Sutton.”

In all our time dating, he’d never used my full name.

“You only like me because I look pretty when I cry?”