Fiancé’s Regret After Cheating with My Best Friend

Three years ago, my best friend was hit by a car trying to save me. She had been in a coma ever since. I sat by her hospital bed, holding her hand. "Serena, you promised you'd be my maid of honor, remember? Julian and I finally set the date. Please wake up soon, okay? I miss you so much." My choked sobbing was cut short by a phone call. The nurse was asking me to come pay next month's hospital fees. But when I came back, I heard the voice I had been desperately waiting three years to hear. "Julian, you told me to wait for you while you broke things off with her." "I've waited three years for you! She comes to see me every single day, and all I can do is lie here." "Now you two are getting married. What about me!" Chapter 1 Cold sweat broke out across my skin in waves. My legs gave out and I slid down the wall outside the room. During the three years Serena had been "in a coma," I came to her room every single day after work without fail, talked to her, stayed at her bedside for two hours straight. Even my own mother, hospitalized in the same building, never got that kind of attention from me. At first, Julian was angry, upset that I was giving all my time to her. But gradually, he became even more devoted to her than I was. He started canceling work to stay overnight at her bedside, buying pastries from her favorite bakery and keeping them on her nightstand year-round. He even signed up for a virtual couple's app and created a dedicated album for Serena, where two little cartoon avatars bearing their names embraced in front of Sigiriya Rock in Sri Lanka. In another, the two avatars watched dolphins leap from the sea at sunset in Bali. But every one of those places was somewhere Serena and I had promised to visit together. All of it had crossed the line long ago. But he would hold me tight, sounding even more aggrieved than I felt. "Mia, if she hadn't taken that hit for you, you'd be the one lying in that bed. I'm doing all these nice things for her just to repay the debt on your behalf." Because of those weighty words, "repay the debt on your behalf," I swallowed my unease and forced myself to bear it. It turned out all the signs had been there all along. I was just the fool who missed them. I didn't even realize tears were streaming down my face until they started dripping onto my phone. Inside the room, their conversation continued. Julian's voice was as gentle as ever. "It's okay, I'll figure out how to balance everything. Just bear with me a little longer. The wedding with her is just a ceremony, no legal registration. It won't be legally binding." "After the wedding, I'll have a death certificate made saying you've passed away. Then I'll send you to Nice, and I'll come visit you whenever I can." If hearing Serena's voice had been a blow to the head, then Julian's words ripped my heart clean open. The pain was so intense that even my breathing shook. It wasn't just the past three years I had lost. Even the future I had been looking forward to was nothing more than a stepping stone for the two of them. Footsteps approached from inside the room. I scrambled to wipe my tears. Julian saw my ashen face and rushed over to steady me, his expression full of concern. "Babe, why are you crying?" Serena had already lain back down in bed. I looked up at Julian and said coolly, "I'm fine. The doctor just said Serena's numbers look good. I'm happy for her." Julian stroked my hair and said softly, "Babe, you're so kind." I was about to say something when Julian's phone rang. He slipped away to the emergency stairwell to take the call. I followed him quietly. "Get that death certificate sorted as soon as possible. Let me know whatever you need..." "I have no choice. I promised that if she ever woke up, I'd give her a home." "The two of them grew up together. If Serena died because she saved Mia, Mia wouldn't survive it." "No. I can give Serena everything she wants, but Mrs. Ashford can only be Mia!" "She loves me. A little sweet talk and she'll come around. I'm only taking care of her best friend because I care about her. She'll understand." I stood in the dim stairwell, cold to the bone. The sheer absurdity of it made me sick. I turned around and found a nurse, holding myself together by sheer will. "The patient in Room 711. I'd like to apply for a hospital transfer." The nurse pulled up the medical records and frowned slightly. "Your mother's heart failure has only just started to stabilize. Are you sure you want to transfer her now? Didn't Mr. Ashford say he was going to arrange the best cardiac surgeon here to do the operation?" "...I'm not waiting anymore. I'm taking her somewhere better." The truth was, I had already received an offer from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where a world-class cardiac surgery team could treat my mother. Years ago, I had given up that opportunity to stay behind and take care of Serena. Now it was time to take back the life that belonged to me. The nurse looked over the paperwork. "Since you have the acceptance letter, we'll certainly cooperate. But the transfer process is quite involved, and with the discharge paperwork and billing, it'll take ten days." Ten days was also exactly how long remained until Julian's meticulously planned "grand wedding." Julian, instead of going through all that trouble to stage a fake marriage, wouldn't it be much simpler if I just left? Chapter 2 After I finished packing, I received a message. It was from a nurse at the hospital, saying that Miss Blake had woken up and was calling my name, asking if I could come see her. As if she actually wanted me there. She just needed to steal Julian, and she couldn't keep pretending to be asleep anymore. I went anyway. Even though every feeling I had was in tatters, I still wanted a final reckoning with her. The hospital room was silent. On her nightstand sat her phone and two pills. The phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a text from an unsaved number: [When are you sending the rest of my $150,000? Stop playing dead. If you don't pay up, that recording of you hiring me to run you both over three years ago goes straight to Julian Ashford tomorrow! Money or your high-society fantasy. Your choice.] Those few short lines struck me like a bolt of lightning. Blood rushed to my head and my fingers wouldn't stop trembling. Could it be that the savior I had prayed for day and night, the one I had wished I could suffer in place of, was actually the person who paid someone to kill me three years ago? "Enjoying the show?" A cold, eerie voice cut through the silence of the room. I looked up sharply and met Serena's eyes, already wide open. She sat up slowly, unhurried. There was no panic at being caught. Instead, her eyes gleamed with the vindictive pleasure of something long suppressed finally being set free. "Since you've seen it all, there's no point in pretending anymore." Serena settled back against her pillow. "Mia, you've had everything handed to you since we were kids. Did you really think I was destined to be nothing more than your shadow my whole life?" "That car accident was supposed to kill you. But now I think... using a life debt to steal Julian, watching you wait on me hand and foot like some pathetic servant, that's so much more satisfying than just watching you die." Looking at that face, I felt nothing. "Three years lying in the dark, just to prove to me that you could steal a man?" "Serena, you're pathetic." She flushed with fury. "Don't you dare look down on me, Mia!" But Julian's hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the door. Serena instantly softened her expression. In the instant before the door was pushed open, she grabbed the two pills from the nightstand, shoved them into my hand, flopped back onto the bed, and wailed, "Mia! I know I shouldn't have pretended to be in a coma, but I did save your life. How could you... try to poison me!" The door flew open and Julian burst in. Seeing Serena trembling, he fixed his eyes on me. "Mia, what's going on?" Before I could speak, a nurse rushed in from the hallway in a panic. "Mr. Ashford! Miss Harper just switched Miss Blake's vitamins with... with some unknown pills!" I looked at the nurse. I had never seen her face before. It hit me instantly. Serena had set this whole thing up. But before I could defend myself, Serena was already sobbing hysterically. "Julian, Mia's right. I shouldn't have fallen in love with you. I shouldn't have faked the coma to deceive her... I should have just died in that accident." "Mia, give me that poison. I'll take it right now so I won't be an eyesore to you anymore." I stared at this woman who had just turned reality inside out, unable to believe she was the girl I had grown up with. Julian's face darkened and he immediately moved to shield her. I stared at him. "Your elaborate scheme to fake a wedding and fake her death to fool me was bad enough. Now you're pinning this pathetic setup on me too? The car accident three years ago was actually her..." "You eavesdropped on my call?!" Julian's eyes flared with anger. "If you have a problem, take it up with me. Serena's been lying here for three years and just woke up. How could she possibly be scheming against you? You're the one who tried to poison her in a hospital to keep us apart!" "You really think I'm the kind of person who'd poison someone out of jealousy?" I stared him down. "After all these years together, do you believe me or not?" He glanced at the mess on the floor, and a flicker of guilty hesitation crossed his eyes. But at that moment, Serena suddenly went into violent convulsions. That sight swallowed every trace of hesitation in Julian's eyes, replacing it with sheer panic and rage. "Serena!" His eyes went red. He whipped around and glared at me as though I were his worst enemy, knocking the pills from my hand. "Hold her down!" he barked. Bodyguards rushed in from outside and wrenched my arms behind my back. "Since you refuse to repent, swallow these yourself!" He pried my jaw open with terrifying force, shoved the pills into my mouth, and clamped his hand over my lips until I swallowed. The rough pills scraped down my throat, leaving the taste of blood as they hit my stomach. His voice was ice-cold. "Relax, it's just a little punishment. The Ashford family has the best medical team. You won't die." The pills burned their way down. A minute later, searing cramps erupted in my stomach. The pain was so intense I couldn't even gasp. As my vision blurred, the last thing I saw was Julian's resolute expression. Five minutes later, I lost consciousness completely. Chapter 3 When I woke up in a hospital bed, every part of my body felt like it had been crushed. Julian was sitting beside me. He reached out to help me up, but I turned away from him coldly. His hand froze in midair and he sighed. "Mia, those pills were just a high-dose emetic to make you suffer a little and learn your lesson. The nurse saw you switch the medication. If I hadn't done that, Serena would've called the police in a rage and ruined your life. I was protecting you. Stop being upset, okay?" I looked at this hypocrite and didn't even bother with a scoff. Just then, his phone buzzed with a message from Serena. Julian glanced down, his expression shifting slightly, then made a hasty excuse and left. Fighting through the stomach pain, I braced myself against the wall and made my way out of the room, heading to the cardiac ward to pick up my mother's transfer documents. As I passed the VIP clinic at the end of the hallway, a sharp, piercing laugh reached my ears. It was Serena's. I moved closer and heard the doctor say, "Almost four weeks along. Developing nicely. Just avoid any strenuous activity from now on." Serena cooed coyly, "It's all your fault... keeping me up every night last month..." Four weeks? Last month? My heart skipped a beat, then a bone-deep chill washed over me. One night toward the end of last month, my mother's heart failure had flared up. I thought she was dying. I called Julian all night in desperation. His phone was off the entire time. The next day he came to me with bloodshot eyes and explained that his phone had died that night. So on the night my mother's life hung in the balance, when I was at my most helpless and terrified, he had been in another woman's bed. When Serena's appointment ended, I tried to slip away, but she spotted me and blocked my path. "You heard all that, didn't you? The baby I'm carrying is Julian's." "Mia, I'm done handing you opportunities." I looked at her, expressionless. "Move. I don't want to see you, and I'm not going to fight over trash." Serena's eyes reddened instantly as she put on a wounded look. "How can you say something so hurtful? No matter what, I'm still the one who saved your life..." From behind me, Julian's voice rang out. "Mia, stop bullying her!" "This baby is my responsibility!" "I know you feel wronged. I'll legally register our marriage at the wedding. I'll make you Mrs. Ashford, officially! I won't lie to you again!" "But!" He shielded Serena behind him. "Serena is carrying my child. I have to keep her by my side! It's what I owe her! I'm already giving you the marriage. I have to give her my responsibility..." I looked at this unbelievably selfish man. It was almost laughable. "Do whatever you want." I was leaving anyway. He could marry whoever he wanted, take care of whoever he pleased. He thought he could keep two women satisfied at the same time. But he completely missed the burning resentment smoldering in Serena's eyes. Chapter 4 Three days before the wedding, a nurse called to ask me to come in for the transfer paperwork. I had barely stepped into the hallway when the shrill wail of an emergency alarm tore through the air. Several doctors burst out of a room pushing a gurney, and on it lay my mother, wearing an oxygen mask, her face drained of all color. "The patient's in acute heart failure! Get her to the ER now! Page the cardiac team and prep the bypass machine!" The forms scattered from my hands. My mind went blank. White as a sheet, I chased after the gurney and planted myself outside the operating room. Julian rushed over after getting a call from the nurse. Seeing my trembling shoulders, he wrapped his arms around me tightly, his voice solemn. "Mia, I've already called in the best cardiac surgeon! Our wedding is just around the corner. Your mother will pull through and be there to bless us!" Before he could finish, a frantic set of footsteps came pounding down the hallway. "Mr. Ashford! It's an emergency!" "Miss Blake collapsed into shock in her room for no apparent reason! After three years bedridden, her heart and lung function is extremely weak. She and the baby could both die at any moment. She needs the bypass machine immediately!" Julian's face drained of color. Almost simultaneously, the ER doors burst open and a nurse shouted desperately into the hallway, "Hurry! The patient's crashing! Is the bypass machine here yet? Get the cardiac team in here!" The hospital's only available bypass machine sat in the middle of the hallway. The doctor froze. On one side, a dying mother. On the other, a pregnant woman in acute distress. He instinctively looked to Julian. "Save Serena first!" Julian's eyes were bloodshot. He gave the order without a second's hesitation. The nurse was horrified. "Mr. Ashford, Mrs. Harper is on the brink of death! Without this machine and the specialists, she won't survive five minutes!" Julian whipped around, cruelty written across his face. "Mrs. Harper is already terminal. What's the point of saving her?!" "Serena is young, and she's carrying my child! Besides, if she hadn't taken that hit for Mia years ago, her heart and lungs wouldn't be this fragile! If something happens to her, Mia would never be able to repay that debt! Do as I say. I'll take full responsibility!" I stood frozen, like I'd been dropped into ice water. I could only watch as the machine that could have saved my mother's life was turned around by Julian's command and wheeled toward Serena's room. Outside the ER, only a young nurse assigned to take notes remained. She looked at me with reddened eyes, her voice filled with sympathy and dread. "Miss Harper... did Miss Blake visit your mother's room earlier?" My entire body jolted. "What did you say?" The nurse bit her lip, her voice shaking. "Half an hour ago, I saw her go into Mrs. Harper's room. I don't know what she said, but your mother suddenly lost control of her emotions and started coughing up blood... Miss Blake walked out smiling and warned me to keep my mouth shut. Your mother's condition couldn't withstand that kind of shock. She triggered it on purpose..." Hearing this, I nearly blacked out, but I summoned every last shred of strength and went to beg Julian. In the VIP suite, the entire emergency team was gathered around Serena. I forgot about every argument, every shred of dignity. I dropped to my knees in front of Julian, sobbing. "Julian, I'm begging you, for the sake of our eight years together, please save my mother first, please..." But when I looked up, there was not a trace of compassion on his face. "Mia, don't think I can't see right through you." "Serena is already so bad off from what you did that she needs injections to keep the baby. Now you're using your mother as an excuse to pull the doctors away so she'll miscarry." I clutched at his pant leg, whimpering. "I never did anything to hurt her. She planned the car accident. She went to my mother's room on purpose to provoke her and kill her..." Julian frowned and dragged me out of the room by the arm. "Mia, if you slander Serena one more time, or make up another excuse to endanger her, I'll pull the medical team right now! In five minutes, you'll really lose her." "And the doctor says Serena needs rest. Stop making a scene. Once I'm done here, I'll come check on your mother." Security escorted me out. Through the crack in the door, I saw Serena. Where were the blue lips and the shock? There was nothing but a triumphant smile. The door slammed shut. The attending physician from the ER walked out, exhausted, shaking his head. "Miss Harper, without the equipment, there was nothing we could do... Go in and say your goodbyes." I walked into the room in a daze, knelt beside the bed, and gripped my mother's hand with everything I had. Mom struggled to open her eyes. "Mia... I watched Serena grow up... I knew she was always jealous of you, but I never imagined jealousy could twist her this far... They won't be happy... Don't waste yourself on those two!" She coughed. "They're not worth it..." Mom lifted her hand with great effort, gently touched my face, and forced a serene smile. "Leave this place. Spread your wings. Be free..." "Mom! Don't leave me!" I was crying too hard to form a single complete word, just shaking my head desperately. "Silly girl, from now on, I won't be holding you back anymore..." Before she could finish, her hand slipped from my face. The rolling waves on the heart monitor flattened into one piercing, unbroken line. I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood. Minutes later, Julian's assistant arrived with two doctors. Seeing that my mother's heart monitor had been disconnected, they froze. The assistant forced himself to speak. "Mr. Ashford sent us to check on the situation. Once Miss Blake is stable, he'll be right..." I turned my head, bloodshot eyes boring into them. "Get out." Julian, it was all too late. You sacrificed my mother's life to save that so-called baby, and now you had the nerve to send people over pretending to care. The room fell silent again. I knelt by the bed, my mother's last words echoing over and over in my mind. "They're not worth it. Spread your wings. Be free." I would go far, far away, and soar higher than ever before.