Ch60 - Why not say sooner

Lydia’s face went ghost-white. She was gripping her phone so hard it looked like she might crush it.

Felix panicked and quickly pried it out of her hands before she hurt herself. She just stood there, frozen. He let out a helpless sigh.

“What the hell did you do two days ago to make Julian snap like that? And what was that crap you said earlier—‘I didn’t know the drink was spiked’? What does that even mean?”

Felix thought for a second, then frowned deeper. “Who tried to set him up? Don’t tell me it’s his stepmother again?”

“DON’T start guessing. Pretend you heard nothing,” Lydia snapped, cutting him off.

Felix went silent. The truth was, Julian had survived a lot of so-called “accidents” in the past. That’s why he refused to fly private now, why he was paranoid about everything he ate or touched. Behind that carefree, playboy façade, the guy was always on edge. His father’s and brother’s ‘accidents’ never stopped hanging over him.

The three of them had been inseparable for nearly ten years—brothers who crawled out of the same hell. Felix genuinely thought nothing could break that bond.

But ever since Julian got married, things changed.

Not between all three of them—between Julian and Lydia.

Something was off.

They were supposed to be on the same mission, chasing justice for Victor, and now they were splitting in completely different directions. 

From the looks of it, Lydia was the one who changed—she didn’t care about Victor’s case the way she used to. She even said she’d spill everything to Julian’s stepmother Serena.

Even if it was said out of anger, it was the kind of threat you don’t make. Not ever.

Because if Serena found out Julian had been suspecting the crash wasn’t an accident… she’d dig.

And once she dug, everything Julian spent ten years building would go up in smoke.

Lydia stayed silent, face hard, refusing to say a word about what happened at the restaurant.

Felix slid a glass of whiskey toward her.

“Look… whatever happened between you two, and however long he’s pissed at you—it’s one thing. But if you seriously switch sides and help Serena? You’ll destroy him. He won’t forgive you. And then there’s no fixing anything. And besides…”

He stopped himself.

He really wanted to say: If you do that, I won’t be able to forgive you either.

Lydia took a sip of whiskey, the ice hitting her teeth so cold it made her jaw twitch, but it also cleared her head a little. 

She admitted it—just now she really did have a moment where she wanted to drag Julian down with her. She just wanted him to look at her, really look at her, and he wouldn’t budge—not even an inch. 

So she snapped. Said all that crap. Most of it was just anger talking anyway.

Lydia contemplated reporting Julian to Serena, but that move was way too messy. He wasn’t the helpless kid he was ten years ago; if he went head-to-head with Serena now, even if the timing was earlier than planned, he still had a shot. 

And once he took her down and reclaimed everything that belonged to him… the next person he'd deal with would probably be her. She and her family's company might not survive that hit.

So was she really gonna push things until none of them could turn back? 

The thought made her stomach twist. She wasn’t willing—not willing to accept why Julian wouldn’t even look at her, why he wouldn’t lie a little just to calm her down, why he’d rather hang up on her like she was some crazy woman. 

That humiliation burned like acid. She downed the rest of her drink in one go and wiped her mouth. “He said it himself—Violet doesn’t know anything about what he’s going through. I’m the one who knows him. So why the hell won’t he choose me?”

The burn in her throat wasn’t the alcohol; it was pure bitterness.

Felix dragged a chair over, sat down facing her. 

“What the hell are you even doing? If you liked him, why didn’t you say something sooner? He’s married now. No matter what their relationship is like, barging in now is just wrong.”

“He said from the beginning he wouldn’t get into a relationship until he handled the revenge thing. How was I supposed to confess and ruin that for him?” Lydia frowned, her whole face tight.

Felix blinked, confused. “You know how important revenge is to him, and you used that to threaten him? And look at what you’ve been doing—you’re literally screwing up his progress.”

“I—” Lydia’s words stuck in her throat, her face flushing red.

“Think, okay? Don’t let your emotions blind you. You wanna lose your friend for good?”

Silence dropped between them again.

Lydia muttered under her breath, “Friends are forever… wives… they get divorced someday…”

“What? Didn’t hear you,” Felix said.

“Nothing.” She avoided his eyes.

They sat there drinking for a good while, both lost in their own thoughts.

Lydia wrestled with herself for a while, then glanced at him, nervous. “But I already pissed Julian off. How am I supposed to fix that now?”

Felix let out a long sigh. “Everyone’s heated right now. My advice? Stay out of his sight for a bit. And use your connections, think of how you can actually help him.”

“Help him…” she repeated under her breath.

“I mean real help, not whatever crazy shit you pulled this week. Don’t do anything stupid,” Felix warned again, clearly worried.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Either do something useful for his business, or help him get intel. I’m not an idiot,” Lydia muttered, annoyed he was spelling it out like she was twelve.

Felix raised a brow, still not convinced. “So what exactly set you off two days ago? Or who pushed you? ’Cause you don’t randomly screw Julian over like that.”

Lydia froze. Serena’s voice flashed through her mind… and just like that, the realization hit her—Serena had played her. Used her like a pawn. That damn fox got to Julian, tried to kick Violet out, and walked away untouched. 

The humiliation and regret hit Lydia so hard her hand shook as she slammed the glass onto the table.

Felix flinched at the sound. “Alright, alright, forget it. Just—don’t let anyone use you again. And if anything happens, anything, you call me first. Yeah?”

Lydia shot him a sideways glance and bumped his elbow with hers. “Okay, don’t go full Dad-mode on me.”

She shoved her empty glass toward him. “It’s gone. Pour me more.”

Felix pressed his lips together, shook his head like he couldn’t believe her, then went to get the bottle anyway.

A light buzz hit her, and Lydia finally admitted to herself she shouldn’t go anywhere near Serena for now—the woman was way more dangerous than she’d thought; plus Serena couldn’t find out she and Julian were actually close. And honestly, Serena wouldn’t have any useful intel left for her to steal, not anytime soon.

While she was thinking about her next move, she scrolled through her phone and saw her friends’ group chat: “Heard Marcus and Allison’s wedding is off.”

Marcus… Julian’s cousin.

She suddenly remembered her dad mentioning that their company might work with Ashford soon. Maybe she could suggest offering Ashford Biotech a risk model and insurance evaluation for that gene therapy project they were about to launch.

She’d heard about that project ages ago—huge potential, high clinical risk, massive liability exposure. Ashford would definitely need a solid insurance partner.

Her dad would 100% approve. Then she’d have a legitimate reason to get close to Marcus. And once she got her hands on anything useful—even a tiny bit—Julian would have to see her differently. Maybe forgive her. Maybe even get closer to her…

Only one problem left—

The drunk idiot suddenly stood straight up, scaring the hell out of Felix. He stared at her. “What the hell—sit down, you’re drunk. Why are you standing?”

“I’m going to find my dad,” Lydia said firmly.

“Uh—didn’t you just tell me you two fought?”

“I realized I was wrong. I’m gonna go make up with him.” She spun around, already heading out.

Felix blinked, totally lost, but he’d known her long enough to be used to her sudden ideas. He grabbed his jacket and followed her. “Hey—wait up, I’m driving you.”