Accusations and Heartache

Marcus suddenly appeared out of nowhere and rushed into the master bedroom. Lucy stood rooted in the hallway, unsure what was happening.

“Lucy! Get here right now!” Marcus’s voice thundered from inside the room.

A chill ran down her spine. When she entered, she found the bottle of baby formula she had carefully prepared now splashed across the floor. The baby was wailing in Clara’s arms.

“What is going on?” Lucy asked, bewildered.

“What did you do? Why did you make it so hot?” Marcus questioned angrily.

“I didn’t,” Lucy replied firmly. “I checked the temperature with a thermometer and followed the instructions step by step.”

“Lucy, I know you don’t want us here, but there’s no need to target my innocent little baby,” Clara said, her voice laced with hurt.

Lucy turned to Marcus, desperation in her eyes. “Marcus, you have to believe me. I didn’t do anything intentionally. I watched multiple YouTube videos and prepared it exactly as instructed.”

She could already see from the look on his face that he didn’t believe her.

“Lucy, I never expected this kind of behavior from you,” he said, disappointment heavy in his tone.

Right. He didn’t believe her. Tears clouded Lucy’s vision as she slowly walked out of the room. Once inside her new guest bedroom, she discarded her clothes and sank into the bathtub, hoping the cool water would help clear her head.

This was not the life she had wanted. This was not the future she had dreamed of for herself. She had always aspired to be an important woman in high society — to own a successful fashion brands and be respected among the elite. Instead, she now felt like a stranger in her own home.

Marcus had always believed her. He had never doubted her word, especially after everything they had endured together. But now that Clara was back, Lucy couldn’t help but feel deeply threatened. After all, Clara and Marcus had a romantic past.

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It all started ten years ago when her childhood best friend Marcus begged her to marry him after a baby was abandoned on his doorstep. He claimed he had gotten drunk and had a one-night stand with a stranger on the very day he broke up with his girlfriend Clara — who also happened to be Lucy’s best friend.

Lucy and Marcus came from families that were close friends and neighbors, making the two of them inseparable age mates since childhood. With no siblings of her own, Lucy quickly saw Marcus as a brother figure.

As they grew older and entered high school, Lucy met Clara, a normal girl from a middle-class family. They became best friends despite their different backgrounds. Since Lucy and Marcus were always together, Clara naturally became part of their circle.

However, Lucy started developing romantic feelings for Marcus. She confided everything in Clara because she lacked the courage to confess to him directly. Clara told her that Marcus only saw her as a sister and advised her to keep her feelings hidden so as not to ruin their long friendship. Lucy heeded the advice and buried her emotions deep in her heart.

The worst heartbreak came in senior year when Marcus asked Clara out in front of the entire school, and she accepted. Devastated, Lucy confronted Clara, who gave the excuse that she couldn’t reject him publicly as it would be too humiliating.

Lucy was then forced to watch Clara and Marcus’s relationship flourish. They became the school’s most romantic couple. Every time she saw them making out or acting lovey-dovey in front of her, her heart shattered.

A breaking point came on her sixteenth birthday when her parents died in a plane crash. Marcus was there to comfort her through the darkest moments, which brought them even closer. During that time, she made peace with her feelings and started seeing him strictly as a friend.

Her parents had left her substantial properties and assets, but she could only access them after marriage. Their company was placed under Marcus’s parents’ management until she came of age. After the tragedy, Lucy moved in with Marcus’s family.

A year later, Marcus’s father and older brother Karl were involved in a terrible road accident. The father died, and Karl was left crippled in a coma. Under Stella’s poor management, both family companies went bankrupt, leaving them drowning in debt.

Life became incredibly hard for the newly graduated Lucy and Marcus. Their house was sold to repay debts, and they found themselves on the streets. While their peers went off to college, they took whatever low-paying jobs they could find. Through all the hardship, they stuck together and comforted each other.

It was during this difficult period that Clara broke up with Marcus and cut ties with Lucy, declaring in harsh words that she couldn’t be friends with losers.