Lahat ng Kabanata ng Chasing my Bestfriend × Lover: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

ADRIAN'S POV The world had gone quiet. Not a gentle, peaceful quiet, but a sudden, jarring silence that felt wrong, unnatural. One moment, there was the screech of tires, the horrifying crunch of metal, a blast of heat, and the terrible feeling of my body being thrown around like a rag doll. The next, nothing. The blare of ambulance sirens, so close I could almost feel the vibration in my bones, simply… stopped. Gone. The sharp, metallic tang of blood, the acrid bite of smoke, the heavy stench of gasoline – all of it faded, like a bad dream dissolving with the morning light. My body, which had been screaming just moments before, now felt like a stranger’s, numb and distant. I knew I was bruised, I knew I was battered. I remembered feeling trapped, pinned down, something sharp and cold impaling me. But now, even that memory felt dull, like looking at an old photograph. No pain. Just... nothing.Then, the nothingness gave way to something else. A place. It was empty, yet somehow full.

DAMIEN'S POVThe sterile hum of the machines was a constant, cruel reminder. I pressed my forehead against the cool glass of the observation room, my eyes fixed on Adrian. My throat was raw, my chest a hollow ache that wouldn't ease. Tears kept falling, hot and heavy, blurring my vision but never enough to make Adrian’s image disappear. He was lying there, so still, so small in that vast bed in the private Intensive Care Unit. Guilt was a living thing, clawing at my insides, tearing me apart with every shallow rise and fall of his chest. It was all my fault. Every single bandage, every single tube snaking into his pale skin, every weak flicker of the life support machine – it was all because of me.If only I had chosen him. If only I had picked Adrian over the empty shell of my public image, he wouldn't be here. My heart felt like it was breaking all over again, splintering into a million tiny pieces as I watched him. His beautiful face was hidden beneath white bandages, his strong h

DAMIEN'S POV“Don’t worry, Gayle. I’ll stick to my promise. I won’t hurt him.”The words echoed in my mind, a cruel, mocking whisper. That was the exact promise I gave to Gayle and Carsen in the airport. Our bags were just checked, the boarding call for our flight back to New York City from our stay in Norway was about to sound. Adrian, my Adrian, stood a little way off, he was already at the boarding gate, I knew he was excited, I could feel his hope shining towards me. Gayle had given me a long, hard look, her eyes piercing, before she finally nodded. Carsen had just grunted, not quite believing me, but staying quiet for Adrian’s sake.That was the exact promise I broke. I broke it the moment I chose my image over Adrian, over the man I claimed to love, the man who trusted me completely.Now, the sterile smell of the hospital filled my nose, making my stomach churn. It was a smell that would forever remind me of this moment, this crushing wave of guilt. Adrian lay on the other sid

DAMIEN'S POVThe air backstage was thick with a palpable tension that mirrored the frantic beating of my heart. Through a small gap in the velvet curtain, I could see it: a vast, hungry ocean of faces. Mostly members of the press, each one a shark in a tailored suit, eager for a fresh, bloody scoop. Their cameras flashed, their murmurs formed a restless hum, a predatory purr that vibrated through the floorboards and up into my very bones.I had spent the last two hours on my phone, making calls to every contact, every favor owed, every thread of influence I possessed, to arrange this last minute press conference. It was a desperate move, a Hail Mary pass in a game I felt I was losing, badly.My career, the shining image I had painstakingly built over many years, the very life I had crafted, hung in the balance. This day would be the turning point, one way or another. I was very nervous. My palms were slick, my breath shallow. A wave of nausea rolled through me, threatening to buckle m

ADRIAN'S POVThe crushing weight of what felt like mud and icy water dragged me down. I was drowning, not in a physical sea, but in a torrent of unbearable memories. Each one is a sharp rock, tearing at my insides. I saw it all again, played on a ceaseless loop behind my eyelids, even though they were squeezed shut.My mother, her laugh echoing just moments before, swept away by the river's merciless surge. The water claimed her, pulling her under, her hand reaching, then gone. That image, always the first, was a cold, chilling hand gripping my heart.Then, Damien. Frame after frame of him with different women. Their faces blurred, but his smile, his touch, it was all too clear. Each scene is a fresh stab, a reminder of what he had so easily offered to others, what he had taken from me. The warmth of his skin against theirs, the casual intimacy. It was a parade of betrayal, each woman a mirror reflecting my own foolish hope.His words, sharp as broken glass, cut through the noise: "I