Semua Bab He Cheated With My Bestie. Now He Begs for Mercy: Bab 1 - Bab 9

I watched Jared Hamilton tangled up with Luciana Rose in the crystal orb. One of them was my mate, and the other was my best friend. Every drop of blood in my body seemed to freeze.I sat on the couch, as though my soul had been ripped out of my body, and stared blankly ahead. The imagery in the orb continued playing, and I couldn't quite look away as they kissed their way from the living room to the bedroom.He pushed her down on the bed, fingers sliding over her clothes like he had done a thousand times. "Can we do it tonight?"She pretended to blush, covering her eyes with the tips of her fingers. "At this point? Just do it already."Their bodies tangled together, and every moment of witnessing it was a blade twisting deeper into my heart.When Jared and I first got together, I even introduced Luciana to him. Before meeting her, I had told him, "She's my best friend. We basically grew up together, and I trust her with everything. If she approves of you, our bond will only be st

I used to trust Luciana with my whole heart, and the more I trusted her then, the more it hurt now.Jared once told me something I should have listened to more carefully. He said he came from a broken home, where his father cheated on his mother.When his mother found out, she severed their mate bond and walked away without looking back. Since then, young Jared never saw her again."There's one thing I hate most in this world, Monica. It's betrayal," he told me once."I'll never forget the disappointment in my mother's eyes when she left. I lived through that pain once, and I promise you you'll never experience it. The last thing I'll do is follow my father's path. So, believe me when I say I'll cherish us forever."And so, I believed him.Now, sitting beside me, Jared set down the food he had cooked and leaned in with that familiar smile. "Stop crying, okay? It hurts me to see you like this."He inched closer, intending to kiss away the tears threatening to roll down my cheek.

Jared held his face, staring at me as if I had just struck him with lightning. Luciana snapped out of her shock first. Her expression shifted in a heartbeat, and she slapped Jared on the other cheek."Did you upset Monica again? Don't you remember what you promised me? You said you'd leave her forever if you ever made her feel even the tiniest bit of hurt."She then turned to me, trying to hug me, as if nothing filthy had just happened between them. "Monica, it was an accident… I swear I didn't mean to…"Sometimes, I truly admired Luciana's nerve. The world could burn around her, and she could still pretend she was innocent. Without a care for propriety, I stepped back before she could even touch me."Don't touch me," I said coldly. Even as Luciana's smile faded, I didn't hold back. "And stay away from me, you filthy thing. I don't want whatever you have getting on me."Her face twisted, but before she could say a word, Jared rushed to my side as though he could still fix this wit

"I'll go through the pits of hell if it means saving your life," Jared had said to me.Back then, I genuinely believed no one in the whole damn world could ever love me more than Jared did. When he got out of the hospital, I gave him all of me.One night, when things were at the height of passion between us, he held my face and asked, "Monica, will you be my mate?"I cried and nodded over and over, saying yes as if it were the easiest thing ever. Later, though, I found out from the visions in the crystal orb that the abduction had involved not only me but also Luciana. We were both knocked out with sedatives, tossed aside like baggage.After tracking the Rogues down, he chose to rescue her first. However, the abductors changed their minds at the last minute, forcing him into that brutal fight.The one he was willing to bleed for had never been me. It had always been Luciana.Even when the rescue team arrived, Jared didn't tell them to save him first. He begged them to get Luciana

"But why?" Luciana shrieked. "Why is it that you get to be with the man I love? Why won't he get over you? And then, I finally understood. It's because you're Monica Sylvester, my best friend."My gaze dimmed. The vow we once made to cherish each other forever had withered long ago. Yes, Jared's betrayal hurt, but Luciana's carved deeper.She was my chosen family, someone I trusted without question and would sacrifice myself for. But nothing could change her betrayal—no explanation or regret could undo it.I looked at her coldly. "We'll never go back to the way we were, Luciana. You showing up here today isn't about saving our friendship, is it? Maybe it's because Jared has made his choice between us."You can't handle losing both him and me, so you came back to try to salvage our friendship."I took a deep breath and continued, "Don't worry. I'll end my mate bond with him. After that, nothing will stand in the way of your relationship with him."I picked up the bottle of potion,