My Bestie Stole My Fiance, So I Ruined Them Both

Serena had been an affair interventionist for ten years. Ironically, I became the proudest trophy of her career.

At her livestreamed celebration party, Serena linked her arm through my boyfriend Ethan’s. She looked at the camera with a smug smile. "Look closely, everyone.

No matter how stubborn the mistress is, she has no choice but to leave in ruins when I'm on the case." With that, she threw a marriage certificate right in front of my face. "Chloe, Ethan and I already signed the papers at City Hall." "You’ve been clinging to him for so many years.

It’s time to back off gracefully." I watched with my own eyes as Ethan lovingly slipped a custommade diamond ring onto Serena's finger. My ears buzzed.

Just last month, Ethan’s company suffered a massive financial crisis. Without a second thought, I sold the design studio I had worked so hard to build for years just to save him.

Back then, he held me tight and swore to me: "Chloe, once I get through this, I will give you the most grand, beautiful wedding this city has ever seen." And I believed him.

I never expected that my unconditional sacrifice would only help them set up this trap to destroy me.

Watching the two most important people in my life step on my dignity just to get claps and blessings from thousands of strangers on TikTok Live...

The dull ache in my chest suddenly vanished. I slipped off the cheap promise ring from my ring finger and tossed it into the trash can. I walked away, ignoring the shouts behind me.

Since you both wanted to use me as a stepping stone to climb to the top, I will personally drag you down into the dirt. ......

By the time I got home, the internet was already flooded with hate directed at me. Serena’s live stream was still trending at the top of the charts.

She hadn't blurred any of my personal information. In fact, she deliberately leaked my studio's address and my personal accounts.

In just a few hours, I became the "evil, homewrecking mistress" in everyone's eyes.

The comments under her post were disgusting. "She looks like a snake just by looking at her photos." "This kind of woman deserves to go to hell!" "I heard her dad just died last month.

Karma is a bitch!" Looking at those words, my heart squeezed with sharp pain. Ten years of friendship ended in a double betrayal.

And she was twisting the truth just to get views and clout at the expense of my reputation. Before I could fully process the shock, the front door was pushed open.

Ethan walked in quickly and pulled me into his arms without asking. "Chloe, I had no idea Serena would take it this far.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this." "But honestly, this is all for her promotion. She needed a big case to secure her spot.

You have me to protect you, so don't be scared." "Once she gets the promotion, I'll divorce her immediately." He used that same soothing, babying tone he always used.

But looking at him now, he felt like a complete stranger. I remembered when Serena first started working as an affair interventionist.

She used to share her cases with me as juicy gossip. Back then, Ethan would hold my hand and swear that he would never tolerate a third party in our relationship.

But now, he was using every dirty trick in the book just to clear the path for Serena.

I pulled away from his embrace. "If the one being doxed and insulted online today was Serena, would you still be this calm?" He froze for a long moment, unable to say a word.

But I already knew the answer. "Ethan, we are done." Ethan snapped back to reality, rubbing his temples with frustration. "Chloe, you were the one who told me to take care of her back then.

Why are you twisting things now?" A bitter taste rose in my throat. The year Serena first moved to Brookhaven, she knew absolutely nothing about the city.

So, I begged Ethan to help her out and look after her. He was a bit reluctant at first.

He had pinched my cheek and laughed: "Fine, only because she's your best friend." "But let's get one thing straight.

You will always come first." But as time went on, he seemed to get used to putting me behind Serena. Even when I had a high fever in the middle of the night and almost passed out...

He was busy helping Serena deal with a client's crazy ex, ignoring my calls completely.

I used to comfort myself, thinking Ethan was only doing those things because he loved me and wanted to help my bestie. But now, I refused to lie to myself anymore.

Seeing my silence, Ethan kept pushing. "Chloe, I admit I didn't plan the live stream well." "But you know how the internet works.

You need drama for clout, and she needs clout for the promotion. As her best friend, shouldn't you be more understanding?" Listening to his hollow excuses, I only felt disgusted.

A few years ago, when a coworker spread rumors about me... Ethan was the one who stormed into my office to fight for me and clear my name.

Back then, he swore he would protect me forever. It turned out his old promises didn't mean crap to him anymore. My eyes stung with tears.

Suddenly, a special ringtone rang out from his phone—it was Serena's custom alert. Ethan quickly tapped his screen to reply. "Just forget what happened tonight.

Don't overthink it." "I have some business to take care of. Go to sleep early." Without waiting for my reply, he shut the door and left.

I stared at that closed door for a long time. All my emotions drained away, leaving only a cold, empty void.

I turned around, pulled the voice recorder out from the gap in the sofa cushions, and hit stop. Ethan, you of all people should know that I am not someone you can just push around.

Just as I was about to organize the audio file to post it online, my phone buzzed. Serena's account was live again.

I tapped into the live stream, wanting to see what kind of drama she was going to pull this time. On the screen, Serena's eyes were red and watery. "Everyone, please calm down.

Stop attacking Chloe in my comments." "It's all my fault.

I failed to stop her from going down the wrong path..." Halfway through her sentence, Serena hid from the camera, and her quiet, dramatic sobbing filled the audio.

Ethan stood beside her, pulling her into his arms with pure heartbreak in his eyes. The viewer count was climbing rapidly.

Ethan looked down, his voice dripping with fake regret. "I only treated Chloe well because of Serena." "I never expected her to use such cheap, dirty tricks to get between us!" Ethan spoke with such righteous anger.

It was hard to believe he was the same man who had just tried to comfort me in my apartment an hour ago.

I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, though tears slipped down my cheeks first.

Maybe she saw my username enter the stream, because Serena looked directly at the camera with a pitiful expression. "Chloe, if you go live tonight, apologize to me, and admit that you tried to seduce Ethan—and admit what happened eight years ago—I will drop everything and forgive you." A single, casual sentence instantly set the comment section on fire.

Countless disgusting assumptions and jokes flooded the screen, piercing through me like needles. My blood ran cold. My throat felt tight, as if someone was choking me.

What happened eight years ago was a secret she and I had promised to take to our graves. During college, I met a toxic guy. He tricked me into taking some private, intimate photos.

Later, when he cheated and I found out, he threatened to leak those photos online. I had cried in Serena's arms for a whole day.

Her eyes had turned red with anger, and she swore she would make him pay.

The next day, Serena used her sharp tongue to destroy the guy's reputation, making the other girl dump him on the spot. The guy finally backed down and deleted all the photos.

She knew very well that this was a scar that had never fully healed. Yet now, she was exposing it to the public just to let strangers laugh at me and guess what happened.

My fingers shook uncontrollably. I quickly exited the live stream. The next second, my Snapchat and Instagram DMs were flooded with hate mail. "No wonder your dad died so early!

A homewrecking bitch deserves to lose her whole family!" "Is your mom still rotting in the hospital?

I hope she dies next!" A new message from Serena popped up at the top of my notifications. "Chloe, I had to bring up the past. My hands were tied.

You understand, right?" "If you hadn't pushed me, I would never want to hurt you..." Her fake concern barely covered her real threat. "Just apologize, and I'll clear your name." Serena wanted to threaten me into submission.

But she forgot that I wasn't that helpless college girl anymore.

I had the power to protect myself now. "I won't admit to things I didn't do." After typing that, I blocked both of them. My hands were shaking, but my heart was cold and steady.

I stood up, but accidentally knocked over a pile of folders on the side table.

From that folder—the one Ethan had strictly forbidden me from ever touching—a piece of paper slipped out. It was a pregnancy test report. And the name printed on it was Serena's.

I froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle. I couldn't breathe. The print date was exactly three days ago. Our fiveyear anniversary.

I remembered how Ethan had claimed he had an urgent business meeting that night and promised to make it up to me.

I had been worried he would be lonely and tired, so I had cooked a beautiful dinner and waited for him until midnight. It turned out he already had someone else keeping him warm.

My grip on the paper tightened until my knuckles turned white. I walked out, hailed a cab, and drove straight to Serena’s studio.

The cab stopped at the entrance. I forced my emotions down and walked inside with steady steps.

As soon as I pushed the door open, I saw Serena and Ethan acting disgustingly close, ignoring everyone else. "See?

I told you she would come here to apologize." Serena glanced at me, her voice dripping with triumph.

Ethan nodded dotingly. "You really know her better than I do." They used to playfully argue about who knew me best.

Back then, I would always laugh and try to make peace between them. Now, my life was just a joke to them.

Suppressing the urge to throw up, I slammed the pregnancy report onto the desk. Ethan froze.

But he quickly stood up, his brow furrowing with anger. "Didn't I tell you never to touch my folders?!" There was nothing but annoyance in his eyes. I let out a cold laugh.

His first reaction wasn't to explain.

It was to blame me for finding out. "If any important document gets lost, can you even afford to take responsibility?" I stared straight into Ethan's eyes. "Do I only get the right to touch your things after the baby is born?" "Ethan, stop hiding your disgusting actions behind 'work.' It's pathetic." Seeing the tension, Serena quickly stepped in front of Ethan. "Don't blame Ethan!

This is all my fault!" Her voice was trembling, making her look like the victim. Looking at the two of them protecting each other, a ball of rage exploded in my chest.

I raised my hand and slapped Serena hard across the face. "Sleeping with your best friend's fiancé, getting married behind her back, getting pregnant, and still having the nerve to play the victim..." "Serena, do you actually think you're clever?" Before I could do anything else, Ethan shoved me hard.

My hip slammed against the sharp corner of the desk, and I fell heavily to the floor. "Enough, Chloe!

If it weren't for Serena, your private photos would have been all over the internet by now!" "Do you have any idea how exhausting it has been to sleep with a woman who has that kind of dirty baggage for all these years?!" My brain went entirely blank.

I remembered how Ethan had looked at me with so much love and pity when he first found out about my past. Now, he acted as if I had forced him to stay by my side.

Serena held her cheek, burying herself in Ethan's chest, a tiny, triumphant smirk playing on her lips. Ethan seemed to realize he had gone too far.

He stopped talking, knelt down, and tried to grab my hand. "Chloe, I didn't mean it like that..." His voice shook, as if he was genuinely terrified that I would leave him. "Serena's boss already promised her the promotion.

Once the baby is born, we will get a divorce." "As for our wedding... just wait a little longer, okay?" Once again, he put Serena ahead of everything else.

I looked at him, but I couldn't even feel sad anymore. "Ethan, do you remember the wedding you promised me?" "Now you're asking me to wait for you to get a divorce so you can marry me?

Don't you hear how ridiculous you sound?" I yanked my hand out of his grip. Suddenly, my phone started buzzing wildly with security alerts from my smart home app.

I quickly unlocked my screen. On the live camera feed... The front door of my dad's house was covered in bright red paint.

Scribbled across the door were the words: "The mistress and her family deserve to die." There were even people standing outside with cameras, filming the whole thing.

My head spun, and the world felt like it was turning upside down. I shoved the phone right in front of Ethan's face. "Ethan!

That's the house my dad left us!" "Drive me back right now!

That house is the only thing keeping my mother alive!" Ethan barely glanced at the screen. "Serena's video is trending right now.

It's normal for some crazy viewers to get worked up." "Once her promotion party is over, I'll buy you a brandnew house." Looking at him, my heart went completely cold. "My dad used his entire life savings to buy that house because he wanted to make sure I had a home before he died." "He even put your name on the deed." I remembered when my dad transferred the deed to us.

He had carefully practiced writing our names, smiling like a happy child.

But to Ethan, it was just something that could be easily replaced with a "brandnew house." To him, I was just like that house—an object that could be thrown away and replaced at any time.

By the time I rushed back, the crowd had already scattered. The wooden door was ruined, covered in red paint and disgusting insults.

This house was the last piece of memory my dad had left behind. I knelt on the ground, my shoulders shaking violently. I remembered when my dad passed away.

Ethan had stayed by my side, staying awake for days to help me handle everything. I had cried and asked him if I was a burden.

He had squeezed my hand tightly: "Chloe, we are family. This is what family does." The man who once called me family was the very person who destroyed my father's legacy.

Before I could catch my breath, my phone buzzed with dozens of text messages from Ethan. [Get to the hospital right now.

Your mom is in critical condition.] My mind went entirely blank. I wiped my tears and ran to the hospital like a madwoman.

The moment I arrived, the doctor was looking for family members to sign papers.

Ethan was standing nearby, his face pale. "The doctor said... they did everything they could." My blood froze. I couldn't move. The grief and anger rushed back, suffocating me.

The doctor remained silent for a moment before handing me the phone my mother had been clutching tightly before she died. "The patient suffered a severe stressinduced stroke." On the screen was a video Serena had sent to my mother.

In the video, the house my father left behind was completely trashed. Even the only photo of my mom and dad was smashed on the floor, kicked aside like garbage.

The audio was filled with the vandals' cruel curses and laughter. I couldn't even imagine how much pain my mother must have felt when she watched that video.

I bit my lip so hard it bled to suppress my scream. I stumbled and fell to my knees beside my mother's bed.

Her cold hand, covered in rough calluses from years of hard work, lay still under the white sheet.

She had worked hard her entire life, and the last thing she saw before she died was the destruction of the home her husband had left her.

I took her cold hand in mine, my voice cracking: "Mom...

I'm so sorry I was late." Ethan stepped forward and tried to wrap his arms around me, just like he used to do. "Cry if you want to. I'm here." Rage boiled over.

I shoved him away with all my strength and held up the phone. "Ethan! You and Serena killed my mother!" I screamed like a maniac, my hair messy and my eyes wild.

He froze, opening his mouth to explain. But I didn't want to hear another word. My voice went dead cold. "Ethan, we are done.

Get out of my life." I turned around, gathered my mother's belongings, and left the hospital.

When I got back to the apartment, I noticed that the family photo in the hallway had been replaced. In its place was a trophy from Serena's studio. Tears streamed down my face.

The pain washed over me like freezing water. My mind was completely blank.

Then, my phone buzzed with messages from Ethan. [Chloe, Serena says her studio's warehouse is too small.] [I'll have someone clean up the red paint in a few days.

Let's transfer the deed to Serena so she can use it as a warehouse.] [Anyway, you never liked the decoration there.

It's just sitting empty.] Seeing him act like nothing had happened, my heart was already numb. I didn't even have the energy to be angry.

A second later, he sent an address. [Tomorrow is the promotion party. The Sterling Group's shareholders and many investors will be there.

Bring the house deed and hand it to Serena in person.] [Dress up a bit. Don't be late.] Ethan knew I had just lost both of my parents.

He thought he was still my only source of light, just like in the past. He believed I couldn't live without him and wouldn't dare refuse his demands.

But he forgot that I was no longer the girl who revolved around him. The next morning, my lawyer arrived with all the prepared documents. The house deed felt hot in my hands.

I gently ran my fingers over the names on it. Once everything was ready, I took a cab to the hotel. I pushed the heavy doors open.

Serena and Ethan were standing in the center of the room, dressed in designer evening wear, looking like a perfect, golden couple. Serena saw me first.

With a sweet smile, she linked her arm with Ethan's and walked over. "Chloe, Ethan was just saying he was going to pick you up." I didn't bother talking to them.

I turned around and found a seat in the back.

When the ceremony started, Serena suddenly looked in my direction. "Ethan told me he prepared a very special gift for me today." Ethan walked over, grabbed my hand, and led me to the stage. "I set this up for you.

This will quickly change the public's opinion of you," he whispered. "Be good.

Hand the deed to Serena, and apologize to her." I walked up to the microphone and handed the folder to Serena. The cameras instantly focused on the document in her hands.

The entire room held its breath, watching her smug face turn completely white the moment she opened it.