He Sent Me Home With His Buddy. Bad Idea, Ex! Chapter 09
Three years had passed, and Evander was still the one who came through for me.
He had given me the bracelet, sent me medicine, and called to check on me.
Now, he had stepped in to save my mother too.
A simple thank–you would never be enough.
My eyes filled with tears, and I covered my face as I began to cry.
Why are you helping me?”
Evander had no shortage of women willing to marry him.
He watched me quietly.
The truth was, there were things he had never told me.
Over the next three years, he kept an eye on her from a distance.
A business associate had once pointed at the woman walking
behind Dorian and sneered. “Dorian passes her around to his
friends, and she still comes running whenever he calls.”
But when Evander finally saw Seren crying beside the road,
the rumors no longer made sense.
He had his driver take her home, even though it meant going far out of their way.
Over the next three years, he continued keeping an eye on her from a distance.
Then Dorian announced that Celeste was his fiancée..
Evander spent an entire day considering what to do. That
evening, he told his parents over dinner, “I’m bringing awoman home in a few days.”
Even now, he didn’t regret pursuing the woman Dorian had cast aside.
Evander gently drew my hands away from my face, his warm
hands closing around my tear–damp ones.
Then he fastened the emerald–and–diamond heirloom
bracelet around my wrist again.
‘Don’t let anyone take it from you this time.”
stared at him for a moment before nodding.
More than a year passed before I saw Dorian again.
By then, I was three months pregnant.
I was sitting on my usual bench in Larkspur Park with my
eyes closed, enjoying the sun on my face.
Then a shadow blocked the light.
When I opened my eyes, Dorian was standing in front of me.
“Seren.”
His voice was so hoarse I barely recognized it. He sounded as
though he hadn’t spoken to anyone in months.
I instinctively placed a hand over my stomach.
Dorian noticed the slight curve beneath my clothes, and his eyes reddened.
“That’s Evander’s child?”
“Yes.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw, but neither
could dull the pain of my answer.
I slowly stood.
I heard you were committed to a psychiatric facility. If
they’ve discharged you, you should go home.”
“I wasn’t sick. Evander pressured my parents into having me committed.”
Dorian stepped closer and held out a trembling hand,
“Seren, I know I’m late, but there’s still time, Come with me.”
Are you serious?” I stared at him in disbelief. “I’m married,
and I’m carrying my husband’s child.”
“Evander lied to you. Don’t trust him. Why would he treat you
so well for no reason?
What Dorian didn’t know was that Evander had already
explained everything.
“Because you treated me terribly. That doesn’t mean
everyone else will.”
“I didn’t…”
Dorian’s voice broke, and tears ran down his face.
“No. You’re right. I failed you, and this was all my fault.”
“Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it. Just don’t leave me…”
I could tell he meant every word.
But I also remembered every time he had abandoned me.
“That’s enough, Dorian. We don’t owe each other anything anymore.”
‘Didn’t you receive the money I sent back?”
He gave a reluctant nod.
“Why did you repay me? I never expected anything in return.
I helped you because I wanted to.”
Then he rushed to explain.
‘Seren, I wasn’t the one who stopped paying for your mother’s
treatment. Celeste did that…
“I know.”
“You knew?” he murmured in disbelief.
I nodded.
“Our problems went far beyond that one incident. In your
eyes. I was always beneath you. That was why I repaid every cent your family spent on us.
I gave him a bitter smile.
‘As for my mother’s targeted therapy, after all the times I went home with your friends, I’d say that debt has been paid too.”
Dorian’s lips trembled as he gripped the back of the bench.
“Did Evander give you the money?”
“No. I earned it myself. I’d always planned to repay every cent your family spent on us someday.”
I left the rest unsaid, but we both understood.
Back then, I had wanted to clear the debt so I could stand
beside Dorian as his equal.
The color drained from Dorian’s face.
I was wrong. I was arrogant, Seren. Please look at me one
more time. Give me another chance.”
At last, he understood.
Evander hadn’t deceived me or taken me away from him.
I had chosen to leave.
And the wholehearted love I had once given Dorian now
belonged to someone else.
Dorian looked ready to drop to his knees, but before he could,
his gaze hardened on someone behind me.
An arm circled my waist and pulled me against a familiar chest.
Evander rested one hand at the back of my head, turning my face away from Dorian.
The psychiatric facility released you far too soon,” Evander
said, irritation sharpening his voice.
Behind me, Dorian clenched his fists.
But he was powerless against Evander now.
There was nothing he could do except watch as Evander led me away.
Through the rustle of leaves, I heard Dorian’s fading voice.
‘I’m sorry, Seren.”
I didn’t look back.
At that moment, Dorian stopped being part of my life,
had finally moved beyond the disappointments of my youth, the pain of loving someone who never chose me, and the regret of nearly losing my mother.
My future was finally free of shadows.
END