I Lent Her My Boyfriend, But She Never Gave Him Back

My best friend, Vivian Shaw, had been single for twenty-five years and had never even been in love when the hospital issued a critical illness notice for her.

As she lay dying, she spoke her only last wish:

The biggest regret of my life is that Ive never had one wild, unforgettable romance.

Sophie, in the last few days of my life, can I borrow your boyfriend for a while?

Let me fall in love once, so I wont die with any regrets.

Before I could answer, my boyfriend, Lucas Hale, stepped forward anxiously:

Im willing!

Vivian, youre going to be okay, and Ill help you find the best doctors in the world!

Considering that this was Vivian Shaws only last wish, I had no choice but to agree.

But I never expected that this illness of hers would last three years.

She could not be cured, and she would not die.

At first, Lucas still felt a little guilty toward me, but in the end, he became more and more impatient.

It seemed that Vivian Shaw had no intention of returning what she had borrowed from me.

Perfect, because I did not want to take back trash either.

On our fifth anniversary, Lucas left me alone at the restaurant.

I texted him and asked why he had not come.

The next second, his call came in:

Are you insane?

I told you I had to go with Vivian for her follow-up today, so why are you texting me?

What if she sees it and starts overthinking?

Pack up the food and bring it back, then apologize to Vivian, because only when she feels better can her condition recover faster.

The call was cut off, and as I looked at the pouring rain outside the window, I suddenly laughed.

For the tenth time, the server walked to my table and tapped on it:

Miss, may we serve the food now?

The customers waiting behind you have been waiting for a long time.

I lowered my head:

No need, just pack it up.

My friend had something come up and isnt coming.

The server froze for a moment, glanced at the candles and roses that had been set on the table in advance, and did not ask anything else.

I gripped my phone tightly, picked up the bag, and walked into the rain.

The icy rainwater poured down my neck, so cold it cut to the bone.

When I reached the door of my home, muffled sobs came from inside.

I pushed the door open, and Lucas was kneeling on one knee on the carpet.

Vivian Shaw was curled up on the couch, one hand clutching her chest, crying so hard her whole body shook.

Its all my fault.

If I hadnt suddenly felt unwell, you wouldnt have missed your anniversary.

If I had known this would happen, I would rather have died in the hospital three years ago than be disliked by Sophie now...

Dont say nonsense.

Lucas immediately panicked:

Your illness isnt something you chose, so what does it have to do with you?

Its Sophie who is too petty and refuses to let go of some tiny little thing, so dont take it to heart.

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard movement in the entryway and turned his head.

The moment he saw me, the tenderness on his face vanished, replaced by a face full of coldness.

Why are you still standing there?

Come over and apologize!

Do I have to invite you?

If I hadnt been home tonight, Vivian would have had no one by her side when her attack happened just now!

She treated you like her best friend, but look at you, getting mad at me over some stupid anniversary.

What the hell were you thinking?

I did not speak and bent down to put the takeout boxes on the table.

Rainwater dripped from the ends of my hair onto the floor.

You promised this date half a month ago, and I waited at the restaurant for three hours, so am I not even allowed to text and ask?

Lucass face instantly darkened.

He walked over, grabbed my wrist, and roughly dragged me in front of the couch.

So what if you waited three hours?

When Vivian gets better, well have plenty of time to celebrate anniversaries, so do you really need to make a big deal out of this?

Hurry up and apologize to Vivian.

Dont... dont do this...

Vivian Shaw reached out and weakly tugged on Lucass sleeve.

Its my fault, so dont blame Sophie, and she doesnt need to apologize to me...

I delayed you two, so Im the one who should apologize...

Youre just too kind!

Lucas turned around, held her shoulders, and his voice was full of heartache:

She almost made you have another attack, and youre still speaking up for her?

You were nearly killed by your own best friend, so how do you not have any temper at all?

I stood where I was.

I watched the man I had loved for five years kneel half down in front of another woman.

My heart felt as if it had been gripped tightly by a hand, hurting so much that I could not breathe.

I was just about to speak.

Vivian Shaw suddenly let out a muffled groan and clutched her chest.

Vivian!

Lucass expression changed abruptly, and without thinking, he picked her up in his arms.

He turned and walked toward the bedroom, and when he passed me, he threw out only one sentence:

Look at what youve done!

Bang.

The bedroom door was slammed shut.

I stood outside the door and raised my hand to knock.

There was no response.

Lucas had always kept the key to the guest room at home.

Wind poured in from the balcony, and I shivered from the cold.

I walked to the couch and sat down.

The couch still held the scent of Vivian Shaws perfume, so sweet it turned bitter.

Voices occasionally came from the bedroom.

I hugged my knees and curled up on the couch, sitting there with my eyes open until dawn.

At eight in the morning, someone knocked on the door.

I dragged my numb legs over and opened it.

Vivians parents stood outside, both their faces full of worry.

When Vivians mother saw it was me, her face immediately fell.

Sophie Reed, where is Vivian?

How is she?

Vivians father frowned tightly, and the first thing he said was an accusation:

Youre supposed to be Vivians best friend, so how could you do something like this?

If Lucas hadnt called us, we would still be kept in the dark!

Vivians heart has always been weak, and three years ago she almost didnt make it, so why cant you just give in to her?

Why do you have to fight with her?

My hand gripped the doorframe, and I did not even have the strength to explain.

Back then, it was clearly Vivian Shaw who cried and begged me, saying she wanted to borrow my boyfriend to fulfill her last wish.

I nodded and agreed, giving up my own lover.

So how did everything become my fault in the end?

Move!

Vivians father impatiently pushed me aside.

I lost my balance, and my back hit the wall, the bones aching sharply.

They passed me and rushed straight into the bedroom.

My baby girl, are you okay?

You scared me to death...

Dad, Mom, why are you here?

Im fine, so dont blame Sophie, because she didnt mean it...

Silly girl, youre still speaking up for her!

Lucass voice was mixed in with theirs, gently comforting the two elders and telling a joke now and then to make them happy.

The four of them talked and laughed, so harmonious that they looked like a real family.

And I stood in my own wedding home, yet I looked like an unnecessary outsider.

Before long, Lucas came out of the bedroom.

When he saw that I was still standing there, he frowned.

Why are you standing around like an idiot?

Go pour a few cups of warm water and bring them in, because it wasnt easy for Vivians parents to make the trip here.

His tone was matter-of-fact, as if he were ordering around the housekeeper.

I did not argue and turned into the kitchen.

I carried in one cup after another and refilled the water three times.

Every time I went in, they were talking about Vivian Shaws condition, and no one looked at me once.

After refilling the water for the last time, I turned to leave.

Lucas casually took a key from his pocket and threw it by my feet.

Go back to your room and stay there for now, and stop wandering around here so you dont upset her parents.

As he spoke, he was busy peeling grapes for Vivian Shaw and did not even raise his head.

I lowered my head to look at the key on the floor, bent down, and picked it up.

I said nothing and turned to walk out.

At noon, Vivians parents left.

Lucas reminded them to be careful on the road while repeatedly promising that he would take good care of Vivian Shaw.

In the end, he even went downstairs personally to see them off.

The front door closed, and the sound of footsteps faded away.

The master bedroom door did not open, and Vivian Shaw did not come out.

I pushed open the door and took one last look at the guest room where I had lived for three years.

How ridiculous.

The wedding home I once decorated with my own hands now only allowed me to occupy one pathetic corner.

The sour ache in my chest surged upward uncontrollably.

I opened my suitcase and began stuffing clothes inside.

Halfway through packing, a muffled thud suddenly came from the living room.

My heart lurched, and I immediately dropped the clothes and ran out.

In the living room, Vivian Shaw had collapsed on the carpet in front of the couch.

Her hand clutched her chest, and she gasped for breath in huge gulps.

The TV on the wall was on.

On the screen was an intense motorcycle racing game.

The roar of engines was deafening.

My heart tightened, and I turned to go to the bedroom to get her medicine.

Just then, Lucas returned home after seeing off Vivians parents and saw Vivian Shaw on the floor at a glance.

His expression changed abruptly, and he rushed over in a few steps, pushing me away without thinking.

Sophie Reed, are you insane?

You know perfectly well that Vivian has a bad heart and cant handle stimulation, yet you still played this for her to watch?

Are you trying to kill her?

I was shoved into the corner of the coffee table, and a dull pain shot through my lower back.

I endured the pain and explained:

This game was the anniversary gift I bought for you, and it had been kept in the cabinet the whole time, so I didnt show it to her...

Youre still making excuses!

Lucas cut me off sharply:

If you didnt play it, then did Vivian play it herself?

She can barely walk, so how would she dig through your things?

Can you have some sense of responsibility?

Is it that hard to admit it when youve done something wrong?

Why are you just standing there?

Go get the medicine!

His yelling made my eardrums hurt.

I bit my lip, stumbled into the bedroom, and found the medicine bottle on the nightstand.

After taking the medicine, Vivian Shaws breathing slowly steadied.

She leaned in Lucass arms, tears in her eyes, her voice weak:

Lucas, dont blame Sophie.

Its all my fault.

I just wanted to come out and pour a glass of water, and I accidentally saw it...

Its not her fault...

Youre still speaking up for her!

Lucas was so heartbroken that he held her even tighter.

When he turned to look at me, the disgust in his eyes was almost overflowing.

Back then, I wanted to keep two bodyguards at home to take care of Vivian, but you said having outsiders in the house would destroy our privacy and refused no matter what, and now look.

I stepped out just long enough to see someone off, and something happened to her!

I think you had bad intentions from the start.

Youve been wishing Vivian would die, and all of this was clearly planned by you long ago!

I looked at him and suddenly found it very funny.

Three years.

I had stepped back again and again and given in again and again.

I thought there was still some place for me in his heart, and that guilt had simply blinded him.

But it turned out that in his eyes, I had long since become a lunatic scheming to kill my best friend.

I looked at him and said, word by word:

Lucas Hale, lets break up.

He looked as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world and laughed from sheer anger.

He gently carried Vivian Shaw onto the couch.

Then he stood up and walked toward me, his eyes dark and vicious:

What, did I hit a nerve?

You want to break up and walk away?

It wont be that easy.

Ive put up with you more than once or twice, and every time you target Vivian, so today I have to teach you a lesson and make you remember it.

I instinctively stepped back.

What are you going to do?

He did not answer, took out his phone, and made a call, his tone icy:

Send two people up and get the rooftop safety rope ready.

After hanging up, he looked down at me from above and said coldly:

Dont you like watching Vivian struggle on the edge of life and death?

Then you can taste it yourself.

In less than two minutes, two bodyguards walked in.

Mr. Hale.

Lucass tone was calm, as if he were talking about something unimportant:

Take her upstairs, tie her to the edge of the rooftop, and hang her there for a full day and night.

I want her to experience what it feels like to struggle on the edge of life and death.

No!

Lucas, you cant do this!

My face instantly turned pale, and I desperately backed away.

I had been afraid of heights since I was a child, and he knew that better than anyone.

In the past, whenever we climbed stairs together, he would carry me once we got past the third floor because he was afraid I would get scared.

But now, he wanted to punish me like this for another woman.

Lucas raised an eyebrow and signaled for the bodyguards to act:

Why cant I?

You should taste the suffering Vivian endured too.

The two bodyguards stepped forward and grabbed my arms from both sides.

I struggled desperately:

Lucas, Im afraid of heights!

Have you forgotten?

Please let me go!

He turned his face away and did not look at me again.

This is what you deserve.

I was dragged toward the rooftop.

My nails dug into my palms until they broke the skin, but I still could not break free.

The wind on the rooftop was strong, slicing across my face like blades.

A rope was tied around my waist, and my entire body was suspended in the air at the edge of the rooftop.

Below my feet was a six-story drop.

With one glance down, the world spun around me.

Fear drowned me like a tide.

I screamed, cried, and begged Lucas to let me down.

But there was no response.

Only the howling wind filled my ears.

I did not know how long had passed.

My throat went hoarse from screaming, and my tears ran dry.

The sun rose and set again.

For a day and a night, I did not drink a single drop of water.

My whole body went limp like a puddle of mud.

When my mind blurred, the rope began to pull upward.

I crashed heavily onto the ground.

My vision went black, and I completely lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

There was a needle in the back of my hand, and I was on an IV drip.

The hospital room was empty, without a single person inside.

I moved my fingers, and my whole body hurt as if it were about to fall apart.

Creak.

The hospital room door was pushed open.

Vivian Shaw walked in.

Her makeup was flawless, and she did not look sick at all, while a mocking smile hung at the corner of her mouth.

Youre awake?

Sophie Reed, I really do admire you.

For three years, you watched your own boyfriend stay with me every day and act affectionate with me, yet you actually endured it until now.

Your skin is much thicker than I thought.

My eyes flew wide open:

You...

What about me?

Lucas was not there, so she simply dropped the act and reached up to smooth her hair.

Havent you been suspicious all along?

Now Ill be merciful and tell you that my critical illness was indeed fake.

Three years ago, I knew Lucas was softhearted, and as long as I pretended I was about to die and then brought up a last wish, he would definitely agree.

Look, over these three years, he has spent far more time with me than with you, so what use is it for you to cling to the title of official girlfriend?

His heart stopped being with you long ago.

My whole body went cold, as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.

She straightened up, looked at my pale face, and the smile on her lips grew even wider.

Oh, right, I forgot to tell you something.

Do you know why your parents havent come to see you even after youve been hospitalized for so long?

My heart suddenly clenched.

They heard that you bullied me and rushed over to apologize on your behalf, but they got into a car accident on the way.

Vivian Shaw spoke lightly as she fiddled with her long manicured nails:

Theyre lying in the ward upstairs right now, and the hospital issued a critical illness notice long ago.

Lucas originally contacted foreign experts to come over for surgery, but, well...

She paused, her smile smug.

As long as I say one word, he wont sign.

Sophie Reed, do you think youll become an orphan?

Youre lying!

I abruptly sat up, tugging the needle in the back of my hand, and blood instantly gushed out.

My parents treated you like their own daughter, so how could you do this to them?

Vivian Shaw gave a mocking laugh:

Its exactly because they treated me pretty well that I didnt have someone kill them on the spot and left them with their worthless lives.

With a boom, my mind went completely blank.

So the car accident had also been arranged by her.

This best friend whom I had treated with all my heart for more than ten years.

Not only had she stolen my boyfriend, but she also wanted to kill my parents.

Rage instantly shot to my head.

I threw off the blanket and lunged at her like a madwoman.

I pinned her to the floor, straddled her, raised my hand, and slapped her across the face.

Vivian Shaw, you psycho!

How did my parents ever wrong you?

Why would you hurt them like this?

The needle rolled far away.

Blood from the back of my hand flowed down my fingertips, but I could no longer feel the pain.

Bang!

Just then, the hospital room door was kicked open.

Lucas stood in the doorway, and when he saw the scene in front of him, his eyes turned scarlet with anger.

He rushed over and kicked me in the shoulder.

I flew two meters away, my back hitting the foot of the bed, and the pain made me suck in a cold breath.

Sophie Reed, are you insane?

He held Vivian Shaw protectively in his arms and checked whether she was hurt.

When he saw the slap marks on Vivian Shaws face, his chest heaved violently with anger.

Vivian came to see you out of kindness, and you still dared to hit her!

Looking at it now, your parents car accident was karma!

They raised such a vicious daughter, so they deserved to get hit by a car!

I was originally going to save their lives, and the doctors from overseas are already on the plane, but now, it looks like theres no need!

After saying that, he took out his phone and called his assistant.

Have the private jet turn back, and cancel the surgery!

No!

Lucas, dont!

My face instantly went deathly pale, and I scrambled over on my hands and knees to grab his pant leg.

I was wrong, and I shouldnt have hit her, so please have the doctors come back.

Im begging you...

Too late.

He slapped me across the face with the back of his hand.

The blow turned my head to the side, and blood seeped from the corner of my mouth.

With all the strength in my body, I shouted the truth:

Lucas, her illness is fake!

She arranged the car accident too!

She told me herself just now!

I thought he would be shocked and regretful after knowing the truth.

But after he heard it, he became even angrier.

You still want to frame Vivian even now?

He reached out and grabbed my neck, tightening his grip little by little.

I think you really are beyond saving!

Vivian is kind and speaks up for you again and again, but you keep throwing dirt on her again and again.

What the hell is your heart made of?

I struggled to breathe, and my vision went black in waves.