My Best Friend is a Serial Cheater and Now She’s After My Fiancé She smugly treats us like prey, thinking she can trample all over me. Little does she know, the moment she set her sights on us, I had my gun aimed at her. My best friend called, asking to stay at my place for a few days. The reason? She was caught cheating by her husband. I was a bit surprised. “Weren’t you always so careful before? How did you get caught this time?” Vanessa Hughes’ tone was lazy, showing no signs of the tension or embarrassment one might expect from being caught in the act. “I got wasted that night and hooked up with some young stud at a bar. Didn’t think it through and brought him home… Derek said he was on a business trip and wouldn’t be back, who could have guessed…” Vanessa’s husband, Derek Lee, was from a business marriage arrangement between their families. I’d met Derek before. He always looked prim and proper in his crisp suits, the very picture of an upper-class elite. To outsiders, his marriage with Vanessa seemed like a childhood sweethearts’ fairy tale romance, but in reality… The couple played their own games, as long as they didn’t bring it home, anything goes. Once, right after Vanessa had finished a steamy session with her gym trainer at a hotel, she called me to come find her. She was holding a blurry, secretly taken photo. It showed Derek’s profile and a girl who looked like an innocent college student. Vanessa, holding a glass of wine and looking tipsy, sneered at the photo— “Look at his poor taste. After all these years, he still goes for these innocent types…” Vanessa said that men, when they have nothing, are infatuated with women at the top of the pyramid. But once they have everything and have seen it all, even the grandest parties bore them. Then they start to prefer ordinary, down-to-earth women, wanting to settle down with a good wife. Unfortunately, Vanessa was never that type of woman. No matter how alluringly she dressed herself up, able to make countless men lose their minds with a wave of her hand, she couldn’t move Derek’s heart. Derek rarely even looked at her when he was home. Vanessa asked me to pick her up, but I replied, “I’m still at work. How about I ask my fiancé to pick you up?” Vanessa made a confused sound. “You have a fiancé? Since when?”
Lucas and I met at work. He’s my boss, originally from a rural background, graduated from a prestigious university, and climbed his way up to the middle class through his own abilities and skills. I’ve already met his parents, and they really like me. They said I looked like a good, well-behaved girl at first glance, perfect for marriage and family life. Lucas didn’t say anything at the time because his reason for choosing me was also that I was suitable for marriage and family life. I sent Vanessa a photo of Lucas and me, explaining— “We met six months ago. I wanted to wait until our relationship was stable before introducing him to you. We’re about to get engaged.” The photo was taken at a company event. Lucas was wearing a white shirt, looking handsome and reserved. He looked like the male lead in a campus drama, touched by sunlight and the scent of fresh grass. Vanessa teased languidly, “Hiding such a catch, afraid I’d find out?” I laughed, “Don’t joke around. He’s my fiancé, we’re about to get married. You wouldn’t go after him, would you?” Lucas bought a three-bedroom apartment in the city, with a down payment of several hundred thousand dollars, and he’s still paying off the mortgage. Since we’re about to get married, we moved in together. Now that Vanessa was coming, I naturally had to let him know first. When he heard Vanessa was coming to stay, Lucas seemed a bit annoyed: “Vanessa? That wild friend of yours?” Vanessa’s love for partying was well-known in our friend circle. Lucas used to always tell me to cut ties with Vanessa, saying he didn’t want me to have a “party girl” as a best friend. I could only coax him, saying, “Vanessa might be wild when it comes to relationships, but she’s been really good to me. I don’t care what others say about her, I can’t be ungrateful and let her down. If her husband doesn’t mind her partying, what can we say as outsiders?” Lucas drove to pick up Vanessa, but it wasn’t necessary. Vanessa had her own car, a Maserati worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. She had several in her underground garage and chose whichever one she felt like driving. She even took a photo of Lucas next to her car and sent it to me. Seeing that photo, my heart skipped a beat. Vanessa’s way of showing interest in a man was simple: she’d shower him with money and resources, as if seeing a man covered in things she bought was a way of claiming ownership. That mentality was more like decorating a trophy with luxurious and exquisite things. Had she… really set her sights on Lucas?
When I got home that evening, Lucas was cooking in the kitchen. He was tall and well-built, with gentle features and a calm, scholarly air about him. Wearing an apron, he looked just like the perfect house husband. Vanessa was sitting barefoot on the living room couch, scrolling through her phone while munching on an apple. Perhaps because she was a guest in our home, her makeup was more subdued than usual. Instead of her usual sexy, glamorous look, she appeared fresh and delicate. Her custom-made bag from France sat on the coffee table, seeming to fill the air with the scent of expensive perfume. Seeing me come in, she looked up and gave me a sweet smile— “You’re back? Your fiancé is a great cook. I just had a taste, and it’s quite good…” To be honest, facing Vanessa now made me nervous and uneasy. She was too beautiful, with the kind of confidence that comes from being raised with privilege and luxury, constantly rubbing against my insecurities like sandpaper. If she had really set her sights on Lucas, what were my chances of winning? On the first night, she didn’t interact with Lucas at all, keeping the conversation centered around me. Our dinner talk mostly revolved around work. When Vanessa learned that Lucas was currently in charge of a project, her eyes suddenly lit up. She looked at Lucas with a meaningful smile and said, “I know the boss of your business partner. Since you’re Emily’s fiancé and you just cooked me a delicious meal, I’ll help you out. It’s just a matter of putting in a good word.” That night, Vanessa stayed in the guest room while Lucas and I returned to the master bedroom. Vanessa had voluntarily offered to help with his project, and although Lucas didn’t show much reaction on the surface, I could tell he was pleased. He came out of the bathroom after a shower and casually said to me, “Your friend seems alright.” I was sorting out his clothes for the next day when I heard this. I looked up at him, a bit at a loss for words. Lucas seemed to realize something and added, “Don’t worry, your friend’s type… I can’t handle that.” I finally managed a smile and walked over to hug Lucas, but he pushed me away— “We have a guest today, it’s not convenient. Besides, shouldn’t you go keep your friend company?”
Lucas and I had agreed to go look at wedding dresses, but he stood me up. The reason was that Vanessa had taken him to meet the boss of the business partner. Their discussion went very well, and they even had lunch together at a restaurant. Thanks to Vanessa’s help, the project that had been giving Lucas headaches for months was signed smoothly. Lucas told me he wanted to buy a gift to thank Vanessa and asked for my opinion. I thought for a moment and said, “Vanessa has had everything since she was little. No matter what gift we buy, she won’t think much of it.” But Lucas said, “You’re her best friend, shouldn’t you at least know what she likes?” I fell silent for a moment, observing Lucas’s slightly expectant expression, and finally said, “Vanessa decided to help because of me. Even if someone needs to thank her, it should be me. You don’t need to worry about this, I’ll handle it.” Lucas didn’t say anything more and went back to his study to work on the new project. That night, Vanessa didn’t come back until nearly dawn. She was drunk again, carelessly holding her bag, stumbling on her high heels. The strong smell of perfume and alcohol hit us as she came in. Because she couldn’t stand steady, Lucas reached out to support her, and she fell into his arms. I walked into the living room with a cup of hot water, just in time to see this scene. Lucas looked up at me, awkwardly pushing Vanessa away and standing up to avoid suspicion, saying, “You take care of her.” Lucas and I helped Vanessa back to the guest room. Vanessa had a habit of randomly taking off her clothes when drunk. Her high heels were thrown at the door, and she was uncomfortably writhing in the bed, raising her hand to toss her bra under the bed. I turned to look at Lucas, who was looking at me awkwardly, seeming a bit at a loss. I then noticed that at his feet lay Vanessa’s lacy panties. Lucas stiffly averted his gaze and said mildly, “You look after her. I’ll go rest first. Call me if you need anything.” After Lucas left, I turned to look at Vanessa sleeping. She was always like this, able to have the love of many people from the moment she was born. Like a proud princess, under everyone’s care, she would pluck the exquisite flowers in the garden, then disdainfully trample them underfoot. Those things cherished by others, she would crush into mud without a care. She would still be that princess loved by everyone.
Lucas began to work overtime frequently and even go on business trips, causing our wedding date to be postponed. He said the new project he was in charge of was extremely urgent and had to be completed before the new quarter. However, Vanessa posted a photo on social media, claiming that Lucas, who was supposedly very busy on a business trip out of town, was accompanying her on a stroll along the Bund. Lucas’s explanation for this was— “I was meeting with Mr. Li, the boss of our business partner. Vanessa happened to be there too. Remember she helped me get the project last time? So I invited her to dinner as a thank you. After dinner, I was just walking her back to her hotel, that’s all. Don’t overthink it…” I didn’t overthink it, because I knew this was Vanessa’s declaration of war against me. Or rather, it was her smug way of showing off and giving me a warning. She wanted to tell me that she had set her sights on my man, and there was nothing I could do about it. On the fifth day of Lucas’s business trip, Vanessa posted another photo on social media. It was a picture of a hotel room. Through a narrow gap in the curtains, you could see the blue coastline outside. Coincidentally, the city where Lucas was on his business trip, the hotel he was staying at, also had a view of the sea. I tried to video call Lucas, but he hung up. He said he was dealing with work matters and couldn’t talk at the moment, but he’d call me back later. About two hours later, Lucas finally returned my video call. In the frame, he had already showered, his hair still wet. Lucas and I were in the honeymoon phase of our relationship. Before we lived together, we used to video chat every night. He was a reserved and distant person, always keeping others at arm’s length, but with me, he showed a rare boyish side. He liked to cling to me, using that whiny and tired voice, as if he was showing his vulnerability and trying to please me. Every time, we would chat until around 10:30 PM. Only when I reminded him to go to sleep because he had work the next day would he reluctantly end the call. But now, as the clock struck 9 PM, he said he was tired and wanted to go to bed early. Looking at his handsome face in the video, I held back the pain in my heart and wished him goodnight. After hanging up, I sent a message to Vanessa’s husband, Derek Lee. It was the photo of Vanessa and Lucas out together. After a long while, I finally received Derek’s reply— “That’s her business. She can do whatever she wants. It has nothing to do with me.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “295610”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #重生Reborn #浪漫Romance #励志Inspiring #惊悚Thriller #魔幻Magic
Leave a Reply