Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3559

Claire kept her face completely blank. "No."

Frustrated but entirely helpless, Barton finally gave up and drove away into the night.

*

It was the weekend, and Marina had been dragged out for a shopping trip by Summer Carlyle and Trixie Bell. The weather was crisp, so the three friends grabbed dinner together that evening to warm up.

Once they finished eating, Trixie still had energy to burn. "Should we hit a bar?"

Summer smiled playfully. "Is your Colby Jensen actually letting you out of his sight tonight?"

Trixie scoffed lightly. "He's out of town on business. He's usually clinging to me 24/7, so now that I finally have a little freedom, I am absolutely going to make the most of it!"

Her tone was full of fake annoyance, but her expression radiated smug satisfaction. She was clearly just showing off how deeply obsessed her boyfriend was with her.

Marina and Summer exchanged a knowing look and shook their heads in unison. Oh, the vanity of women in love.

The three of them headed to a popular local bar.

Even though the next day was Monday, the venue was packed with people looking to blow off steam. A relatively well-known rock band was playing live, whipping the crowd into an absolute frenzy. The cheering was deafening.

Summer was a huge fan of the band, so she excitedly pushed her way toward the front to join the screaming crowd.

Trixie stayed with Marina for a couple of drinks before the infectious energy got to her, and she wandered off to join the chaos on the dance floor.

Marina sat alone at the bar, resting her chin on her hand, comfortably watching her friends lose their minds to the music.

"Marina!"

A slightly surprised voice called out from behind her.

It was a voice that triggered an immediate, visceral reaction of disgust in Marina. Despite the blaring music and the chaotic environment, she recognized it instantly.

Pretending she hadn't heard a thing, she stood up to walk away.

"We broke up again."

Marina stared at him, utterly deadpan.

Her expression remained frigid. "I have zero interest in you and Cindy. I don't care how many times you break up, and you certainly don't need to report it to me."

Freddy stepped closer, blocking her escape route again. "Before Cindy and I got back together this last time, I dated someone else. We weren't compatible, and Cindy came crying back to me, so I gave her another chance. But we ended things again. After all this back and forth, I finally realized that she doesn't even come close to comparing to you. I only fell for her initially because she was so good at manipulating me."

Marina's patience evaporated. "Let me repeat myself. What does any of this have to do with me?"

Freddy put on his most soulful, tortured expression. "How do you not see it? What I'm saying is... you're the one I've always loved the most."

Marina let out a sharp, incredulous laugh.

Seeing her smile, Freddy completely misread the situation, thinking he was actually getting through to her. "I know you're miserable with Carson Foster. He's constantly wrapped up in scandals, and you always have to be the one to step up and do damage control for him. This arranged marriage definitely isn't what you really want."

"You are completely delusional," Marina sneered, her eyes cutting into him like glass. "My relationship with him is fantastic. I would rather spend the rest of my life doing damage control for his scandals than look at you for one more second. Am I making myself perfectly clear?"