I Stopped Loving Him When He Let Me Bleed Out novel Chapter 165

Panic spiked in Sienna's chest.

She practically lunged for her glass, shoving it toward Paxton.

"Paxton. It's been an absolute honor. We survived hell together, and I'll consider you a true friend for the rest of my life."

She was so desperate to cut Isaac off that her words tumbled out in a rushed, nearly incoherent jumble.

The moment she finished, a dead silence fell over the table.

Everyone just stared at her.

The awkwardness threatened to bury her alive.

Lily was the first to recover, sliding her own glass across the table.

"Babe, your glass is empty. Here, take mine."

Sienna grabbed it like a lifeline and downed the iced tea in a single gulp.

Paxton burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright. Friends for life it is."

His laughter trailed off, a faint sheen of moisture welling in his eyes.

He looked around the table at the rest of them.

"I really am glad I met all of you. Finn—a brilliant pilot, handsome, and an absolute force of nature. Isaac—the refined intellectual. Lily—the brilliant professor. And Sienna—the most beautiful, kind-hearted doctor I know. Finding a group like this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of luck. Bottoms up."

He tilted his head back and drained the glass.

Lily wiped a stray tear from her eye.

She poured herself a drink and looked straight at Paxton.

"You know, you were actually my absolute idol for three solid years. The illusion might have shattered recently, but tonight? I officially declare you're back on the pedestal."

Paxton threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"You literally spent the entire car ride screaming at me. I've never met a fan this aggressive."

With Lily and Paxton trading effortless banter, the suffocating tension finally evaporated, replaced by genuine warmth.

Sienna sat quietly, her eyes accidentally locking with Finn's across the table.

She immediately looked away, though her gaze involuntarily darted back to his injured arm.

She hadn't exactly been gentle when she grabbed him earlier. She couldn't help but wonder if she had torn his stitches.

Finn caught the subtle look, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

She was watching him. She still cared.

That was all the confirmation he needed.

The entire nightmare had been worth it.

The dark clouds in his mind scattered, replaced by a radiant surge of triumph.

Lily happily shoved Paxton's dead weight onto Isaac and grabbed Sienna's arm.

"You take care of him. I'm riding with my bestie."

Sienna nodded.

"I'll drop both of you off."

She shot a glance at Finn. He was slouched against the back of his chair, eyes half-closed, perfectly toeing the line between blackout drunk and an Oscar-winning performance.

Lily's apartment was the closest, so she was the first to be dropped off.

That left Finn as her final passenger.

"Give me your address," she demanded.

She eyed his slumping figure through the rearview mirror.

Finn murmured a street name.

Sienna's heart skipped a beat.

It was an address she knew by heart.

It was a luxury penthouse under his name—Magnolia Residences.

It was the place they used to call home.