From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 101

**TITLE: Dreams Folding Into Broken Time**
**by Serene L. Arden**
**Chapter 101**

I interrupted her abruptly, my voice a jagged edge. “Dean is still marrying Chloe?” The words escaped my lips, trembling and raw, as if each syllable was a shard of glass.

“Of course he is. Why wouldn’t he? Is something wrong?” she replied, her tone innocent, yet it struck me with the force of a dagger. She was blissfully unaware of the tangled web of betrayal, deceit, and the unspoken agreement that existed between Dean, Chloe, and me.

I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth, fighting against the surge of emotion that threatened to break free. A sob clawed its way up my throat, desperate to escape, but somehow I summoned the strength to craft a brittle smile. “You’re right. I’m just… rambling. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Thanks, Lizzie.”

Before she could respond, I slammed the door shut behind me, leaning against it as if it were my only anchor in a storm. My chest heaved violently, my lungs feeling as if they were ablaze, as though I had just sprinted a marathon. I exhaled a shuddering breath that left me feeling both light-headed and hollow.

“He’s still going through with the wedding,” I murmured to the empty space around me, clutching my chest as if I could physically hold the pain at bay. “Is he out of his mind? Obsessed? Under some kind of spell? What in the world is happening?”

“Well, damn. Hate to say this, but…”

I jumped at the unexpected voice, spinning around to find Roman standing there, a towel draped casually around his hips, droplets of water clinging to his skin and tousled hair. His dark eyes sparkled with a mix of pity and a smug satisfaction that made my blood boil.

“…I told you so.”

His words sliced through the air like a razor, inflicting a fresh wound on my already shattered heart.

He sauntered across the room with an unsettling nonchalance, as if he hadn’t just obliterated the fragile remnants of my hopes. “Dean would accept anything as long as she’s the one offering it. Didn’t I warn you about that?”

I felt an overwhelming urge to scream, to claw at the truth until it bared itself before me in all its grotesque clarity. Instead, I tugged at my hair in frustration, jagged breaths escaping my lips. “How can he be so foolish?”

Roman didn’t flinch at my outburst; it was as if he had grown accustomed to my emotional eruptions. “He’s in love. Besides…” He picked up his phone from the bedside table, scrolling through it as if we were merely discussing the weather. “He told me at the rehearsal dinner that he only got close to you to get closer to blondie. It’s like he’s been programmed to love her, no matter what she does.”

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