From Best Friend To Fiancé (Savannah and Roman) novel Chapter 215

**Chapter 130: Sham Arrangement**

The rain had taken on a different tone as I sat there, anxiously awaiting Dean’s response. It no longer beat down in a furious rhythm; instead, it fell gently, almost as if it too had grown weary of the tension hanging in the air.

Dean remained silent for what felt like an eternity, the minutes stretching into an unbearable silence that gnawed at my insides. I leaned back in the seat, crossing my arms tightly over my chest, my gaze fixed on the shimmering reflections of headlights dancing on the wet pavement outside. “You’re not answering,” I finally broke the stillness. “Does that mean I’m right?”

He shook his head vehemently, his expression shifting to one of frustration. “No, that’s not it—Sav, come on. I’m not trying to manipulate you.”

“That’s exactly what a manipulator would say,” I shot back, my voice laced with bitterness.

“God, you make everything so difficult,” he muttered, exhaling a rough sigh as he raked his fingers through his tousled hair. His knuckles were pale, a sign of the tension coursing through him. “I know I messed up. I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I’m trying to make it right.”

“Make it right?” I echoed, my voice barely above a whisper, drowned out by the relentless patter of rain against the windshield. “You can’t make right something that’s already rotten.”

He opened his mouth, perhaps to defend himself, but I wasn’t finished.

“You helped destroy me,” I whispered, the weight of my words heavy in the cramped space. “You believed Chloe when she said I was cheating. You never bothered to ask me. You didn’t check for the truth. You just let her and Julius pull your strings and decided I was the target of your sham arrangement. You didn’t just hurt me, Dean. You humiliated me.”

His face contorted with guilt as he turned to me. “Sav, I was confused, okay? You were so… perfect when I finally got to know the real you back then. The way you walked into a room and everyone noticed you—it drove me crazy. I thought Chloe was telling the truth because I started to see you as ‘too good for me.’ I felt like you were out of my league. I was feeling guilty too, Sav. My conscience was pricking me because I was using you.”

I blinked slowly, processing his words. “So you thought I deserved to be dragged through hell for your guilt and insecurity?”

“No, I—”

“Don’t,” I interrupted, my voice flat and unyielding. “Just don’t.”

The windshield wipers creaked as they swept across the glass, their tired movements mirroring my own exhaustion. I caught a glimpse of his reflection, his eyes darting toward me before quickly looking away. He seemed smaller somehow, no longer the confident, charming boy I once knew. Instead, he appeared as a man who had come to the painful realization that apologies don’t mend broken hearts.

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