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The Prankster's Redemption Failed
NovelMaster
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Julian was clinically depressed. To cheer him up, his childhood best friend, Maya, pulled endless pranks on me. When I wanted to switch jobs, she posed as an executive from a Fortune 500 company to re...
章節（4）
第1章
Julian was clinically depressed.
To cheer him up, his childhood best friend, Maya, pulled endless pranks on me.
When I wanted to switch jobs, she posed as an executive from a Fortune 500 company to recruit me, only to trick me into showing up at an open audition for a gentlemen's club.
When I planned a vacation with Julian, she offered to book our tickets, only to intentionally give me the wrong flight time, leaving me to watch them fly off together.
Yet I couldn’t get mad. Julian would always say:
"Maya’s just trying to help me feel better. Don’t you want me to get well soon?"
I endured it all, telling myself it was worth it as long as he recovered.
Then came my birthday. My parents flew in from out of state just to visit me.
Desperate, I begged Julian to tell Maya no pranks today.
He nodded, even offering to drive out and pick up my parents himself.
I waited at home for hours, but they never showed.
Around ten that night, Julian finally called:
"Happy birthday! Scavenger hunt time. Find your hidden parents within five hours, and there’s a prize at the end."
Panicked, I sped toward the GPS pin he sent.
I found my parents shivering at the bottom of a barren, wind-whipped hillside on the outskirts of town, their faces flushed red from the biting cold.
Julian jumped out from behind the brush, grinning ear to ear:
"That was the first prank I designed entirely on my own! Congrats, you beat the challenge. Your prize is a trip to City Hall tomorrow to marry me!"
A memory flashed through my mind. His psychiatrist had called me that very afternoon:
"I couldn’t reach him on his phone. The head nurse told me he tried to force her to write a prescription last week. He’s been in full remission for months now. There’s really no medical need for it anymore."
I looked up at his radiant, self-satisfied smile.
It turned my stomach.
I didn’t say a word. I grabbed my parents’ hands and turned around.
Seeing my grim expression, my dad even tried to defend him:
"Julian didn’t leave us out here on purpose, sweetheart. His EV ran out of charge right after he dropped us off. It took him hours to find a charging station. The second it had power, he came right back for us."
Tears pricked my eyes.
Earlier this year, Julian had driven Maya and me to a nearby city for the weekend.
On the way back, they used that exact excuse to ditch me at a highway rest stop.
I still remembered the smug smirks on their faces:
"Who told you to be so gullible? If you can't see your car at a rest stop, you should be on high alert. Consider it a life lesson!"
Egging each other on, they genuinely left me behind.
It was the dead of winter.
I sat on a cold plastic bench inside the rest stop, shivering until my limbs went numb.
I waited until dawn before a kind stranger gave me a lift.
When I finally got home, I came down with a fever that lasted three days.
Julian nursed me, apologizing through tears:
"I’m sorry, Chloe. I really didn’t want to, but I honestly couldn't find anything else that made me feel alive anymore."
During the years we spent together, keeping him happy had become the center of my universe.
He hadn't always been like this.
Back when he first struggled, he would read, attend therapy sessions, and sometimes invite me on hikes.
He never took his dark moods out on me.
He used to tell me:
"I’m going to get better for you."
Everything changed the moment Maya moved back from abroad.
She started pushing him to find entertainment at other people’s expense—starting with people she hated, and eventually moving on to me.
Julian’s mood genuinely seemed to improve.
So cruelty became Maya’s go-to excuse to torture me.
Noticing my anger, Julian rushed over to apologize:
"I'm sorry. I swear I didn't mean to strand them out here. Things just played out that way, so I thought I’d turn it into a harmless joke..."
His lips offered apologies, but his eyes were filled with genuine confusion.
Compared to what they’d done before, this seemed minor to him. He couldn’t fathom why I was this upset.
He reached out to hold my hand:
"It’s only a forty-minute drive back. We can still blow out the candles. I bought your favorite cake. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"
Before the words fully left his mouth, a figure rustled out from the tall grass nearby.
Maya stepped forward with a camcorder, laughing hysterically:
"You're a natural, Julian! You took my rough idea and pulled it off perfectly! I recorded the whole thing. If I post this online, it's going to go viral!"
Her words jogged a sickening memory. They kept a scrapbook documenting every prank, a little memory journal.
Most entries featured me looking humiliated.
The cover read: "Julian & Maya’s Precious Memories."
I had felt sick the first time I saw it.
Maya had merely brushed it off with a casual excuse:
"I can't be with him twenty-four seven. Looking through these when he's alone is therapeutic for him."
I didn’t want to argue about that damn scrapbook right now.
I just wanted to know why he lied.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I demanded, "Why is she here?"
He had promised me. He knew how much I had looked forward to this birthday.
He hadn’t let Maya pull the prank on me.
He had simply pulled it himself.
Julian stared at me, his eyes finally showing a flicker of panic:
"She was bored at home alone today, so I... I brought her along..."
The night wind was freezing.
Yet it was nowhere near as cold as my heart.
第2章
When I arrived, I had told my Uber driver to wait at the intersection.
Without looking back, I led my parents into the car. As the window rolled up, I heard Maya’s indignant shriek:
"What the hell? How long have we known each other? Who does she think she is? I need her permission to hang out with you now?"
She was his childhood friend.
From the day I met him, people had warned me:
"In Julian's world, his parents come first, Maya comes second, and everyone else is just an extra."
I thought it was just banter back then.
They were just close friends, I told myself. Once he fell in love and got married, those priorities would shift.
When we started dating, he rarely brought her up, which only reinforced my belief.
Until the day Maya returned. It was the first time I had ever seen him obsess over his appearance.
He stood in front of the mirror, changing outfits for an entire afternoon.
On the drive to the airport, I couldn’t help asking:
"Who is she? Is she really that important to you?"
I knew the answer, but I never expected him to answer so bluntly:
"Very important. I hope you treat her as well as you treat me."
Remembering that moment felt like a hand tightening around my heart.
I checked my parents into a hotel instead of bringing them back to our place.
Julian had offered earlier:
"The house is huge. I'll have the guest room cleaned so your parents can stay with us."
When Maya wasn't around, he was attentive, thoughtful, and sweet.
Right now, I refused to bring them anywhere near him.
Just as Maya had asked—who was I to him?
Not just in this relationship, but in his heart.
It was the worst birthday of my life.
After tucking my parents into bed, I cried myself to sleep under the covers, planning to take them sightseeing the next morning.
At dawn, Julian was knocking on my hotel door:
"You didn't come home and you didn't pick up my calls. I was worried sick!"
His frantic face looked completely genuine.
While I was still frozen in the doorway, he acted as if nothing had happened, gently nudging me toward the closet:
"My parents heard your mom and dad are in town. They insisted I bring everyone over to the family estate for lunch."
My resolve wavered.
Throughout our relationship, his parents had been incredibly kind to me.
His mother had even cried in front of me once:
"I just don't understand how Julian ended up with depression. Thank God you're by his side. I see how hard you try, Chloe, and I appreciate everything you do."
She visited often, showering me with thoughtful gifts and holiday cards with generous checks.
No matter how furious I was with Julian, I couldn't turn down an invitation from his parents.
On the drive over, my parents were thrilled:
"Didn't Julian mention marrying you yesterday? Does this mean we're meeting our future in-laws?"
They had even bought expensive gift baskets.
Despite shivering on a freezing hillside just hours ago, and despite their hoarse voices, they swallowed their doubts and grievances for the sake of my future happiness.
Seeing their broad smiles softened the anger coiled in my chest.
I thought to myself: after lunch, I’ll sit down and have a real talk with Julian.
Maybe this relationship still had a chance.
When we walked into the grand estate, his mother looked at us with sheer bewilderment:
"What are you all doing here?"
第3章
A dread settled in my stomach.
Julian’s mother was a poised, dignified woman. Caught off guard, she still extended a polite welcome and invited us inside.
Julian suddenly shrank into silence.
He had been chattering nonstop in the car, but now he wouldn't say a word.
"These must be your parents, Chloe? I’ve been meaning to meet them, but I never expected you to surprise me like this. Please, make yourselves at home."
She guided us into the formal sitting room.
It was noon, yet she made no move toward the dining room.
She simply told the housekeeper to have the chef prepare a few extra plates.
"Julian mentioned that you knew my parents were here, and that you invited—"
The atmosphere was suffocating. Watching my parents force polite smiles, I couldn't help trying to explain.
Before I could finish, Maya’s voice echoed down the hall:
"Aunt Eleanor, lunch is served! All the guests are waiting. Why are you sitting around out there?"
She completely ignored our presence, her tone casual and familiar, like a daughter of the house.
Julian’s mother offered an apologetic smile:
"I’m so sorry. We're hosting several major business partners today. Pulling you into that crowd without warning wouldn't be proper."
"I'll have the staff bring your lunch out here. That silly boy Julian—bringing guests without giving me a heads-up!"
The color drained from my parents' faces.
Yet Eleanor spoke with such refined courtesy that I couldn't even voice an objection.
Laughter and the clinking of glasses drifted from the dining hall.
Every server was focused on the VIPs inside.
My parents and I were uninvited gatecrashers, left to freeze out in the lobby.
Seeing my parents shrink into their seats broke my heart.
Tears welled in my eyes. I moved to stand and take them away, but my dad gently pulled my arm:
"Julian told us to wait for him here. Let's just wait until he's ready to leave."
The moment Julian had stepped inside, he had vanished into the dining room. He had known about this business lunch all along.
An older executive inside raised his glass, teasing Julian and Maya:
"You two grew up joined at the hip. When are you finally tying the knot? We’re all waiting on that wedding invite!"
His booming voice carried straight into the sitting room, hitting my parents' ears with pinpoint clarity.
Julian didn't deny it:
"Give it another couple of years. Maya and I haven't had our fill of fun yet."
My mother’s lips trembled.
A maid walked over carrying a single platter and handed it to me:
"The kitchen is still prepping your meal. Miss Maya asked me to bring this over first."
Eleanor had gone back to the dining room half an hour ago.
If they had cared, a fresh, hot meal would have been brought out long ago.
I stared down at a half-eaten steak, congealed grease coating the cold ceramic.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
A text from Maya:
"Consider this prank a lesson: never take anything as fact until you verify it yourself, even if it comes straight from the mouth of someone you love."
第4章
This time, my parents were the ones who pulled me out of that house.
They told me they had booked flights home:
"Why don't you quit your job and come home with us? We can support you."
Ever since I started dating Julian, they had wanted to meet him.
Early on, his mental health had been fragile, and later, Maya’s chaotic presence made it impossible.
I had always made excuses.
This time, they bought tickets without telling me, hoping for a pleasant surprise. I naively thought Julian would maintain basic respect in front of my family.
Reality hit hard. In his and Maya’s eyes, my loved ones and I were nothing more than props for their amusement.
I squeezed their hands, tears spilling over:
"As soon as my current project wraps up, I’ll follow you home."
There was no project. I just couldn't swallow the humiliation. I needed Julian to look me in the eye and tell me what I truly meant to him.
I stayed away from our apartment for days. He flooded my phone with texts and calls:
"I was wrong, okay? I'm sorry!"
"I can't stand you being out there alone. Please come home."
"You know how bad my depression gets. I need laughs to stay grounded, to keep the dark thoughts away."
Always an apology, always weaponizing his mental illness.
Yet he forbade me from staying angry, and he never allowed me to call Maya out.
"So in your mind, leaving my parents to freeze on a hillside and leaving them stranded in your hallway while you had lunch—those were just laughs to you?"
He went dead silent.
Sick of his excuses, I hung up.
Hours later, a text popped up on my phone:
"Words mean nothing now. Let me show you. Tomorrow, I'm taking you to City Hall. I swear to God, this isn't a prank."
A solemn vow.
I didn't believe a word of it.
The next morning at the office, whispered murmurs followed me everywhere.
A close coworker pulled me into an empty breakroom:
"Have you seen the forum thread? It’s blowing up across the entire industry. I know you’d never do something like this, but your boyfriend needs to clear this up right now!"
She sent me the link.
The headline glared at me:
"A Homewrecker Wants My Title: How I'm Fighting for My Marriage."
I didn't bother reading the essay beneath it.
My eyes locked onto the attached photos—Maya and Julian wrapped in each other's arms, kissing.
Beside them was an image of an official marriage certificate bearing their names, alongside a screenshot of Julian’s text to me from last night, promising to marry me.
My vision blurred. The room spun around me.
My manager called me into his office:
"Chloe, you've been with this company for years. I trust your character."
"But this thread is spreading too fast. For the sake of the firm's reputation, my hands are tied..."
He trailed off, but the message was loud and clear.
Numb, I returned to my desk and began boxing up my belongings.
Julian’s name flashed across my phone again:
"Can you take the afternoon off? I'll pick you up and head straight to City Hall."
I ignored his question:
"Did you know about the post Maya made?"
He sounded confused. I hung up and sent him the link.
Two minutes later, my phone rang:
"Chloe, I swear I had no idea! Those photos are photoshopped! If I were already married to her, would I really ask you to go to City Hall? She's probably just teasing you!"
Teasing me?
A cold laugh escaped my lips:
"I just lost my career, Julian, and you're telling me she's just teasing me?"
Julian hesitated:
"I'll get you a better position somewhere else. Please don't hold it against her, okay?"
Always shielding her. Always making excuses. Never once demanding that she apologize.
A few nights ago, I ran into a couple of his fraternity brothers at a bar. They were already three drinks in.
"You know why Julian got depressed in the first place? He and Maya were days away from getting engaged, and then she suddenly booked a one-way ticket overseas to chase her dreams."
"His entire sickness is rooted in Maya. Nobody else could ever fix him."
I had heard the sound of my own heart shattering into dust.
I had poured my soul into saving him, swallowing every ounce of disrespect, thinking I could be his savior.
It turned out I was never the person he wanted.
Taking a deep, ragged breath, I held back my tears:
"Fine. I won't hold it against her. But I'm devastated right now. I need proof that you care."
Taking the hint, he immediately wired seven hundred thousand dollars to my account, with the transfer labeled as an unconditional gift.
Not to comfort me—just to keep me from confronting Maya.
"Head over to City Hall first. I'm finishing up my paperwork now. Three o'clock sharp. Don't be late."
Since he thought her cruelty was just a harmless game, I decided to give him a prank of his own.
A massive one.