Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
“James…”
Lily could tell he didn’t want to deal with her.
But the doctor would be making rounds in the morning, and she had no change of clothes-just the one ruined hospital gown.
If a nurse or doctor came in and saw the state she was in, how would she explain it? Say she ripped it up fun?
She’d die of embarrassment.
So, even though she knew he was sick of her, she had to bite the bullet and ask.
“James…” she started again.
James really didn’t want to talk to her. for
Just hearing her voice brought the heat and chaos from earlier flooding back-making it hard to breathe.
But he couldn’t just ignore her either.
He stopped and turned, his tone icy. “What is it?”
“My… hospital gown is torn.”
Worried he’d take it the wrong way, she quickly added, “I’m not blaming you. I know you didn’t mean to tear it. You hate me, and you hate being anywhere near me-of course you wouldn’t rip my gown on purpose. I’m sure it happened when I grabbed you and you tried to get away. But now I don’t have anything else to wear, and I can’t exactly go ask for a new one like this. Could you help me get another gown?”
As she spoke, James’ mind went utterly blank.
His eyes darkened, as if something heavy and suffocating had dropped over him.
She was wrong.
The gown hadn’t torn because she clung to him and he struggled to get free.
It was because he’d been completely under her spell-possessed. He had kissed her. Lost control. Ripped her clothes with his own hands.
And his hands had-
Before he could drown in the shame all over again, she added softly, “Before you go, could you pick up pieces on the floor? I’m worried a nurse might walk in and get the wrong idea. It might ruin your reputation.”
James instinctively looked down at the scattered fabric.
A breeze drifted through the window, sending one scrap fluttering through the air until it landed on his arm.
As soon as he touched it, the memory struck-his fingers gripping her, refusing to let go.
For a split second, it felt like he was holding her again.
The scrap of cloth burned his palm like fire. He flinched and tossed it away as if it had scalded him, stumbling backward several steps.
His face turned crimson. His heartbeat thundered in his chest.
Watching him fling the fabric away like it was contaminated, Lily shrank further under the blanket.
He really did loathe her.
Even a scrap of her clothing brushing against him made his skin crawl.
And to think she’d had the audacity to touch him, to kiss him…
He probably had to summon every ounce of strength just to keep himself from vomiting.
She winced, realizing how inconsiderate she’d been to ask him to clean up her clothes. the
“You don’t need to clean it up,” she said quickly. “Once you bring me another gown, I’ll change and handle it myself.”
James didn’t want to touch any of it.
Just the sight of those scraps made that black-and-white image return-the one that haunted his mind like a spell.
But he wasn’t someone who dodged responsibility.
The mess on the floor… it was his doing. Born of his own chaos and weakness.
He would clean it up. That much, he owed her.
After a pause, James finally spoke in a cold voice. “I’ll take care of it.”
Without another word, he bent down and began picking up the scraps of fabric from the floor.
Lily still felt terrible for making him do it. But her legs hurt badly-so even after she got changed, she didn’t plan on moving around much. She didn’t stop him. Instead, she silently resolved that once Grandpa was feeling better, she’d make sure to speak up for James. She would do everything she could to convince the old man to approve their divorce.
The cloth wasn’t hot.
But every scrap reminded James of what had just happened-visions that burned in his mind. His fingers. felt like they were brushing flames, the heat spreading to his fingertips until it seemed he was holding a pile of smoldering embers.
At last, he tossed every piece into the trash.
It should’ve been a simple task. But by the end, his palms were slick with a cold layer of sweat, as if he’d just fought a brutal battle. The images still wouldn’t leave his mind. Avoiding her face entirely, he hurriedly swept up the rest of the fragments, then turned and left the room without another word.
When he returned, he brought her two brand-new hospital gowns.
“Lily, I’ll step outside. Change into one of these.”
Even with the blanket pulled tightly around her, she felt exposed and embarrassed. As soon as he stepped out, she scrambled out from under the covers, brushing off the remaining scraps stuck to her body and rushing to get changed.
But her calf wound had started bleeding again.
The blood had stuck to the blanket. When she peeled it away too quickly, it felt like tearing off a layer of skin.
The pain made her cry out instinctively. Tears welled up in her eyes before she could stop them.
“Lily!”
Hearing her cry out, James panicked. His long legs carried him swiftly back into the room
He hadn’t expected to see what he did.
She had just pulled away the blanket. The torn pieces of cloth were gone, and the fresh gown was still clutched in her hands, not yet on her body.
She stood there in front of him, wide-eyed and exposed.
There were still tears on her face, like raindrops on a piece of fine silk. Or like crystal drops sliding over flawless white jade-pure and soft, yet inadvertently brimming with a delicate allure.
She was born with that kind of beauty. It didn’t need embellishment to be breathtaking.
Realizing he had just barged in on her, James immediately turned his face away. “Hurry up dressed.” and get
Lily hadn’t expected him to suddenly return either. She was so startled she nearly lost her soul. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she frantically pulled on the gown.
In her rush, she tugged too hard at the fabric and reopened her wound, drawing another sharp sting of pain. Tears welled up again, unbidden.
James noticed the fresh blood right away.
After the earlier treatment, the doctor hadn’t bandaged her wound, assuming it would heal faster if left uncovered. No one had expected James to lose control the way he had. In his chaos, he must’ve hit her leg without realizing it, tearing the wound open again.
She’d used the blanket to cover herself, but the blood had glued the fabric to her skin. Tearing it away had only ripped the skin further.
He’d seen many people cry before.
It usually didn’t faze him. In fact, when people cried to manipulate or sway him, he only felt disgust.
But seeing her cry made something in his chest ache-as if someone had taken a blade to his heart.
He pressed his hand against his chest, trying to ignore the unfamiliar tightness. Then he turned and left the room again to call for a nurse.
The nurse on night duty happened to be a new girl. Her hands were clumsy, and her movements awkward. When she began disinfecting the wound, Lily winced in pain.
She didn’t want to embarrass the nurse, so she gritted her teeth and endured. But the corners of her eyes still turned red, betraying her discomfort.
James noticed.
He didn’t like meddling in others’ business.
Especially not Lily’s.
But when he saw her red-rimmed eyes, looking like a wronged little bunny, the words slipped out before he could stop them. “You can go. I’ll take care of it.”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.