Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
John had never liked being slapped.
He especially couldn’t stand it when Lily was being this cold and defiant, her eyes full of thorns aimed straight at him.
But today, he had been wrong-so so wrong-and he had hurt her. He had no right to be angry. Even after the slap, he didn’t lose his temper.
He simply turned his face back toward her, trying to coax her gently. “Lily. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have.
Before he could finish, Lily slapped him again-harder this time.
Her chest was heaving, her voice sharp and filled with rage. “You’re damn right you shouldn’t have. Your had no right-none-to hurt me like that just because Elsa said a few words. Who the hell do you think you are! Even if I really had committed a crime, it’d be up to the law to punish me-not you. You don’t get to lay a finger on me! It’s funny, isn’t it….”
She suddenly let out a bitter, scornful laugh.
“You told me once how much you hated your father. How you despised him for being unfaithful to your mother, for hurting her again and again until she wasted away and died in misery. You said you’d never forgive him for choosing some woman on the outside over his own wife. But look at you now, John. You’ve become him. You’re just like that bastard. Luckily for me, I woke up in time and saw through your selfish, cold-hearted lies. I get to start over.”
“Lily”
“
Hearing her bring up his parents, the pain in John’s eyes surged like a flood.
He had always grieved for his mother, who had died young and brokenhearted. He had always hated his philandering father for betraying her.
Yes, he had hurt Lilyday.
But what she said was wrong. He had never slept with another woman. He had never gotten anyone else pregnant. He wasn’t like his father. He was nothing like that bastard.
“I’m not like him. I would never cheat on you, never touch another woman. I’ve only ever wanted you, Lily. Always. You’ve slapped me twice now. You’ve vented your anger. Simon’s going to take Elsa to the hospital. Let’s not fight anymore. Come home with me.”
“Home”
Lily let out a cold, amused laugh.
“You and Elsa really are a match made in heaven. Both of you love to daydream. The place you live-that’s not my home. That was my prison. Since the day I left you, I’ve been free again. Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to walk right back into that cage? John, let me say this one more time: I’m calling the cops. I’m pressing charges. You can expect a court summons in the mail”
“Lily…”
John wasn’t worried about her going to the police.
What he couldn’t stand-what he couldn’t accept-was how she kept drawing a hard line between them.
Seeing James still holding her so tightly, jealousy flared in his chest like wildfire. His eyes darkened with murderous rage. “James, let her go! She’s my girlfriend
James had had enough of Jolin.
Even if he wanted nothing more than to push Lily away, in this moment, he would never let John win..
His sharp, cold eyes glinted with mockery. “Looks like you’ve lost your memory again. I told you already Lily is my wife.
“Lily is already married.” James said coldly. “In front of her lawful husband, what are you-a pathetic i From now on, stay away from her. If you ever dare lay a hand on her again, you’ll be making an enemy of the entire Luke family.”
Lily knew James only stood up for her because he had a strong moral compass and couldn’t stomach men who hit women.
Still, even knowing he didn’t say it from affection, hearing him call himself her husband sent her heart into a frantic rhythm she couldn’t control.
She was completely doomed.
She liked him more and more.
Like someone sinking into quicksand, even after struggling to escape, even knowing full well she should keep her distance, she still couldn’t stop herself from falling-
“What wife?” John’s face was black with fury.
To him, Lily belonged to him-always had, always would. Hearing James call her his wife was unbearable.
“You two were forced together by your parents’ arrangement. If you really cared about her, you wouldn’t have introduced her to other men. She doesn’t want to be your wife-she said it herself. In this life and the next, for all eternity, she only wants to grow old with me. James, stop fooling yourself! Lily, come with me. Let’s go home.”
“John, the one fooling himself here is you.”
Lily knew James hated being clung to, and she would never repay his help by pestering him or making him uncomfortable.
She’d explain it all to him later.
But right now, she needed to disgust John just a little more-and borrow James’ presence to finally sever the last of his delusions.
“Who said I don’t want to be James’ wife? He’s incredible-the best man I’ve ever met. I’d love nothing more than to be his wife. Sure, I said I wanted to be with you for eternity-but who actually takes what someone say’s in a moment of infatuation seriously? John, I don’t love you anymore. I stopped loving you the second I walked out of your mansion.”
Her voice sharpened. “I shattered our only framed photo. Dug up what we buried under the silk tree and burned it. I sold or threw out every single gift you ever gave me. Everything I gave you-1 destroyed too. I’ve cut all ties with you. What makes you think you still have any right to cling to me?”
“What did you say?”
John’s pupils shrank violently.
She had deliberately smashed their photo?
She had destroyed what they buried beneath the silk tree?
He refused to believe she’d actually do that.
She had to be lying to hurt him.
“I said, loving you was absolutely disgusting.”
Lily enunciated each word like a knife to his heart. “If I could live my life over, I wouldn’t waste a single day, let alone four years, tangled up with a rotten fool like you.”
“Lily. I hurt you tonight. You’re spouting nonsense, but I won’t hold it against you.”
John’s eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. He stubbornly reached out his hand again. “Stop saying those things to spite me. Come back with me. Let’s go home.”
“Stop harassing Lily.”
James hated men who raised their hands against women. There was no way he’d let John drag her back.
He kicked John’s hand aside without hesitation, then lifted Lily into his arms.
“Anyone who harms my wife is picking a fight with me. John, stay the hell away from her if you want to live.”
The marks on Lily’s neck made James’ chest tighten with fury. All he wanted now was to treat her wounds. He had no time to waste arguing with these fools..
He had already sent the video to Ashton.
That video not only showed Elsa’s staged fall-it also captured John’s brutal assault on Lily.
James ordered Ashton to take the footage to the police, then turned to leave with Lily still in his arms.
Lily looped her arms around his neck, nestling into him with a softness that didn’t match her usual independence.
Like she truly adored him. Needed him
John couldn’t stand the sight of it. The scene burned his eyes..
He took a long stride forward, intending to snatch Lily back from James.
But just as he passed by Elsa, she grabbed the cuff of his pants, forcing him to halt.
“John…”
Elsa’s face, usually cold and proud, was streaked with tears. “I’m really in so much pain.”
Earlier, when she was bloodied and crying out for help, John had been anxious and full of concern. But now, knowing the truth, hearing her whimper again felt nothing but laughable and pathetic.
He looked down at her, eyes filled with disappointment and disdain. “Elsa, why did you frame Lily? Both a times Wendy tried to destroy her-were you really not involved? Did you truly know nothing?”
Elsa’s expression turned ashen, like a layer of dust had been smeared across her face.
She couldn’t believe that John-the man who had always trusted and doted on her-was now doubting her. involvement in those two incidents.
The truth was, of course she’d been involved. She was the one who had advised Wendy.
But she couldn’t admit that.
Her lips trembled with pain before she finally looked up at him, trying to maintain her pride while pretending to be fragile. “John… do you really think I was the one who set up Lily’s drunk driving case? That I was the one who arranged for those photos to be taken of her?”
“We’ve known each other for so many years, John. In your heart, do you really see me as some selfish, vicious snake who lives to ruin others?”
Elsa’s voice trembled, and then steadied with practiced poise.
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.