Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
After parting ways with James, she’d been moving through the world like a ghost, as if her soul had been ripped out of her.
She didn’t even glance at the caller ID. She picked up out of habit, blankly.
“Lily…”
Just her luck.
It was John.
His voice sounded exhausted, heavy with weariness. “Elsa attempted suicide-took pills. The doctors say she’s in very bad shape. If she hurts herself again, she might only have a month or two left. She was really close to Wendy. Her only wish now is to have Wendy by her side during her final days. Please, Lily… I’m begging you. Make peace with Wendy. Don’t push Elsa into a corner. If you agree to reconcile with her, after your divorce with James, I’ll transfer half my shares to you.”
Lily couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Was this a comedy routine?
It had always been Wendy and Elsa scheming against her, framing her, dragging her through the mud- and somehow, she was now the one “pushing Elsa to the edge?
Whether Elsa lived or died-what the hell did that have to do with her?
“Lily…”
John’s words were so shameless, so absurd, she couldn’t respond with anything but icy sarcasm.
A cold laugh escaped her lips. Her voice was laced with contempt. “John, if your brain’s broken, you might as well donate it! Half your shares: Keep them. I don’t want them. And as for making peace with Wendy? That’s never going to happen. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t get to watch you rot in jail.”
After he hurt her, Ashton had submitted a video of the assault to the police.
But because there was no severe physical damage, John didn’t face jail time. Even after he was detained, someone quickly bailed him out.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she become. Her voice rose several octaves. “And as for your precious Elsa… what does her self-harm have to do with me? She takes a few pills, acts like she’s dying, and I’m supposed to surrender? I’m supposed to sacrifice myself and give her what she wants? I don’t believe- for one second that Wendy had no idea what was going on when she tried to ruin me. It was her and her daughter who struck first-so why should I back down now just because Elsa’s throwing a tantrum? You and Elsa don’t carry that kind of weight with me. Elsa is your precious baby. Not mine. Her health, her condition-it’s none of my concern. Even if she really dies, you people have no right to guilt-trip me. She’s suffering, she might die-because she brought it on herself.”
“Lily!”
John was already at his limit. Watching Elsa pale and fading like a ghost was enough to twist his guts into knots. And now Lily, sharp-tongued and bristling with defiance, kept lashing out-he couldn’t hold back anymore.
His angry roar didn’t faze her in the slightest.
She sneered. “I know how much you care about Elsa. Can’t bear to see her suffer. Can’t bear to leave her. If you’re so devoted, why not go all in? Why don’t the two of you become tragic soulmates-live together, die together? When she dies, you can follow her into the afterlife. Wouldn’t that be sweet? That way, you two lovebirds will never have to part again.”
Her tone dripped venom. “Don’t worry. When that time comes, I’ll bring incense to your graves.”
“Lily!”
He could barely believe it-this was the same woman who once loved him to death, and now she was cursing him to die.
Furious, he snapped again. But then something dark flickered in his voice, and he gave a twisted little laugh.
“You think you’re invincible now, just because James has your back? Well, I’ve heard things. The people behind the Charmer-they want James dead, no matter the cost. And that web behind the Charmer? It’s deep. It’s dirty. There are knives coming from every direction. If they’ve marked him for death, he won’t escape. Once he’s gone… who’s going to protect you then?”
“Stop this. Go make peace with Wendy. Come back to me.”
Lily’s grip on her phone tightened.
She had overheard snippets about James’ actions against the Charmer..
After rescuing her from that hellhole, he had worked with the police to completely dismantle one of the Charmer’s major operations.
In her eyes, he had done the right thing.
She’d heard they saved over a hundred innocent women that night alone.
His actions didn’t just save those women. They would go on to save countless others-and their families
But she knew… the Charmer was backed by forces darker than most dared imagine. That they had stayed in power despite the cruelty, the torture, the deaths
And now John had said… they wanted James dead.
The moment she heard it. Lily was gripped by panic. A cold, gnawing fear that tore straight through her heart.
But just because the hmatics behind the Charmer wanted revenge, that didn’t mean she was going to crawl back to John-the blind fool who couldn’t see the truth if it smacked him in the face.
It was laughable, honestly.
Last night, after watching the video of Elsa deliberately falling down the stairs to frame her. John had looked devastated-pleading for her forgiveness, swearing he’d been wrong.
And now? Elsa pops a few pills and plays victim, and he’s right back at her side without hesitation.
It disgusted her.
So much so that she felt sickened by the version of herself who had once been madly in love with him.
“Lily, this is your last chance.”
John’s voice came through, low and tight. Still getting no answer, he was starting to panic. His fingers clenched around the pair of silver bracelets she had tossed aside.
“Divorce James. Come to the registry office with me. Tomorrow, drop the lawsuit. Reconcile with Wendy. You-“
“In your dreams.”
Lily practically spat the words out, the taste of rust on her tongue from how hard she was clenching her jaw.
“I’ll say it again: I will never reconcile with Wendy. The only thing I’ll do is make sure she gets the longest sentence possible. And as for going back to you after divorcing James? Not a chance.”
Her voice was steady, like steel. “James did the right thing by helping the police destroy that hellhole the Charmer. All those girls-poor, bright girls who clawed their way out of poverty to get into college-why should they be punished just because they didn’t have the right connections? Why should they be tossed. into the Charmer, treated like garbage?”
She paused, voice shaking but fierce. “I was sent to that place too. Wendy and Elsa put me there. If James hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t even be alive today.If James doesn’t need me, I’ll respect his choices and stay out of it. But if he does-I’ll stand beside him. I’ll fight with him. I’ll die for him if I have to.”
She clenched her teeth. “Good always triumphs over evil. He’ll be fine. You want to stay with your precious Elsa, then fine. Be a tragic couple. Sleep and rot in the same grave for all I care.”
Her voice was razor sharp. “But if anything happens to James-I’ll die with him. I’d rather die than go back to a filthy, backstabbing coward like you!”
“Lily!”
John’s voice roared from the phone, trembling with rage.
He knew she didn’t mean it-knew she was just saying all this to piss him off. She couldn’t possibly love James. No way she’d choose to live or die with another man.
But hearing her say it, heating her call him a dirty cucumber it still hit like a punch to the gut.
His voice turned low, cruel.
“My patience is running thin. Keep pushing me like this, and when I finally get tired of you, when I really decide I’m done-you’ll regret it. You’ll-“
“I won’t
She cut him off again, filled with disgust.
“I’d rather die than regret.”
And with that, she hung up.
She didn’t hesitate. She blocked the number with a few swift taps-clearly she’d done it before.
On the other end, John stared at the blacked-out screen of his phone, his face ashen, like he’d just watched someone slaughter his entire family.
But his expression quickly twisted into something more calculated.
He had received… very solid information.
Tonight, the forces behind the Charmer were going to make their move.
They had mobilized everything-every resource, every contact. All with one goal: kill James.
And James? James had spent the whole day playing around with his new sweetheart, completely off guard. How could he possibly escape a trap like that?
Lily had no friends. No family. Once James was dead, and the Luke family cast her aside, where else could she go but back to him?
He slowly slipped the silver bracelets back into his pocket, his expression darkening.
She’d thrown them away so easily-like they meant nothing.
But just because she threw them away didn’t mean she could get them back. Not without a price.
When the day came that she came crawling back, begging for a second chance… he wasn’t going to say yes so easily.
That rebellious streak of hers? He’d break 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.