Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
Lily had been shielding her stomach the entire time.
The moment Bodger yanked her toward the rocks, she had shut her eyes-100 afraid to see what was coming. She couldn’t face the moment her baby was torn from her.
But the pain never came.
Instead, she heard James’s voice-deep, steady, safe.
And then, like waking from a nightmare, she found herself in his arms.
For a second, she thought it had to be a dream. She pinched herself, just to be sure,
But no-this was real.
And it wasn’t some hallucination caused by blood loss.
James was here. He’d really come for her.
Thinking about how close their baby had come to being killed by those maniacs, Lily felt a wave of fear and helplessness crash over her.
She knew James didn’t like physical contact. He’d always kept a certain distance. But right now, she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around him and held on like her life depended on it. She wasn’t letting go,
“Lily, are you okay?” he asked, voice low but tight with concern.
The scent of blood hit him immediately. His eyes darkened, sharp and dangerous. If he hadn’t been holding her, he might’ve gone after Bodger again right then and there.
“James…”
Lily knew she was crossing a line-she shouldn’t be clinging to him like this.
But she couldn’t stop herself. She didn’t want to let go. She’d missed the comfort of his arms so much. She held on tighter, like if she let go, he might vanish.
In a world full of cold and cruelty, his arms were the only place she felt safe.
Feeling her body trembling nonstop, James knew she was scared and completely overwhelmed.
He didn’t ask what happened. He didn’t push. Instead, he held her tighter. Stronger.
One hand gently patted her back like you’d soothe a child, and he whispered, soft but firm.
“Don’t cry, Lily. I’m here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you?”
He told her not to cry.
But hearing those words in his voice-hearing the way he comforted her made it impossible to hold back.
She hadn’t realized how much she missed him. He’d only been gone a couple weeks, but it felt like forever. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way. She knew she shouldn’t relv om
Just this once, she didn’t want to be strong. She didn’t want to be rational. She just wanted to fall apart in his arms and let it all go.
The three Ginger brothers stood frozen, their faces dark.
They hadn’t expected James to show up. Not now.
Sean’s fists clenched so tightly, his knuckles cracked.
If Lily had just looked at him. Just asked him for help. He would’ve done it. He would’ve stepped in-even if it meant going against his sister.
Who would’ve thought-before Lily ever had a chance to beg for their forgiveness, James had already pulled her into his arms.
And now she was curled up in James’s arms, holding onto him like he was her entire world. The jealousy, the bitterness, the fury-it all hit Sean like a blade to the chest. It tore through him, twisting until it left him hollow.
She used to trust him. She used to come to him. Now she didn’t even look his way.
Right in front of him, she’d run straight into someone else’s arms.
How could she do that? How dare she?
“Hurts… it really hurts…” Even Mathilda hadn’t expected James to appear. Her face briefly twisted with panic.
Still, after everything she went through today, there was no way she was going to drop the act-no matter who showed up.
“I really care about Lily. I truly see her as family. Why won’t she stop coming after me?” Mathilda’s tearful voice finally pulled the three Ginger brothers out of their thoughts.
None of them liked how much Lily trusted and relied on James.
To them, they were Lily’s real family-the ones she should’ve counted on.
And they hated the way Lily always seemed to hurt Mathilda. Even if they didn’t want to go head-to-head with James, they were still determined to stand up for Mathilda and make things right.
“James, back off!” Bodger stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Lily’s mean and ungrateful. She went after Mathilda on purpose. She’s not getting away with it.”
“Lily is my wife,” James said coolly, not budging an inch.
He stood there like a wall-unyielding, calm, almost like a guardian angel. “She didn’t attack Mathilda, and I’m not about to let you smear her name. Even if she had hurt some useless, backstabbing brat, none of you have the right to say a damn thing to her.”
“Who the h*ll are you calling a brat?”
James had just called Mathilda a brat, and that sent the Ginger brothers over the edge.
“James, are you looking to get yourself killed?”
Bang!
James threw a hard punch straight into Bodger’s face, then gently turned to Lily, “Did you record a video? If you did, I’ll have someone send it over. If not, that’s fine too. Whoever makes the claim has to prove it. If Mathilda can’t show solid evidence that you hurt her, then it’s slander-and the Luke Group’s legal team will take it from there.”
“I recorded it.”
Lily didn’t have her phone with her.
Elsa had already found out she used to carry a hidden camera, so she hadn’t worn it today.
But back during the holidays, James had given her a New Year’s gift-an elegant mechanical watch.
At first, she didn’t want to accept it.
But he’d told her the watch had a built-in micro camera, easy to operate. Just one click and it would start recording-perfect in case someone tried to trap her again.
She had accepted it out of caution, worried Elsa or Mathilda might try something again. She never thought it’d actually come in handy today.
“My phone’s not on me, so I’ll need to check my laptop. James, could you call Alvin and ask him to send the footage?”
“Sure.”
James shot a cool glance at Ashton, who was standing respectfully to the side. Ashton understood instantly and quickly made the call.
Lily had already told Alvin her computer password, so it didn’t take long for him to pull the footage and send it to Ashton’s phone.
With the video in hand, Ashton walked forward, his presence cold and sharp. He smiled without warmth as he turned to the three Ginger brothers. “Take a good look. Let’s see if it was Mrs. Luke who attacked someone… or your sweet, innocent little sister trying to frame her.”
He gave a low, mocking laugh and pressed play.
Mathilda’s face went pale.
She’d been so careful. She’d made sure Lily didn’t have her phone. She’d checked for hidden cameras. There was no way she could’ve recorded anything.
How the hell did she pull that off?
The audio hit first-the loud thud she made when she hurled herself at the rock wall. That was it. Her last shred of hope shattered into pieces.
She’d endured all that pain, sure it was sure to make Lily lose the baby.
She never imagined it would all be for nothing.
Worse still, once her brothers saw the truth, they’d turn on her. They’d see her as the scheming one. They’d feel sorry for Lily instead.
I can’t believe this. I just handed Lily the upper hand. It’s all Lily’s fault. She’s so selfish, so calculating. I’ll never forgive that fraud for stealing my life.
The video was short, but it was all the proof they needed. It showed Mathilda curling her lips into a twisted smile before suddenly charging at the rock wall like she’d lost her mind.
There was no one near her. Not even close. There was absolutely no way Lily had touched her.
The brothers’ faces twisted with shame.
Bodger in particular stared at the red marks on Lily’s neck-the ones he’d left there himself. His stomach twisted with guilt so heavy he could barely stay on his feet.
He never thought Mathilda would go this far. He’d believed her. He’d doubted Lily.
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