Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
A rare conflict twisted through his heart.
He didn’t want to let her go.
But the part of him that still had a conscience loathed what he’d done to her.
Standing before the man she truly loved, he couldn’t suppress his guilt.
“I’m fine.”
Jackson was still injured himself. Lily didn’t want to make him worry.
She paused, then quickly added, “I had a box cutter on me. I cut through the ropes and even got a few slices in on the bad guys.”
“James found me right after. I’m totally fine.”
“Lily…
She made it sound light. But Jackson’s heart ached.
The Scott family had power-it hadn’t been hard for him to find out what really happened.
She’d been trafficked into the mountains. Bought by two monsters.
Monsters who had already murdered one woman they’d purchased.
Even if James had gotten there quickly, the trauma, the journey, the fear… that was alread pregnant woman to bear.
Do much for a
The more he thought about it, the more afraid he felt.
He wrapped his arms around her tightly-just like he did when he was a child-and murmured over and over, “I was so scared…”
Because Lily had always treated Jackson like a younger brother, and because he used to cling to her like this when they were little, she didn’t think much of it.
She gently patted his back. “I’m fine, see?”
“Jack, really, I’m okay.”
“I was just so scared…”
Jackson was still clinging to her. The usually wild, arrogant boy now had his voice thick with tears. “I was terrified you’d get hurt… even more scared I’d never see you again…”
Like an older sister, Lily stroked his messy hair and comforted him softly. “I’m not hurt…”
“Don’t be sad, Jack…”
Jackson clung to her tightly while she gently soothed him.
The whole scene looked warm and peaceful-like something out of a perfect memory.
But for James… it felt like someone was carving his heart apart with a knife.
James pressed a hand to every second, his chest, trying to soothe the dull, empty ache-only to feel it grow worse with
He’d once clung to a despicable hope: that since Lily was carrying his child, he still had a chance.
He wanted to keep her by his side, no matter what.
But watching her now, doting on Jackson with such warmth, he finally understood-his forced affection would only bring her pain.
If he tried to make her stay, she wouldn’t be happy.
“You really have no shame!”
Jackson’s rage exploded.
James had gotten Lily pregnant-and still forced her into a divorce.
She’d even gone as far as to hire an actor to pose as a fake boyfriend, just to help him save face in front of the Luke family.
Jackson’s fury boiled over.
He gently let go of Lily, then spun around and punched James in the face, hard.
“You treat her like this and call yourself a man?”
James was more than capable of defending himself. He could’ve fought back.
And Jackson, the once-unruly young master of the Scott family, would’ve paid the price.
James wasn’t the kind of man to enjoy getting beaten up.
But he didn’t lift a finger to defend himself.
Because he knew-Lily didn’t love him. He had been the one who’d asked for a divorce. She had a fianc? she truly cared about.
And yet, despite all of that, he’d still crossed a line he should never have crossed.
He had no excuse. No defense.
So he stood there and took the punch.
And when Jackson’s second blow came-harder than the first-James still didn’t move.
“You selfish, disgusting, vile piece of shit!”
“Jack, stop!”
When Lily saw blood at the corner of James’s mouth, her heart clenched.
She ignored the dull ache still lingering in her belly and hurried down from the bed to stop him.
Jackson hadn’t had enough yet.
He wanted to win her over-yes. But more than anything, he wanted her to be happy.
He could tell. Lily liked James.
That only made his heart burn hotter with fury.
He wanted to tear James limb from limb for hurting the girl he cherished.
But when he saw Lily trying to get out of bed, his anger gave way to worry.
With one last glare at James, he held back his fists and turned to stop Lily.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hit him again. I’ll take care of you now-I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. Whether you keep the baby or not, I’ll support you.”
“He’s not a good guy. Don’t get back together with him, okay?”
Lily still planned to keep the baby in secret-there was no way she’d remarry James.
But she didn’t like hearing Jackson bad-mouth him either.
James had saved her. She didn’t want people saying he was a terrible person.
“He’s not that bad,” she said softly. “We’ll just go our separate ways. Don’t say that about him.”
Even after all she’d gone through, she still defended him.
That only made Jackson feel worse-more bitter, more heartbroken.
He hated James even more.
But he knew Lily needed to rest. Her pregnancy was unstable, and her emotions couldn’t take any more strain.
So he said nothing more, didn’t throw another punch.
Instead, like an abandoned puppy, he looked up at her with wide, wounded eyes.
“You left Capital City without saying goodbye. Did you not want to see me anymore?”
“Of course not!”
Jackson looked so pitiful Lily’s heart melted into a puddle.
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