Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
There was only one truth.
They had trusted Mathilda and wrongly condemned Lily.
Memories stabbed into their hearts like knives-when they had led others to isolate her, when they had pushed her into the freezing river, when they had abandoned her in the stormy forest, knowing she feared thunder most.
The agony was unbearable, tearing them apart inside.
They clutched their chests, doubling over as regret crushed them.
When they first brought Mathilda home, they had listened to her sobs, believing every word of her supposed suffering. Guilt had eaten at them, and they had poured their love and care into her.
As her brothers, they thought it only right.
But what had Lily done wrong?
Why had they hurt her again and again?
Why had they destroyed her life?
Regret drowned them now.
They had cursed Lily as heartless for refusing to come home, but why would she? That house had given her nothing but pain and despair.
They were the ones who had driven her away forever.
“How could I have a sister as selfish, cold, and full of lies as you?”
Taylor’s eyes bled hatred.
He could no longer contain the tidal wave of guilt and grief he felt for Lily, nor the rage he felt at himself for betraying her.
“I swore I would always protect Lily, always be good to her… But because of your poison, I pushed her again and again into hell. Mathilda, you deserve to die! And I deserve it too!”
His fury boiled over. He stormed forward and slapped Mathilda across the face with all his strength.
“Taylor?”
Mathilda was stunned.
She knew he had been disappointed when she abandoned him at the accident, but she believed he still loved her and that with the right effort, she could win him back.
She had never imagined he would raise his hand against her.
In the past, Bodger and Mergan would have been sick with grief to see their sister struck.
But now, when they looked at her, their eyes were ice- cold.
They were more certain than ever that Lily’s abduction had not been unconnected to her.
She hadn’t failed to save Jenn and Sharon out of ignorance-she had simply been too vile, too selfish, to bear anyone else’s happiness.
“Mathilda deserves to die.”
James’s voice was frigid as he looked down at the wretched girl groveling on the ground. He lifted his foot and ground it cruelly onto her hand.
“Ah! It hurts! James, please-it hurts so much, you can’t do this to me!”
Mathilda thought her bones were breaking, her face twisted with agony, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She prayed James might relent, that he might show mercy.
But James had come for one purpose only: to avenge Lily. He would never show mercy to the parasite who had used those filthy hands to torment her again and again.
His cold eyes showed not a trace of pity. His weight came down hard.
The bones in Mathilda’s hand cracked underfoot.
Her eyes bulged with silent pain, the scream locked in her throat.
She turned pleadingly to her brothers, desperate for them to save her.
Bodger’s lips trembled, about to form words.
But when the images of those videos flashed once more through his mind, he fell silent.
He did not move.
“It hurts… it hurts so much…”
Mathilda struggled for a long while before her broken voice returned.
She thought that after James had already crushed her hand bones beneath his heel and allowed his men to slap her swollen face raw, he might finally let her go. But then she heard his voice again-cold, merciless, devoid of any trace of pity.
“Throw her into the fountain.”
Though the water hadn’t frozen with the coming of spring, it was still bitterly cold.
Mathilda feared the cold, and with her hand bleeding, the icy soak would be agony-worse than death itself.
If misfortune struck, it might leave her permanently weakened, perhaps even barren.
She couldn’t bear it. Snot and tears streaming, she begged, “James, I really know I was wrong. I… I just felt insecure. Lily stole Mom and Dad’s, and my brothers’ love, I was afraid of being cast out. That’s why I played a few jokes on her. I had no evil intent, I swear. Please don’t throw me in. I can’t swim-if I’m tossed in, I’ll drown! You know I really can’t swim! I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die!”
Bodger and Mergan faltered, hesitation flickering in their eyes.
They knew well she couldn’t swim.
What she had done was vile, beyond forgiveness. But she was still their blood sister. They couldn’t stand idly by and watch her die.
They barked harshly, “James, don’t go too far! If she dies, you’ll pay the price too!”
“Bodger. James.”
Taylor’s voice cut in, cold and sharp. “The fountain only comes up to her shoulders at most. She won’t drown. And the video made it clear-her so-called fall into the river, where she accused Lily of pushing her, was nothing but her own staged lie.”
“That time we threw Lily into the freezing river for her sake, letting her shiver there forever… Mathilda should pay for what she’s done.”
The memory of Lily’s fragile body thrashing helplessly in the icy water came back to Bodger and Mergan. Their mouths shut tight. They could no longer defend
Mathilda.
But even if they had spoken up, James would not have listened.
In the next moment of silence, his men grabbed Mathilda and hurled her into the fountain.
The instant she hit the water, she swallowed mouthfuls, choking violently. A shroud of icy water wrapped her, stabbing into her flesh, making her convulse uncontrollably-unable to live, unable to die.
And this was only the beginning…
When Mathilda was finally dragged out-battered, shaking, sprawled on the ground like a gutted toad, her breath a mere thread-James gave the order to stop.
His grandparents had invited him to bring Lily over for dinner that night. The sun was already dipping; it was time to fetch the girl he loved and escort her to her grandmother’s home.
“It hurts… it hurts so much…”
After James and his men left, Mathilda’s tears spilled anew.
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