Filed to story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
Almost at once, footsteps sounded from the corridor. Susan turned instinctively toward the sound.
When she saw Blanc, her eyes brimmed with moist joy. “Blanc, drinking will hurt you. Please don’t keep drinking.”
“I know losing Nancy was a huge blow-you can’t accept it yet.”
“But you’re not alone. I’ll always be here for you.”
She looked at him coquettishly, then threw herself at him, all shyness and flirtation.
Soren already had a wife and child, yet he would risk everything for her. She felt supremely confident in her allure.
She was certain Blanc would succumb to her gentle seduction and be unable to pull away.
“Susan, are you sick?” Blanc snapped.
Susan had expected that her flirtatious collapse into his arms would make him hold her tight and seek comfort in her. She hadn’t imagined he would dodge her, leaving her grasping at thin air.
Caught off balance, she stumbled against a nearby chair and fell to the floor in humiliation.
Blanc’s voice remained cold and disdainful. “I was never alone to begin with.”
“I have parents, a wife, and children. How could I be alone?”
“If you dare curse Nancy again, I’ll see you dead first.”
Susan froze, stunned.
Was he refusing to admit Nancy was gone? The thought that Nancy was dead and he still couldn’t let go filled Susan with fury. How could a corpse-turned to dust-compete with a living beauty like her?
She was sure he would see her worth soon and love her until he ached.
She didn’t get up. Through tears she glared at him. “Blanc, you’re so rude-you hurt me…”
“It hurts… it really hurts…”
Blanc’s eye twitched hard. Hearing Susan’s cloying, affected voice made him feel worse than swallowing a fly. If not for his mother insisting he play along so Susan could be taught the pain of falling from heaven to hell, he would have had Susan thrown into a cesspit long ago.
He thought Susan vicious-every time he saw her she made his skin crawl. He hadn’t even touched her hem, yet she acted as if he’d assaulted her. It was a slander of his innocence.
He kept his face cold and was about to tell her to stop, when Renee spoke, earnest and heartfelt.
“I know you can’t accept godmother’s death all at once, but my mom didn’t mean anything by it. She worries about you-she thinks of you in everything she does. She really cares. Can’t you at least return her kindness?”
“Shut up!”
At the mention of Nancy’s death, Blanc’s expression froze even colder, as if ice had poured over him. “Don’t spew filth here. Nancy will never leave me!”
Renee looked at him with sympathetic understanding. He was still refusing reality.
She moved her lips to try again, but then saw James coming down the stairs.
“James!”
Renee’s joy at seeing him was nearly airborne, but remembering his recent losses, she quickly pressed her lips together, tears brimming as she spoke. “I’ve heard about grandmother and godmother-about what happened. I know you must be hurting, but the dead can’t come back. James, I hope you can move forward-“
“Did you just crawl out of a cesspit? Why does your mouth smell so foul?” James shot her a look of extreme disgust. “Curse my family again and I don’t mind having you thrown into a cesspit!”
Hearing him call her foul and threaten to toss her in a cesspit, Renee’s face fell.
But desperate to become Mrs. Luke, she swallowed her resentment and softened her voice. “I know you and Dad can’t accept this right now.”
Hearing him call her foul and threaten to toss her in a cesspit, Renee’s face fell.
But desperate to become Mrs. Luke, she swallowed her resentment and softened her voice. “I know you and Dad can’t accept this right now.”
“But James, I’ll stay with you-“
“Rence, what reality do you want my James to accept? Lily is fine. Why would he need stay with him? You and your disgusting mother are both experts at being repulsive!”
Renee’s eyes flew wide.
Wasn’t Grace already dead-how could she hear her voice? Had she gone mad? you to
Momentarily stunned, she glanced toward the source and saw Nancy and Lily descending the stairs, one on each side, supporting Grace by the arms.
Susan’s face went utterly pale.
To her, Soren was utterly devoted; he would never lie to her. So what were these three doing here?
Shocked, hurt, and disappointed, she looked at Soren. “Soren, didn’t you say they were-how can they possibly-“
“Susan, I did say everything will happen as you wished.” Soren’s voice no longer carried respect or fondness. It was laced instead with a chilling loathing and coldness. “You were seeking your own death. Everything unfolded exactly as you wanted.”
“What?”
Sudden realization hit Susan. She rose, then her legs gave out and she collapsed back to the floor in humiliation.
Soren rolled his eyes with contempt. He didn’t know whether to call this woman narcissistic or simply stupid.
Back in school he’d fancied her, even written her love letters. But teenage crushes paled beside twenty years of companionship with his wife.
When he saw Susan kissing that punk outside school, he’d already let go of his feelings for her. If not for her friendship with Nancy bringing her occasionally to the Luke house, he would have forgotten she existed.
Grace had saved his life more than once. She’d sponsored the orphaned Soren’s education, helped him marry, and the house he lived in after marriage had been Grace’s gift. He was fiercely loyal to the Luke family.
He would rather die than betray them. What right did Susan have to assume that a bit of false friendliness would make him hers? Did she see herself as some sort of fairy?
Ugh!
With her fake, poisonous charm, she had the gall to imagine she was a goddess? No-he would never betray the Luke family.
So as soon as he got Susan’s call last night, the first thing he did was tell Grace everything.
The more he looked at Susan and her daughter, the more disgusted he became. He had said bluntly, “Susan, you live in delusion. With your filthy ways you want to marry a gentleman? As for your daughter Rence… if my daughter behaved that shamelessly I’d beat her to death. She’s brainless and shameless; she’s not fit to even carry my boss lady’s shoes. You two were raised in filth-your heads are full of shit, aren’t they?”
“No-no way…”
Susan was stunned into silence, her face ashen, whispering that she couldn’t accept Soren betraying her. “You promised me. It can’t be…”
Slap!
Grace suddenly stepped forward and with all her strength struck Susan across the face.
“You tried to get Lily killed, poisoned Nancy… Susan, you and the little beast you bore deserve to die. Tell me how should I make you two die tonight?”
Susan shuddered violently.
She hadn’t expected Grace to know about the poison. She wasn’t dumb; she would never confess. She sniffed and, putting on a pitiable show, looked at Grace and shook her head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nancy is my best friend-how could I hurt her? I raised James for three years; I treated him like my own son. How could I harm his wife and child? I never meant to hurt you. Soren is a spurned lover who turned hatredful-he’s slandering me.”
Soren’s mouth twitched. His wife was so much better than Susan; there was no way he’d ever been a spurned lover of hers. Susan’s self-aggrandizing delusions were hopeless.
Grace felt disgusted at Susan’s lies. She snorted coldly. “You call James your child?”
“Wake up. Your child is that stinking pest Renee. You could never give birth to someone as good as James!”
The old hag had just said Grace was inferior to Nancy.
Susan seethed with hatred, but she was on the losing side now. She couldn’t tear the old woman’s face apart; all she could do was weep silently, hoping Nancy-given their close relationship-wouldn’t press her further.
“Susan, don’t pretend to be a good person anymore.”
After all, they had known each other since childhood. Even if Nancy forced herself to let it go, it would be a lie to say she felt no pain at being betrayed by Susan.
“James already has the evidence that you had poisonous supplements prepared. The drugs you gave Soren-James traced the purchase channels. Susan, police investigations rely on evidence, not on a few crocodile tears from you. You and the snake you bore can look forward to sitting in jail together.”
Susan’s face drained of color as if painted white.
James was terrifying. How could he possibly have obtained evidence for something she had hidden so carefully?
This afternoon Ivan had already been discharged and returned home.
She hadn’t even recovered from her panic when she heard Ivan’s voice, laced with cruel calmness. “Susan, Renee-you two like poisoning people? Tonight I’ll let you taste what it’s like to be poisoned.”