Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
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He looked up and met Elsa’s tear-filled gaze.
She shook her head in pain and despair. Her mouth was taped, so she couldn’t speak, but as her body trembled he could clearly see the pendant he had given her sixteen years ago swinging gently.
“You can’t sleep. Hold on-someone will come to save us! Want me to tell you a story? If you don’t want a story, I’ll sing. I sing really well! I’ll sing my best song first.”
The little girl’s hoarse but energetic voice echoed in his mind like a spell, line by line, syllable by syllable, printed into his heart.
Unforgettable.
Elsa had done many bad things and had disappointed him deeply.
But no matter how disappointed he’d been in the grown Elsa, it couldn’t change the fact that she was Lizzy.
And she was gravely ill, teetering on the edge of life-how could he let the kidnappers toss her into the sea?
Sixteen years ago, Lizzy’s optimism and sunlight had pulled him through the darkest two days and saved him from certain death.
Lizzy had saved his life and given him a new beginning.
No matter what, he had to protect the girl who had once given him his most precious warmth and hope.
“One!”
After calling the last number, the kidnapper strode to Elsa with a snarl and slashed the skin at her throat with the blade in his hand.
“Fine. Since you won’t choose, I’ll send both women on their way together.”
Elsa stopped looking at him with tear-filled eyes; instead, with a soul-full of desolation and despair, she closed her eyes in pain.
It was as if she had accepted the inevitability of her death.
As she closed her eyes, her body ceased trembling.
The pendant that had hung over her chest fell utterly still.
Seeing the pale skin at her throat begin to bleed, the red veins in Simon’s eyes spread like wildfire.
It was as if that vivid red had lodged inside his very sight.
Then his gaze slid down inch by inch until it fixed on the pendant at her chest.
His lips moved in a pained murmur; finally he croaked, “Don’t hurt Lizzy.”
“I choose… I choose Lizzy… Elsa!”
Lily had kept her eyelids half-lowered, looking as if her soul had already left her body.
She didn’t struggle and didn’t beg Simon with her eyes.
She knew Elsa and the kidnappers were in collusion; whoever Simon chose, it wouldn’t change the deadly outcome for her and the children in her womb.
Still, upon learning that Simon had been the boy from beneath the rubble, hearing him choose
Elsa stung her like a small knife. She slowly lifted her eyelids.
After choosing Elsa, Simon couldn’t bear to look into Lily’s eyes.
His gaze wavered with pain, but still met hers.
He couldn’t find the words to describe Lily’s expression.
Her look was so calm it was deathly still, as if she had expected this outcome long ago.
Hidden within that boundless calm was a faint, indescribable trace of irony.
Catching that tiny hint of derision tore him apart even more-he felt as if he were being ripped open.
For a moment he wanted to change his mind and let her live.
But the sunlight glinting on the pendant at Elsa’s chest reminded him that Lizzy had once been the brightest light in his life. Those words to change his choice never left his mouth.
Silently in his heart he thought, Lily, I’m sorry-I can’t abandon Lizzy.
“Back up one hundred meters!”
Simon, enduring a torment like a thousand arrows piercing his chest, heard the kidnapper’s command.
“Once you’re a hundred meters away, we’ll release Elsa. If you don’t obey, we’ll still kill them.”
Their boat sat nearby.
Simon knew the kidnappers wanted him to move back to buy time for their escape.
He didn’t want these kidnappers to get away unscathed.
But Elsa’s life was still in their hands. As they’d said, he had no leverage to bargain with.
He could only step back, one slow step at a time.
As he retreated, his eyes clung to Lily’s face as though glued there, unable to look away.
Once again the thought rose in him to change his mind, but in the end, he stayed silent.
Silent as he waited for the kidnappers to release Elsa.
Silent as he watched Lily go to her death.
“Get lost!”
When Simon had retreated far enough, the kidnappers cut the ropes binding Elsa’s hands and feet.
To make him believe Elsa was a helpless victim, the leader treated her roughly, even kicking her hard.
She staggered forward, eyes reddened, and stumbled toward Simon.
“Since you chose Elsa…”
The kidnapper’s gaze swept over Lily with pure malice. “It’s time to send this woman on her way!”
With a sudden jerk, he shoved Lily off the edge of the cliff.
“Lily!”
On the way to the vacation villa, James had been ambushed by men from the Miye group and the expensive killers they’d hired. He was badly wounded.
But Miye’s side had taken heavier losses.
In the chaos, he hadn’t heard his phone ring.
Later, when the police and his own men arrived and Miye’s people fled in disarray, he finally noticed a call from the bodyguard he’d assigned to protect Lily.
Learning she was in danger, he ignored his bleeding wounds and personally checked the surveillance footage.
Reviewing footage from nearby roads, he found a suspicious van.
After expending more effort, he finally pinpointed its destination.
When he saw that the van was headed for the seaside, his certainty grew-Lily was in that van.
He didn’t dare lose a second. He rushed there at breakneck speed.
But in the end, he was still a step too late.
He arrived just in time to see the kidnappers push Lily off the cliff.
In that instant, it felt as if his heart had stopped.
Ignoring the blood still seeping from his wounds, he bolted toward the cliff like a madman.
But he was far, far away. No matter how fast he ran, he could not grasp her hand or pull her into his arms.