Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
But Lily had been telling the truth. Mathilda had set her up again.
Still reeling from the shock and regret, he suddenly heard Ashton’s cold, sarcastic voice. “Mathilda sure knows how to play the victim: So innocent. So sweet. So full of crap.”
Ashton kept going. “The video makes it crystal clear. Mathilda was having one of her crazy meltdowns and injured herself. Mrs. Luke was several feet away. There’s no way she could’ve laid a hand on her. So tell me are you still going to say she attacked her?”
Crazy? The three Ginger brothers all stiffened at the word.
They didn’t like hearing someone describe Mathilda that way.
But in that moment… none of them had the nerve to snap back at Ashton. Not after they’d just falsely accused Lily. Again.
The same Lily who used to follow them around everywhere, looking up to them like they were her whole world.
“Lily, I…” Bodger’s face turned pale as he stumbled back, looking wrecked.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the bruises on her neck. They hit him like a gut punch. He wanted to apologize. He wanted things to go back to how they used to be-back when she trusted him.
But his pride got in the way. He’d never been the type to say sorry-especially not to her. And now, he had no idea where to even begin.
Jonah and Sean shifted uncomfortably too. Their lips parted, like they might say something, but nothing came out.
They wanted to apologize.
But after years of talking down to her-correcting her, criticizing her, acting like she was always in the wrong-they just couldn’t bring themselves to swallow their pride now.
“I’m sorry…” Mathilda finally spoke up-but her tone said otherwise. She didn’t feel guilty. Not really.
The only thing she regretted was not being careful enough. She hadn’t expected Lily to catch her on video again.
But she didn’t want James-or her brothers-turning against her. So she let the tears roll down, wearing her most convincing, heartbroken expression.
“I didn’t mean it… I just-I just love James so much. I thought if they broke up, I’d have a chance. That’s the only reason I did something so stupid and tried to frame her. I’m not a bad person. Please, don’t hate me…”
Ashton’s stomach turned. He couldn’t hold it in. The words flew out before he could stop them. “You tried to frame Mrs. Luke to get with Mr. John? Please. He wouldn’t touch you if you were the last woman on Earth
The second the words left his mouth, Ashton realized he might’ve gone too far. That wasn’t just blunt-it was rude. And a liule disrespectful to James, too..
He shot James a nervous glance, then quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
“Ashton!” Mathilda’s voice cracked as tears spilled down her face.
Since she’d been brought back into the Ginger family, she’d been treated like a princess-absolutely adored. The worst thing that had ever happened to her was the Luke family refusing to force James into marrying her. She’d never been humiliated like this.
And hearing those words-he wouldn’t touch you-it cut deep.
The three Ginger brothers lost it. Ashton had just humiliated their sister in front of everyone. They looked ready to tear him apart.
Even James’s face darkened.
He had no problem with someone calling out Mathilda.
But he didn’t want her name tied to his in any way.
The more he looked at Lily’s bruised neck, the more furious he became. The sight of it made his blood boil. He took Lily’s hand and calmly walked her over to Bodger. His voice turned ice-cold, “Lily, hit him back.
Then, without hesitation, he swung first, punching Bodger so hard that it knocked his face sideways.
“James!” Bodger roared, but before he could move, Lily slapped him hard across the face.
Lily had never been the type to let things slide.
Even in the worst situations, if she had a chance to fight back, she would. And with James backing her up? She wasn’t about to hold back.
“Lily!” Bodger stared at her in disbelief. He never thought she’d dare hit him.
He’d always been too proud to take a hit from anyone-and getting slapped like that cut deep. But when his eyes landed on the bruises around Lily’s neck, the guilt and regret twisted in his chest. In the end, he just couldn’t bring himself to hit her back.
Lily didn’t stop at just one. She hit him again. And again. She didn’t stop until her own hand was aching from the impact.
Then she turned and walked straight to Mathilda, who was still sniffling like she was the victim. Lily slapped her across the face-full force.
“Mathilda, you’ve lost your damn mind. If you’re that desperate for attention, take it somewhere else. Stop dragging your drama to me. Pull this stunt again, and I’ll slap you every single time see you.”
James couldn’t stand seeing Lily get hurt-that’s why he told her to hit back.
But now, watching her hand swell and redden with pain, he started to regret it.
He should’ve done it for her.
Last time, John had grabbed Lily by the throat in the hallway. They called the cops, but he only got held for a few days. James wasn’t about to waste time like that again.
James scooped Lily into his arms, then shot Ashton a look and said coolly, “Call some guys. If Bodger, Jonah, and Sean don’t walk out of here with bruises, forget your year-end bonus. But if they do…. I’ll double it.”
Double? Ashton lit up like he’d just won the lottery.
His usual year-end bonus was enough to buy a place in the city.
Double that? That kind of money was life-changing.
No way was he letting that slip through his fingers. Tonight, he was going all in-every trick, every ounce of effort, whatever it took.
James had planned to take Lily to the hospital.
But she refused, worried he’d find out she was pregnant.
He didn’t want to take her back to the Luke family estate either. The marks on her neck would alarm his grandmother and the rest of the elders. So instead, he drove her to his private villa outside the city.
James laid her down carefully on the bed in his master bedroom, then grabbed the first-aid kit and came back to treat her wounds.
“James, it’s okay,” Lily said softly. “You don’t have to go through the trouble. I can handle it myself.”
She already felt like she’d crossed a line tonight, clinging to him the way she had. There was no way she’d let him tend to her injuries too.
But before she could even reach for the cotton swab in his hand, he cut her off with a cool, commanding voice.
“Sit still. Don’t move.”
She froze. His tone didn’t leave room for argument. She sat quietly at the edge of the bed, like a kid in trouble, and let him clean the scratches on her neck.
Her pale skin made the red marks stand out even more.
Fortunately, the scratches weren’t deep, and the bleeding had stopped.
After he finished treating her wounds, James was about to set the first-aid kit aside-until he noticed her eyes. Her eyes were swollen and red.
Her nose was pink, too. It was obvious she’d been through a lot tonight.
And then there were her lips-rosy, trembling, soft.
Those lips were dangerous. The kind that could drive a man insane.
He knew he should stay away. He was supposed to keep his distance. After all, they were heading for divorce. It was already decided.
But his feelings pulled him in, hard and fast, refusing to let go. Emotion surged through him, raw and overwhelming.
He tried-he really tried-to look away.
But the self-control he prided himself on shattered in an instant.
And then he snapped. Without thinking, he pulled her into his arms and crushed his mouth against hers, kissing her hard-like he couldn’t help himself.
“James…”
Lily’s eyes flew wide in shock.
She hadn’t expected it-not when he’d been treating her so carefully just moments before.
She knew James wasn’t someone who craved physical affection. He usually hated being touched- especially by women. On any normal day, he’d never kiss her like this-so raw and out of control.
Thu, 24 Jul @GG
She knew exactly what this was-another wave from the aftereffects of that drug Wesley had poisoned him with. The side effects hit at random and with brutal force.
He probably wasn’t fully in control of himself right now. If she kissed him back-if she wrapped her arms around him-it would be taking advantage of the situation.
They were supposed to file for divorce as soon as his grandfather gave the nod. That was the plan. He wasn’t hers anymore. She had no right.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.