Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
He spoke coolly, voice clipped. “I’ll have someone bring you clothes. After that, I’ll take you home so we can discuss an engagement.”
Engagement. Home.
The words nearly made Marilyn’s knees give out. She had done it-she was going to marry into Capital City’s first family.
Soon she would be the Luke family’s second young mistress. A princess.
And Holly, Adeline, Millie? All of them would be beneath her heel. Everyone who had mocked or ignored her would pay.
Word spread quickly. James returned to the family estate with Lily when he heard Victor was bringing a woman home.
The whole Luke family was gathered in the sitting room, expectant.
Grace beamed, eyes crinkled with joy. “That boy Victor has always been married to his research. I worried he’d never find a wife. Who knew he’d bring a girl home so soon?”
Henry’s chest swelled with happiness. He had already been elated at the thought of a great-grandchild from James. Now, with Victor opening his heart, his joy doubled.
Blanc and Nancy exchanged smiles. They trusted Victor’s judgment-surely any girl he chose would be as likable as Lily.
Even Ivan was giddy. If both of his older brothers married, the pressure would finally be off him.
At last, the front door opened,
Victor stepped inside with Marilyn/at his side.
The smile froze on Lily’s lips.
Her stomach dropped. The girl/clinging to Victor’s arm… was the same secretary who had once deliberately thrown herself into James’s lap.
Ivan leapt up from the sofa, grinning. “Victor! You brought my future sister-in-law! Come, sit down, the two of you-“
?
Then he saw her face.
His words cut off. His expression collapsed.
He hadn’t seen it firsthand, but Ashton had told him. Over dinner, Ashton had described how Marilyn had tried to latch onto James. Ivan had even shown her photo to the elders, and Grace herself had warned that the girl’s eyes were full of calculation.
He rubbed his eyes hard, praying he was mistaken.
But no. Standing there with a gentle smile, playing the part of the virtuous girl, was Marilyn.
Victor. His wise, brilliant Victor. Had he really lost his mind?
Ivan sank back into the sofa, stunned into silence. For once, the family chatterbox had nothing left to say.
“Victor, you must introduce-“
Henry’s voice carried across the room. At his age, nothing made him happier than seeing his grandsons build families of their own. He had even prepared a gift-a bank card tucked in a velvet box, one million dollars set aside as a welcome for the new granddaughter-in-law.
But when he saw Marilyn’s face, his hand froze.
The box vanished back into his pocket.
The Luke family had no need for opportunistic marriages. Wealth, they had in abundance. What Henry valued was character.
And this girl’s character was already stained.
She had tried to seduce James. And now she was clinging to Victor. No one of integrity could so easily hop from one brother to the next.
He would not hand over the family’s hard-earned fortune to a woman like that.
Grace, too, quietly slid the jewelry box she had prepared-a bracelet worth a small fortune-behind her back, hiding it beneath the cushion.
Grace had always prided herself on being fair. Three grandsons meant three granddaughters-in-law, and she intended to divide her jewelry evenly.
But giving any of it to Marilyn-whose eyes gleamed with nothing but calculation-made her stomach twist.
Her hand, halfway through slipping a bracelet from her wrist, froze.
Beside her, Nancy’s fingers stilled as well.
Blanc’s vision went black and then blacker. Pressing his temple, he forced himself to ask the question anyway, clinging to the faintest hope. “Victor… you really want to be engaged to her?”
“Yes.”
His voice was quiet, but the weight of it fell on the room like a stone, crushing the last of their illusions.
Blanc’s heart sank. He had always respected his children’s choices, but Marilyn-her ambition, her slyness -was not someone he could respect.
He exhaled hard, clutching his chest. “This is madness. You’ve known her for only days, and you want to be engaged? Do you even know her? Are you certain she’s the one you want for life?”
Nancy’s tone was gentler, but the concern was clear. “Victor, marriage will decide your happiness for a lifetime. Are you sure about Marilyn?”
“Dad, Mom… last night, I was set up.”
Shock rippled across their faces as he continued. “The one who drugged me has already been dealt with, sent to the police. But Marilyn saved me. Without her, I might not be here. I promised I’d take responsibility. I don’t go back on my word.”
The truth settled over them like ice.
Victor had been drugged, Marilyn had been the one at his side. They had crossed the line.
The Luke family valued honor. If he had already slept with her, they could hardly demand he discard her, no matter how they disliked her.
Silence pressed in until Blanc finally said, voice heavy, “Victor, you’re grown now. This decision is yours. But think carefully-marriage is for life.”
“I will marry Marilyn,” Victor said firmly. “I’ll take responsibility for her.”
He knew his family didn’t like her. Truthfully, he didn’t like her either.
The passion of last night already felt like a fever dream, a mistake burned away by the morning sun. Yet responsibility was responsibility. He would not abandon it.
“Next month, I’ll make the engagement official. Marriage can follow after.”
“Are you certain?”
James’s eyes were sharp. He knew Marilyn well enough-he had ordered Ashton to fire her for her schemes. He didn’t want his brother tied to a woman like her.
But Victor only nodded. “Yes.”
He remembered the pounding of his heart last night, the rush of heat, the strange joy of imagining at future with the girl in his arms.
Now, all that remained was weariness.
But he was a man. A man had to stand by his choices. He had taken her body, and he would give her the life that came with it.
James’s brow remained furrowed. He hated it, but he couldn’t fight his brother’s determination. All he could do was hope that Marilyn would restrain herself. If she didn’t… not even Victor’s protection would save her.
“Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, James…”
Marilyn’s voice lilted sweetly as she greeted them one by one.
She despised Lily, but this was her first time stepping into the Luke family home. She wasn’t about to risk their favor now. Even as the bile rose in her throat, she forced a smile and turned to Nancy. “Mom…”
Nancy’s brows pinched. They weren’t even formally engaged, and Marilyn was already calling her mother. It was too much, too soon. But seeing Victor so resolute, she gave only a faint acknowledgment.
Marilyn, meanwhile, had noticed the glint of a jewelry box in Grace’s hand and the corner of an envelope peeking from Henry’s pocket.
She had made her greetings. Now, she waited-heart pounding with greedy anticipation-for the gifts she was sure would follow.
Marilyn had walked into the Luke estate with visions of glory. In her mind, Henry would hand her a bank card worth billions, Grace would shower her with priceless jewels, and she would rise instantly to the heavens as the Luke family’s mistress.
But she waited. And waited.
No card. No jewels. Not even a single penny.
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.