Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
If anything, he was glad she had spoken her mind. It meant nothing was bottled them, no hidden resentment. up between
He pinched her soft cheek tenderly. “It’s just a scratch, really. Renee is nothing more than an elder’s daughter to me-never anything more, and never will be. But it seems her intentions aren’t as simple as I thought. I’ll keep my distance from now on. I won’t let her upset you again.”
She believed him when he said there were no feelings between them.
But she couldn’t believe his wound was nothing.
Z(76.)
Her eyes rimmed red once more. After nestling in his arms for a long time, she couldn’t resist brushing her fingers lightly over the blood-stained gauze on his chest. “Does it hurt?”
James had always been able to endure pain. No, it didn’t hurt much.
But he wanted something else.
With possessive hunger, he pulled her onto his lap. “It does sting a little. If you kiss me, it won’t hurt anymore.”
She had been serious, talking about his wound.
Why was he like this? He used to be proper, but now he was becoming shameless.
Normally, she would never indulge him.
But tonight, with him injured, with her own guilt weighing heavy, she wanted to make it up to him. Her cheeks flushed red, but she leaned down and gave him a quick kiss at the corner of his lips.
“That doesn’t count.”
Unimpressed, James pressed his hand to the back of her head and crushed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss until she was breathless.
“This is a kiss.”
And then he kissed her deeper still, drawing her in, tasting every inch, as if he meant to devour her whole.
His kisses were always too hot, too consuming. Lily felt herself sinking, drowning in him again.
But in the rush and the heat, she felt sweetness too-enough that she let herself yield, let herself indulge him.
They lingered like that for half an hour before they finally pulled themselves together and went downstairs for breakfast.
“James!”
Neither of them expected Renee to show up again.
She pointed at the delicate food box on the coffee table and called out brightly, “I baked these myself. Everyone says they’re delicious. You and James should come try some!”
Her smile was as radiant as always, but her mood was far from bright.
She had thought that by mentioning the wintersweet tree, by answering Lily’s call and deliberately making things sound ambiguous, she could drive a wedge between them.
But James and Lily’s hands were still laced tightly together, their closeness unshaken.
The smile at her lips grew stiff.
Still, she comforted herself: surely Lily was only pretending at peace, clinging to Luke family’s power.
It only made her despise Lily more.
When she spotted Ivan coming downstairs, she called out quickly, “Come try the cookies I made! Weren’t cookies your favorite? I made these just for you. See if my baking is any good.”
The Luke family family always valued gratitude.
Ivan knew his eldest brother had once lived with Susan and her daughter for a time, and he was grateful to Susan. He had always treated Renee kindly.
At her call, Ivan bounded to the coffee table and grabbed a cookie without hesitation.
“Mmm, tasty!”
Ivan stuffed a cookie into his mouth and praised Rence between bites. “You’re amazing-these cookies are really good!”
Truthfully, he didn’t think they were better than his own baking.
But since Renee had gone out of her way to make treats for them, he wasn’t about to hurt her feelings. She had put in the effort, and at the very least, he owed her a little emotional credit.
Grace joined in with a smile. “Renee isn’t just good at baking-she’s a lovely girl too, truly likable.”
Nancy’s face softened with nostalgia as she recalled Renee’s childhood. “She was pretty even as a little girl, and now she’s blossomed into such a beauty. I really envy Susan, having such a daughter. Look at me-I gave birth to three boys, nothing but smelly rascals!”
Henry nodded his agreement. “Renee really is a good child.”
Blanc’s expression flickered strangely, but in the end, he said nothing.
Seeing how warmly everyone received her, Renee’s confidence returned. She smiled brightly at Lily, like a hostess entertaining a guest. “You should try some too! Because your name has ‘Lily’ in it, I even made some cookies especially for you!”
The elders’ affection for Renee was too obvious to ignore.
In front of them, Lily couldn’t possibly bring up Renee’s scheming-her misleading words on the phone, or the way she had twisted things to cause misunderstandings.
But since becoming pregnant, Lily’s appetite had been poor.
Just looking at the sugary cookies made her feel queasy; she couldn’t possibly eat them this early in the morning. She answered honestly, “I’ll pass for now, thank you.”
Renee’s face darkened.
To her, Lily was being ungrateful-putting on airs, refusing her goodwill.
She had gone to the trouble of baking cookies for her, and this was the thanks she got?
Petty and unrefined, she thought. How could James possibly like someone like Lily?
No-James couldn’t really like her. He must have been trapped by her shameless tricks.
Luke family men were broad-minded and noble; they wouldn’t be drawn to someone as small-minded and plain as Lily.
Renee decided to let the elders discipline Lily for her. She wanted Lily to see clearly who truly belonged in the Luke family family, and who was just an outsider without self-awareness.
Clinging sweetly to Nancy’s arm, Rence tilted her head and said in a tone dripping with grievance and sly provocation, “These cookies were especially for her. I really wanted to get along with Lily. I even got up before dawn to bake them. But she refused to give me even the smallest courtesy. Does that mean she doesn’t like me?”
James caught the edge in her words instantly.
That morning, she had already crossed a line-answering his phone without permission, deliberately planting seeds of doubt in Lily’s heart.
And now she was trying to turn the elders against her.
His gaze sharpened, ice flashing in his eyes. The coldness radiating from him could have frozen the air in the room.
He was just about to rebuke her when Ivan tossed the half-eaten cookie in his hand straight into the trash.
“Renee, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Ivan’s voice was hard, his warmth gone. He didn’t even call her affectionately this time-just her name, distant and cutting.
“Lily doesn’t eat your cookies, so that’s disrespect? Since when is there a law that says if you bake something, everyone has to eat it? She’s pregnant-of course her stomach is picky. She can eat if she wants, or not if she doesn’t. Who are you to decide? Did she ever ask you to bake her cookies? And now you’re acting all passive-aggressive, stirring trouble, then wondering why she doesn’t like you? Renee, stop flattering yourself.”
“I…”
The words hit her like a slap. Renee staggered back, her face drained of color.
She and Ivan had grown up together. They had always been close.
Never had she imagined he would speak so harshly to her-especially for an outsider-leaving her humiliated before everyone.
Grace, having lived long enough to see all kinds of people, had once held a good impression of Renee. But now, hearing her obvious jabs at Lily, even she couldn’t help but feel displeased.
Still, Rence was Nancy’s best friend’s daughter, and she called Nancy “Mom.” Grace wasn’t going to say anything too sharp. She simply cut it short. “Enough. No more arguing. Breakfast is already prepared. Lily must be hungry-let’s all go cat.”
Nancy’s brows drew together in a faint frown.
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