Filed to story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
Spotting James, he clung to his arm like a drowning man to driftwood, refusing to let go.
“It was horrible! Renee actually-ugh-“
“I’m dirty now. My eyes are dirty, my body is dirty. My future wife will despise me!”
“What if I never find a wife? What do I do?”
But Jetson was not Lily. He was neither soft nor fragrant. James yanked his arm away with cold disgust. “Stay away from me.”
Jetson was usually a proud man, a tough man. But this-being soiled by a woman he didn’t want-was a humiliation beyond anything he’d known. In his vulnerability, only James’s strength gave him a shred of safety.
Upstairs, Susan had been watching closely.
When James never went up, she knew the plan had failed.
If he had gone into Renee’s room, she could have claimed him as her son-in-law.
But the man who had walked in was Jetson instead-and James, too clever not to see through her scheme, would know she’d tried to trick him.
She couldn’t risk his lasting resentment. Drawing a deep breath, she stepped out of the adjacent room and came downstairs.
“James…”
“Stay away from me!”
Hearing a woman’s voice, Jetson thought it was Rence again.
Before James could reply, Jetson exploded, his face twisted in outrage. “Renee, I treated you as a friend, but you molested me! You just want to ruin me, make my future wife despise me! How could you be so vicious? You’ve disgraced me! I, Jetson, will never keep company with someone so vile and scheming!”
Susan’s smile froze stiff.
The Corden family wielded great power abroad. Jetson-whether in background, appearance, or ability-was an exceptional man.
In Susan’s eyes, her precious daughter was far too good for anyone.
For Rence to be despised by Jetson-it made her seethe.
But she didn’t want to offend the Corden family, either. Forcing a stiff smile, she said, “Jetson, tonight Renee was truly thoughtless. On her behalf, I apologize.”
Jetson wasn’t having it.
Thoughtless? Renee’s stunt had been no childish mistake. What she did was no different from the thugs who preyed on innocent girls.
She was vile, shameless, corrupt. He would never again associate with someone of such rotten character.
And then he recalled-it had been Susan’s call James received, and James had gone to her room.
The ugly truth hit him: Susan had a hand in this, too.
Mother and daughter, scheming together. Both despicable.
He had always respected his elders, and because Susan had once cared for James, he had given her his regard. But that respect was gone now, burned away to nothing, replaced with sheer contempt.
“Madam Susan,” Jetson said, voice like a whip, “you called James here, yet it was Renee lying half-naked in your room… Don’t tell me you two are colluding, trying to trap James? He just remarried Lily, and already you want to push him into betrayal, to make him cheat on his wife? You’ve no shame!”
What did he mean-they wanted to defile James together?
Susan’s face twitched, her expression frozen stiff like overdone Botox.
She gave an awkward laugh. “Jetson, you really do joke. I despise mistresses. How could I ever wish James to betray Lily?”
Not loved-that was what made one a mistress.
In her heart she muttered: Nancy and Lily were the disgusting mistresses, not her.
But aloud, she turned to James, hastily softening her voice. “James, don’t misunderstand. I stepped into the next room to fetch something. I didn’t know Renee had gone into my room- dressed like that. I cared for you for three years. In my heart, you’re like my own son. I only want what’s best for you. I’d never scheme against you!”
“Madam Susan, don’t call me again.”
James wasn’t a fool-he’d never swallow her lies.
He paused, his voice flat, devoid of any warmth. “As for those three years you claim you cared for me-the Luke family has repaid you well. The respect I showed you was kindness, not debt.. You and Rence should take care of yourselves. Otherwise, when she’s locked away, she’ll never know peace in prison.”
“James…”
Susan’s face went white as chalk.
She had believed that because she’d once cared for him, James would be bound to her gratitude forever. That he would always honor her, shield her. She had never dreamed he would cut her off with such icy finality.
Did he have no conscience?
Her chest swelled with rage, bitterness, disbelief. She wanted to scream, to claw, to accuse.
But she knew-if she lashed out now, she would only drive him further away.
So she tried to show weakness instead, to coax him into remembering old ties. “When the Luke family was at its lowest, I cared for you three years. How can you-“
“The Luke family’s maids cared for me more than three years.”
His interruption was calm, merciless. “If they believed their wages bought them a great claim on me, would that not be laughable?”
“Yes. Laughable indeed.”
Before Susan could answer, Jetson spat the words. “Madam Susan, if I recall, you weren’t the only one who wanted to tend to James-and the Luke family paid you handsomely. This villa you live in now, wasn’t it given by the Luke family? Tell me, which maid earns such lavish rewards just for her duties? You’ve already been compensated beyond measure, yet you still dare to act as if James owes you. Shameless! You should look in a mirror and ask yourself if you’re even worthy.”
“I…”
Susan’s face turned sickly green.
She had thought her care for James gave her a lifelong hold over him. She had never imagined
James and Jetson would compare her to a common maid. Worse-they accused her of exploiting supposed favors for her own gain.
How could they humiliate her like this?
“You? What you?” Jetson sneered. “No wonder Rence is so shameless. It runs in the family”
Remembering the unwanted sight of Rence, the touch that still made his skin crawl, Jetson couldn’t restrain his disgust.
Throwing down those words, he grabbed James’s arm and strode for the door.
“James…”
Susan’s eyes brimmed red. In her mind, James was her strongest support, her pillar. She could not-would not-lose him. She tried one last desperate plea.
But before Susan could reach the front door of the living room, James’s voice cut through the air, cold and merciless.
“Get lost.”
She froze. She was his elder, his benefactor, yet he told her to get lost.
Her body shuddered, and she collapsed heavily to the floor.
She had thought tonight would end with James and Rence becoming inseparable, but instead her scheme had backfired, severing James’s regard for her entirely.
No. James wouldn’t truly abandon her.
As long as Nancy and Lily both died, she would be his stepmother and mother-in-law. He would have to respect and care for her then, never letting her suffer humiliation again.
Yes. The Luke family butler-Soren-had been her high school classmate.
He had once written her love letters, utterly devoted.
Convincing him to act for her would be as easy as crooking a finger.
She and Renee might be barred from the Luke family estate for now, but Soren enjoyed the family’s deep trust.
If she wanted Lily’s unborn children gone without a trace, or even Winona dead-what was it but a matter of slipping something into their water?
She would marry Blanc. She looked down on a low-born, plain-faced butler, too beneath her even to speak with.
But to push Blanc and James into recognizing her worth, to bring both her and Renee into the Luke family, she would stoop for now, give Soren some attention, make him feel favored, eager to serve her like a slave.