Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
The out. agony was so great he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t live; blood rose to his lips and he spat it
The kidnappers’ faces changed color.
They hadn’t expected James to come. Panicked, they didn’t linger; after shoving Lily from the cliff they scrambled down a nearby slope, leapt into their boat, and sped away.
“James…”
Knowing she was doomed today, Lily’s eyes had been flat with deathly calm.
But when she heard James’s voice, her expression finally shifted.
As she was shoved off the cliff, she turned her head with all her remaining strength to look at him. Great tears rolled from her eyes.
Her heart ached for the two little ones falling into the deep sea with her.
Her heart ached for James too.
In truth, when you die it’s over-you no longer feel pain or despair.
Sometimes the one left behind suffers the most.
She and her babies would soon be gone. James would be left alone-how much would that hurt him?
Today was James’s birthday. It was also the first birthday she had prepared to celebrate with him.
She had made him a tie, a shirt, a suit jacket with her own hands to surprise him.
But she hadn’t even said “Happy birthday” before this eternal farewell.
Birthdays were supposed to be joyful, not days where you watch the one you love most die before your eyes.
She couldn’t imagine how much it would pain and crush him to see her thrown into the sea.
She couldn’t imagine how he would live through future birthdays, remembering this day.
He was bleeding.
Even from a distance she could see the glint of tears at the corners of his eyes.
That tear slid down from his chin, and it fell into her heart too.
It made her chest ache as though it would shatter and grind to dust.
She struggled to lift her hands, wanting to wipe away his tears.
But her wrists were still bound, and he was too far away-she couldn’t reach him.
She wanted to ask him how he’d been hurt.
She wanted to tell him, James, forget me. Live well.
She was possessive by nature. She loved James deeply and had wanted to be his only one, to be loved until death.
But because she loved him so much, she also hoped for his happiness.
She wanted him, after she was gone, to rise from the pain, begin a new life, find a gentle wife, raise children and grandchildren.
“James, live well, forget me, be happy…”
In her heart she whispered it once more, and the rolling waves swallowed her whole…
“Lily…”
All color drained from Simon’s face as he stared at the spot where she had been standing, feeling as if he were already dead inside.
He realized, to his shock, that Lily’s loss hurt far more than he had imagined.
He had always thought he disliked her, yet now his heart ached as if something irreplaceable had been ripped away forever.
“Simon, I was so scared!”
While he stood stunned, Elsa threw herself into his arms, tears running down her cheeks.
“Just now… that kidnapper almost slit my throat. They were about to throw me into the sea to feed the fish. I was so scared…”
Simon numbly pushed Elsa away and kept his distance.
After being separated from Lizzy all those years ago, his greatest wish had been to find her again and protect her for life.
He had believed that as long as Lizzy was safe and happy, his heart would be content.
But now Elsa was safe, and he felt no joy at all.
As a child, happiness had been easy.
A word of praise from an elder, a small wish fulfilled, even a single piece of candy had been enough to make him glow with joy.
How had happiness become so hard to find once he grew up?
Simon had abandoned Lily and chosen Elsa, and Elsa was thrilled, savoring her victory.
But seeing Simon so hollow and lost, she put on a mask of guilt and helplessness. “Simon, what’s wrong? Is it… is it that you actually didn’t want me to survive? I didn’t want anything to happen to Lily either. I wished everyone could be fine, but those kidnappers were too twisted, too cruel. They refused to spare her. When I think of Lily dying with her unborn children, my heart aches…”
She thought her obviously wounded tone would make Simon comfort her, soothe her.
After all, in that life-and-death moment he had chosen her. In his heart she was the most important.
Lily alive had been no match for her. Now Lily was dead-how could she compare?
But Simon said nothing to comfort her.
He didn’t even look at her. Like a walking corpse he moved toward the cliff’s edge.
“Lily!”
James reached desperately, trying to catch her hand.
But he was far, far too late. He couldn’t save her.
By the time he reached the edge of the cliff, the waves were crashing below and her figure was already gone.
Even so, hoping against hope to find and rescue her, he leapt without hesitation.
“Boss!”
Ashton, right behind him, watched his boss hurl himself into the raging sea and nearly lost his mind.
James was already injured from saving him earlier. Jumping into that furious water was a death wish.
There was a slope on one side of the cliff where you could descend more safely to the shore.
Ashton could have taken that path down, then entered the water to search for his boss.
But he was too worried about James’s life. Even though he thought his boss’s leap was madness, he still followed him into the sea without hesitation.
As he dove from the cliff, Ashton’s eyes went red.
It wasn’t fear for himself-whether the waves killed him didn’t matter.
James had saved his life more than once.
His life belonged to James. If dying could save James or Lily, he wouldn’t even frown.
It was just heartbreak.
Today was James’s birthday.
He had been happily waiting for Lily’s surprise gift. Instead of a surprise, he had watched her shoved off a cliff before his eyes.
Ashton knew Lily could swim-and swim very well.
But today her hands and feet had been bound tight. Even a strong swimmer couldn’t survive like that.