Filed To Story: The Broken-Hearted She and The Icy He Book PDF Free
To meet someone who truly understands you-what a rare and joyful thing.
After changing clothes and freshening up, Lily couldn’t help but smile again, thinking of James’s serious tone when he told her to eat. She giggled like a fool.
Just as she was clutching her phone and laughing like the village idiot on the edge of the bed, James stepped out of the study and caught her mid-chuckle.
It was obvious she was having a great time chatting with whoever was on the other end.
He hoped it was a man.
Ideally, she’d fall in love with someone during these six months. That way, when the divorce came, there’d be no complications.
Not wanting to interrupt her blossoming love life, he turned away and headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Lily felt a little awkward getting caught laughing like that.
But when she saw that he didn’t even glance at her-treated her like air-she relaxed.
Respecting each other’s privacy, minding their own business, treating each other like air… honestly, not a bad setup.
Six months wouldn’t be hard to get through.
A servant knocked on the door and said Grace had asked Lily to come down for breakfast.
It was her first time eating with the elders of the Luke family. There was no way she could be late.
She got up quickly and went downstairs.
“Lily! You shameless girl!”
She had barely stepped into the living room when a hard slap landed across her face.
It wasn’t until then that Lily realized Luna, her adoptive mother, was here-and so were Bodger and Mathilda.
The one who had slapped her was Luna.
Her eyes were filled with disgust and contempt. “You’ve already stolen Mathilda’s life. Now you want to steal her husband too? I’m saying this right here, right now-James is awake. You have to give him back to Mathilda!”
Bodger looked at her with the same revulsion. “Lily, I want you to divorce James today. You owe Mathilda that much!”
Mathilda, of course, stood there with tear-filled eyes, looking like the most pitiful victim in the world.
Lily finally understood.
The Ginger family must’ve heard that James had woken up, and now they were regretting forcing her into the marriage in Mathilda’s place. They wanted to take it all back.
She found it hilarious.
She touched her burning cheek and couldn’t stop herself from snapping back, “You’re the ones who forced me to take her place. How does that make me a husband-stealer?”
“I owe Mathilda? What exactly do I owe her? Was I the one who got her lost sixteen years ago? Was I the one who forced the Ginger family to adopt me?”/
“I admit, I lived in your house, spent your money. But the Luke family gave the Ginger family one hundred million. If anything, I’ve paid back your so-called kindness tenfold. I owe you nothing-and I sure as hell don’t owe Mathilda anything!”
“Lily!”
Bodger’s temples pulsed with fury.
His voice turned sharp as a blade. “While you were being pampered by the Ginger family, Mathilda was being trafficked to some rural hellhole! She never had a full meal. She was beaten and abused every single day. You stole her family. You stole her life. What you owe her-you’ll never pay back!”
“Bodger…”
As always, Mathilda clung to Bodger’s arm, crying so hard she hiccuped, like she was the most wounded soul in the world.
Lily could barely stand the sight of her.
But the Ginger family? They ate that act up like candy.
*10 Tess Coins
The moment she cried, they’d scramble to hand her the world-and they’d gladly grind Lily’s bones into dust for her.
“I know I’m just a country girl… I’ll never be as good as Lily,” Mathilda sobbed. “But I really want to marry James. Bodger… do you think I’m not good enough for him?”
“Of course not!”
Bodger looked at her like she was made of glass. “You’re the best girl in the world. Better than anyone. Even if Lily stole your life for over a decade, she’ll never compare to you.”
His eyes were full of love and tenderness as he looked at Mathilda.
But when he turned back to Lily, there was nothing but hatred-as if she were no longer the little sister he once vowed to protect, but his worst enemy.
His voice was like a knife, every word carving deep into her chest. “Lily, apologize to Mathilda! I’m giving you one last chance-divorce James now and give him back to Mathilda, or I swear I won’t go easy on you!”
Lily was going to divorce James anyway.
But hearing Bodger and Luna say it like this… she honestly thought they’d lost their minds.
She looked up and met his glare head-on, lips curling into a mocking smile. Every bone in her body seemed to rebel in unison.
“Mr. Bodger, are you sick or just stupid? I was forced to marry him when you said so, and now I’m supposed to divorce him because you said so again? Fine, then I’m saying this here and now-I won’t apologize to Mathilda, I won’t give her what she wants, and I-“
Smack!
Before she could finish, Bodger’s hand came down hard across her right cheek, burning with fury.
Luna had slapped her left cheek.
Bodger took care of the right.
The moment the sharp imprint of his palm bloomed across her fair skin, Bodger’s fingertips trembled slightly.
His chest ached with a familiar, unwelcome tightness.
He couldn’t stop himself from remembering.
Back when Lily first came to the Ginger family/they had still been mourning the loss of Mathilda. He had blamed himself endlessly for failing to protect his little sister.
He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, didn’t speak to anyone. Once, when a truck was barreling down the street, he even considered walking into it.
It was Lily who yanked him out of the way.
She’d grabbed his face in her chubby little hands and told him-so seriously-that they would find Mathilda one day. But if she came home and found her big brother gone, how sad would she be?
So he had to stay. Grow up. Be strong. Be the best big brother in the world-for when Mathilda came back.
He had hugged her with everything he had that day.
And sworn to himself that she would be his real little sister. That he would protect her forever.
But in the end… she wasn’t his real sister.
After Mathilda returned, Lily kept “hurting” her, kept “bullying” her. They’d already lost Mathilda once- there was no way they’d let her suffer again. Of course he wouldn’t forgive Lily.
As Bodger stood frozen, lost in memory, Lily raised her hand and slapped him right back-harder.
Luna was an elder. Lily had called her “Mom” for over a decade. When Luna slapped her, she held back.
But Bodger? The moment he’d pushed her into the freezing river while she was on her period-all to “stand up” for Mathilda-he’d stopped being her brother.
So why should she swallow her anger?
“Lily!”
The sting on his left check snapped Bodger out of his daze.
He couldn’t believe it-Lily had dared to hit him!
“Bodger, are you okay?” Luna gasped.
She hadn’t expected Lily to raise a hand to Bodger.
Heart aching for her son, she shot Lily a glare sharp as a knife. “You already stole Mathilda’s life! You’ve bullied her again and again, taken everything from her-and now you dare hit Bodger? How could you?!”
Mathilda’s big, round eyes were always her strongest weapon.
Now they brimmed with tears, glistening like the saddest little flower on earth.
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