The Broken-hearted She And The Icy He

Chapter 317 Broken Lines

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Ashton kept going. “The video makes it crystal clear. Mathilda was having one of her crazy meltdowns and

injured herself. Mrs. Luke was several feet away. There's no way she could've laid a hand on her. So tell me

are you still going to say she attacked her?”

Crazy? The three Ginger brothers all stiffened at the word.

They didn’t like hearing someone describe Mathilda that way.

But in that moment... none of them had the nerve to snap back at Ashton. Not after they'd just falsely accused

Lily. Again.

The sLily who used to follow them around everywhere, looking up to them like they were her whole world.

“Lily, I...” Bodger’s face turned pale as he stumbled back, looking wrecked.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the bruises on her neck. They hit him like a gut punch. He wanted to

apologize. He wanted things to go back to how they used to be-back when she trusted him.

But his pride got in the way. He'd never been the type to say sorry-especially not to her. And now, he had no

idea where to even begin.

Jonah and Sean shifted uncomfortably too. Their lips parted, like they might say something, but nothing

cout.

They wanted to apologize.

But after years of talking down to her-correcting her, criticizing her, acting like she was always in the wrong-they

just couldn't bring themselves to swallow their pride now.

“I'm sorry...” Mathilda finally spoke up-but her tone said otherwise. She didn’t feel guilty. Not really.

The only thing she regretted was not being careful enough. She hadn't expected Lily to catch her on video again.

But she didn’t want James-or her brothers-turning against her. So she let the tears roll down, wearing her most

convincing, heartbroken expression.

“I didn’t mean it... | just-I just love James so much. | thought if they broke up, I'd have a chance. That's the only

reason | did something so stupid and tried to frher. I'm not a bad person. Please, don’t hate

me...”

Ashton’s stomach turned. He couldn't hold it in. The words flew out before he could stop them. “You tried to

frMrs. Luke to get with Mr. John? Please. He wouldn't touch you if you were the last woman on Earth

The second the words left his mouth, Ashton realized he might've gone too far. That wasn’t just blunt-it was

rude. And a liule disrespectful to James, too..

He shot James a nervous glance, then quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.

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Chapter 317 Broken Lines

“Ashton!” Mathilda’s voice cracked as tears spilled down her face.

Since she'd been brought back into the Ginger family, she’d been treated like a princess-absolutely adored. The

worst thing that had ever happened to her was the Luke family refusing to force James into marrying her. She'd

never been humiliated like this.

And hearing those words-he wouldn't touch you-it cut deep.

The three Ginger brothers lost it. Ashton had just humiliated their sister in front of everyone. They looked ready

to tear him apart.

Even James's face darkened.

He had no problem with someone calling out Mathilda.

But he didn’t want her ntied to his in any way.

The more he looked at Lily’s bruised neck, the more furious he became. The sight of it made his blood boil. He

took Lily’s hand and calmly walked her over to Bodger. His voice turned ice-cold, “Lily, hit him back.

Then, without hesitation, he swung first, punching Bodger so hard that it knocked his face sideways.

“James!” Bodger roared, but before he could move, Lily slapped him hard across the face.

Lily had never been the type to let things slide.

Even in the worst situations, if she had a chance to fight back, she would. And with James backing her up? She

wasn’t about to hold back.

“Lily!” Bodger stared at her in disbelief. He never thought she’d dare hit him.

He'd always been too proud to take a hit from anyone-and getting slapped like that cut deep. But when his eyes

landed on the bruises around Lily’s neck, the guilt and regret twisted in his chest. In the end, he just couldn't

bring himself to hit her back.

Lily didn’t stop at just one. She hit him again. And again. She didn’t stop until her own hand was aching from the

impact.

Then she turned and walked straight to Mathilda, who was still sniffling like she was the victim. Lily slapped her

across the face-full force.

“Mathilda, you've lost your damn

mind. If you're that desperate for

attention take iLsphdwhefe tse.

ord your to me. Pull

this stunt again, and I'll slap you

every single tsee you.” The

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James couldn't stand seeing Lily get hurt-that’s why he told her to hit back.

But now, watching her hand swell and redden with pain, he started to regret it.

He should've done it for her.

Last time, John had grabbed Lily by the throat in the hallway. They called the cops, but he only got held for a few

days. James wasn’t about to waste tlike that again.

65%

Chapter 317 Broken Lines

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James scooped Lily into his arms,

then shot Ashton a look and said

coolly, “Call soye f Beyer,

Jenah, BABA dot walk out of

here with bruises, forget your

year—end bonus. But if they do.... I'l

double The content is on

novelenglish.net! Read the latest

chapter there!

ie.”

Double? Ashton lit up like he'd just won the lottery.

His usual year-end bonus was enough to buy a place in the city.

Double that? That kind of money was life-changing.

No way was he letting that slip through his fingers. Tonight, he was going all in-every trick, every ounce of effort,

whatever it took.

James had planned to take Lily to the hospital.

But she refused, worried he’d find out she was pregnant.

He didn’t want to take her back to the

Luke family estate either. The marks

on her neck wold ako) his ©

en and the rest of the

elders. So instead, he drove her to his

private villa outside the city. The

content is on novelenglish.net! Read

the latest chapter there!