The Broken-hearted She And The Icy He (Lily and John) novel Chapter 243

Chapter 243 The Truth He Couldn’t Hide

Chapter 243 The Truth He Couldn’t Hide

The scratch marks were obvious.

There was no doubt–they were from her.

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She’d usually behaved herself when drunk over the past two years. So why the hell had she gone full wolf on him this time?

Her behavior was nothing short of criminal.

Lily quietly pinched her own damm hand.

She wanted to slap her mouth too, but that would be too obvious. If he saw, he’d know she remembered everything she did while drunk. And that was way too embarrassing. She had no choice but to pretend she’d blacked out.

The shame was so overwhelming, she forgot to even call him by his alias.

“James, 1…”

The moment she said his real name, her nerves spiked again, and she had no idea what to do with her

hands or feet.

She scrambled to cover for herself. “I I saw your assistant Ashton on my phone once. I know your name’s James.”

The second he heard her say his name, his eyelids lifted sharply.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but the way she flushed and called him James–it felt exactly like Lily.

How does she know my name?

But her next sentence cleared his doubt.

It made sense. He didn’t show his face in the media much, but Ashton often represented the Lu Corporation at press events. Ashton had brought them up the mountain today. If she recognized Ashton and guessed his identity, it wasn’t unreasonable.

“Mm.

He gave a low, casual reply, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the heat and chaos that had erupted inside the tent earlier. His face turned red again. He couldn’t even look her in the eye.

Lily was just as mortified, remembering all the shameless things she’d done.

She tried to test the waters. “L… Ithink I got a little drunk. I tend to black out when I drink. I probably didn’t say anything crazy

James‘ lips parted slightly.

do thing rude, right?”

She did.

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Chapter 243 The Truth He Couldn’t Hide

She absolutely did

But honestly, what he’d done was even worse. He was in no position to call her out on anything.

After a long silence, he finally answered, cars burning. “You were… fine.”

Lily let out a long breath.

So he was going to be the bigger person. He wasn’t going to bring up the things she did.

The awkward silence between them dragged on. She opened her mouth, trying to come up with something to break the tension–when he suddenly spoke again, his voice laced with guilt.

“Leila, I need to apologize. I lied to you. As you already figured out, my name isn’t Elias. It’s James.”

“It’s fine.

She could understand why he’d used a fake name. They weren’t close back then, and she’d given him a fake name too. There was no reason for her to blame him.

But then his voice turned heavy, laced with shame and self–disgust. “There’s more I kept from you. I… I’m actually married.”

James closed his eyes in pain.

Thinking about how deeply he’d betrayed Leila, he wished he could carve the shame into his flesh-

But he’d already decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. That meant no more lies. He hesitated, then continued. “The reason I disappeared for over four years was because I was in a coma. When I woke up, I found out my family had already arranged a marriage. I’ve already filed for divorce with her, but… but I was drunk once. No–twice. One of those times I was actually sober. I wasn’t in my right mind, but… though we didn’t go all the way, we did have physical contact.”

“Leila. I’m sorry.”

The man who’d always been proud, composed, and untouchable was now covered in raw vulnerability. His voice was low, rough, even trembling.

“I feel disgusting. Like I’ve betrayed you. Like I’m not worthy of you. Leila… will you still have me?” Hearing the shame in his voice, the way he seemed to loathe himself, Lily’s chest twisted tight.

A sharp, overwhelming ache spread through her heart.

She wanted to throw her arms around him, to hold him tightly and tell him it was okay.

But she didn’t dare.

Because the reason he felt so ashamed–so dirty–was because he’d been intimate with her.

He thought he might have feelings for Leila.

But she wasn’t just Leila.

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Chapter 243 The Truth He Couldn’t Hide

She was also the woman he hated most in the world–Lily.

She didn’t answer right away.

Frozen in place, she finally forced herself to ask, in a quiet voice, “You and your wife…”

James assumed she was asking about how he felt toward Lily. He answered honestly.

“My wife–legally–is named Lily. She’s… not a bad person.”

He’d spent enough time with her to know that.

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Even if he wanted Leila to forgive him, his values wouldn’t let him lie or talk trash about Lily just to make himself look better.

But he didn’t want Leila to think he had feelings for someone else, so he added, “I just don’t like women.”

“Leila, I like men. I’ve only ever liked men.”

He… liked men?

Lily’s hand slipped, and her phone nearly fell from her grasp.

Back at the café, after she recognized him, she told him she was a man because she thought he was at straight alpha male–someone who’d never even think of being with another guy.

She’d hoped that lie would scare him off. That they could each go their separate ways with no more ties between them.

She never imagined…. that her desperate lie would accidentally hit the bullseye on his secret preference.