The Broken-hearted She And The Icy He (Lily and John) novel Chapter 651

**Chapter 651: The Prodigal Daughter Returns**

Grace felt an overwhelming sense of disbelief wash over her. It was impossible to fathom that Lily could have emerged from such a harrowing ordeal unscathed. The very thought of her daughter being hurled from a towering cliff and into the merciless embrace of the sea was enough to send shivers down her spine. How could she have escaped without suffering?

If Lily had truly been alright all this time, she would have reached out to them. No, it was far more likely that she had lost consciousness after the fall and was only now beginning to awaken from that dark abyss.

As Grace’s thoughts spiraled deeper into despair, her heart clenched painfully in her chest, and tears streamed down her cheeks like a relentless river. “My sweet Lily, you’ve endured so much… That wretched Elsa, she is pure evil!”

Nancy, standing nearby, felt her own heart shatter at the sight of Lily’s frail figure.

With trembling hands, she gently cupped Lily’s cheek, her fingers brushing against the skin that felt too thin, too fragile. “Oh, my dear child, you’ve lost so much weight. What can I get for you to eat? I’ll have the chef whip up something special.”

“Mom, really, James and I have already eaten. I promise I haven’t lost that much weight. Just a few hearty meals, and I’ll be back to my old self,” Lily reassured her, trying to ease the worry etched on her mother-in-law’s face.

“Absolutely not! We need to get some chicken soup into you for lunch. You need to regain your strength,” Nancy insisted, her voice firm yet laced with affection.

She took hold of Lily’s hand, her gaze never wavering from her daughter-in-law’s face, as if she feared that looking away would cause her to vanish again.

Nancy had always longed for a daughter, and now that she had Lily—a daughter-in-law who was everything she had ever dreamed of—her maternal instincts surged forth, overwhelming her with the desire to care for and protect her.

But now, witnessing Lily’s suffering, Nancy felt a wave of helplessness.

Even Blanc, the usually stoic figure in their lives, couldn’t keep the emotion at bay. His voice trembled slightly as he repeated, “It’s so good that you’re back. We’ve missed you dearly.”

Henry, too, was struggling to contain himself. He wiped his eyes hastily, then downed half a bowl of pumpkin porridge in one go. During the agonizing days that Lily was missing, he had lost all appetite, but now, a surge of joy filled him, making him feel as if he could devour an entire feast.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to have you back! If you had been gone any longer, I swear James would have taken a vow of celibacy!” Ivan quipped, trying to keep the atmosphere light, carefully sidestepping the painful subject of Lily’s near-tragic fate.

He longed to pull Lily into a heartfelt embrace, but the thought of his older brother’s jealousy kept him at bay. He could almost picture James’s face, the “vinegar jar” of envy brewing within him, and he dared not risk a confrontation.

Then, recalling a piece of news he’d heard, Ivan added, “You know, Elsa got what was coming to her. I heard she murdered the husband she married overseas, and his brothers came after her for revenge. They say she was tortured terribly—her hands and feet are broken, and she’ll never walk again. Those brothers are ruthless criminals. Who knows what pit they threw her into after they were done with her?”

In truth, Ivan had been the one to keep tabs on Elsa’s fate.

He knew that not only had she been maimed, but she had also been sold off to a remote mountain village, where she was now subjected to unspeakable abuse at the hands of the villagers. They treated her so cruelly that she had become incontinent, forced to sell herself for mere pennies just to survive.

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