Chapter 18 A Love Divided
“I won’t force you again. I meant what I said–after we’re married, we’ll be a real couple. Not before. But from now on, don’t see Simon again, and stop thinking about him.”
“Let go of me!”
Lily had always despised that weirdo Simon–there was no way she’d ever “think about” him.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to be in John’s arms.
The scent of Elsa’s perfume still lingered on his body, and it made her skin crawl.
“John, you just slept with Elsa and then forced yourself on me. You’re disgusting.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
John frowned. “I only take care of Elsa out of pity. Nothing has ever happened between us. How could I possibly sleep with her? Can you stop overthinking everything?”
Lily didn’t respond right away.
Her mind wandered back to that phone call tonight.
She had only heard Elsa’s moans–John’s voice never came through. It was possible Elsa faked those sounds on purpose.
Maybe they hadn’t actually slept together tonight.
But so what?
Even if they hadn’t crossed that line, it didn’t erase the fact that, while she and John were still together, he’d thrown Elsa a wedding just to make her happy.
He’d let Elsa sit on his lap in the office, kiss him, massage her ankle, tie her shoelaces, and buy her strawberry cake.
A man didn’t have to sleep with another woman to cheat.
There were emotional betrayals–lines you crossed that still counted as infidelity.
“Lily, stop making a scene.”
Snapped out of her thoughts, she heard his voice again. “Move back home. I’ll have someone go to the hotel and pack your things.”
“We’ve already broken up.”
Lily paused for just a beat, then said coldly, “I don’t have some kind of kink where I stay friends with my ex or keep entangling myself with them. You want to take care of Elsa? Good. We’re done now–go devote yourself to her. As for us… we have nothing left.”
1/3
“Lily, how long are you planning to keep this up? I’m not breaking up with you!”
John hadn’t expected her to keep pushing. His dark eyes, which had just calmed, flared red again with a warning fury.
There it was again–she was the one “making a scene.”
Every time John said that, she found it absurd.
But tonight, she was too drained to laugh.
She simply tilted her head up and stared at him, eyes cold and sharp. “You won’t break up with me? Then can you stop seeing Elsa? Can you stop hugging her, stop kissing her, stop rushing to her every time she calls?”
John’s brows furrowed deeply. “Elsa only has six months left. Her final wish is for me to stay by her side. Why do you have to be so petty with someone who’s dying? Why-”
“Elsa sure has a lot of final wishes.”
Lily didn’t let him finish. Her tone was cool, her gaze distant. “Her wish is for you to stay with her until the end. Her wish is to marry you. Her wish is to voice Siren. So what if her wish is to sleep with you? To get legally married? To have a child? You going to grant her those too?”
“Lily, you’re being ridiculous!”
John’s voice grew sharp, his frown deepening like it could cut glass.
He wasn’t someone who liked explaining himself to others. But he didn’t want to lose Lily, so he forced himself to say, “I’m not marrying Elsa. I’ll never sleep with her. I won’t let her set foot in this house and disturb you again. Can you please stop-”
Before he could finish, his phone rang loudly, urgent and sharp.
The caller ID flashed: Elsa.
John’s dark eyes showed a flicker of hesitation–but after a moment’s pause, he picked up.
Lily saw the name too.
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