Chapter 11 Her Red Lips Stirred His Desire
“Simon, open those damn squinty eyes of yours and see for yourself–was I bullying your precious Lizzy, or was she setting me up?”
Lily’s mocking tone snapped Simon out of his daze.
When he realized she’d just insulted him, he exploded in a fit of rage.
Just as he was about to blow up, he noticed her handing awfully close to his face.
He frowned, ready to bark at her to back off–he wasn’t the type of man who got seduced by any random
woman<b>. </b>
But then he saw what was in her hand: a phone.
And on that cracked screen was a video of Elsa’s face.
Despite the damaged disy, he could clearly see Elsa, crazed, shredding a pure white wedding dress to pieces. When thest scrap was nothing but tatters, she looked up, her gaze sharp and vicious, and red at Lily.
<i>The </i>next second, she jammed the scissors straight into her own hand.
Simon’s eyes flew wide.
The shock hit so hard, he couldn’t even react at first.
To him, Lizzy had always been a warm, sunny girl.
Back when they were trapped beneath the rubble, those two days had felt endless. There was no light. No hope. He was starving, hurting, thinking the wreckage would be his grave.
But every time he lost hope, she wouldfort him, encourage him, swearing that someone woulde save them.
She was afraid he’d pass out and never wake up, so even after two days without water, with her voice hoarse beyond recognition, she kept talking. Kept him awake.
She liked music. She even sang Rolling in the Deep with that broken voice of hers.
In his heart, Lizzy was the purest, kindest girl in the world.
He couldn’t believe that that girl–the one who once pulled him out of the darkest hole in his life–could re so viciously, could frame someone so cruelly.
And just as he was still reeling from the disbelief, Lily’s voice rang out again.
“As you can see, she stabbed her own hand. I neverid a finger on her. My conscience is clear. So, Simon
-are you still going to make me apologize to your dear Lizzy?”
–
Chapter 11 Her Red Lips Stirred HIS
“I…”
Simon’s perfectly handsome, aristocratic face showed a rare flicker of confusion.
He hadn’t expected it at all.
He’d been wrong.
“Since you know the truth now, get the hell out of my room.”
Lily yanked back her phone, coldly and decisively. “Out. Just seeing you and Elsa disgusts me. Do me a favor–stay out of my life.”
Simon didn’t respond.
His gaze lingered on her face, dazed.
Her forehead was bleeding again.
That bright red blood stained hershes and brows, but she didn’t look hideous.
No, she looked like fine porcin, cracked.
The sight made his chest twist ufortably.
There was blood on her lips too.
And just now… those lips had brushed against his cheek, soft as cotton candy.
Simon startled <i>at </i>the memory, horrified by where his mind had gone.
He took a full step back, putting distance between them.
Yes, he had misunderstood her this time.
But that didn’t change the fact that she’d bullied his Lizzy before.
Lizzy was pure. If she’d done something like this, it had to be because Lily had pushed her too far.
“Lily, you didn’t hurt her, <i>so </i>I won’t punish you today.”
He forced his gaze away from her face, voice as cold as a de. “But if you ever dare to hurt her again, I will make you pay. Consider yourself warned.”
With that, he turned and strode out of the room.
And just to show how much he still despised her, he mmed the door shut with a loud bang, scattering bloodstained scraps of the wedding dress across the floor.
“Freak.”
Lily hadn’t expected Simon to still take Elsa’s side even after seeing the truth.
She hated him more and more. Not even bothering to dwell on the mess that had just happened, she cleaned up the torn dress and sent the video to John via WhatsApp.
She didn’t care anymore about his blind devotion to Elsa.
She only sent the video because she couldn’t stand seeing justice flipped upside down.
At the hospital, after Elsa’s wound was bandaged, she was wheeled into her room.
But John… couldn’t stop thinking about Lily’s bleeding forehead.
He was about to call Wayne and tell him to drive Lily to the hospital, when her name popped up in his
messages.
She’d sent him a video.
He opened it instinctively–and saw Elsa tearing apart Lily’s handmade wedding dress and stabbing her
own hand.
And yet, back at the hotel, he’d refused to believe Lily. Called her vicious. Disgusting.
Even shoved her to the floor.
His chest tightened until he could barely breathe.
Especially when he recalled the look in her eyes–disappointed, bitter–as he carried Elsa away.
It felt like knives twisting in his heart.
He had to go see her.
John stood abruptly, reaching for his car keys-
But Elsa grabbed his hand, her eyes red.
“John, are you going to Lily? My hand… it hurts so much. Don’t leave me, okay?”
“Elsa.”
John turned to her, his eyes for once filled with something other than indulgence–disappointment.
“Lily recorded everything. She didn’t hurt you. I saw it with my own eyes–you destroyed the dress. You stabbed yourself. Why? Why would you ruin the wedding dress Lily made by hand? Why would you frame her?”
“L…”
Elsa’s face went paper–white.
She hadn’t expected Lily to be so despicable. To actually <i>record </i>the whole thing.
She’d spent so much time pretending to be sick–taking meds to cough up blood–just to win back his sympathy.
There was no way she could let him go back to Lily now.
She shut her eyes, tears spilling over, the picture of cold and noble heartbreak.
“Yes. I framed her. I did something I despise. Something I’ve always sworn I’d never do. But I did it… because I love you. I didn’t want to share you–not in thest moments of my life.”
She sniffled, like a proud red rose bowing its head for love.
Beautiful. Tragic.
“John, you must think I’m disgusting, right? You must hate me now. But if you want to leave, if you don’t want to see me ever again, I’ll disappear. Right now.”
And as she spoke, blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth again.