Chapter 86 Boundaries <b>and </b>Breaches.
Chapter 86 Boundaries and Breaches
Lily’s hand,pletely out of control, clutched at James’s shirt–hard.
The fabric strained and popped. Buttons flew loose, revealing a stretch of cold, pale chest.
Worse still, her hand had trailed across that chest–softly, unmistakably.
Like a deliberate caress.
James, who had always been restrained, stoic, and upright, rarely showed emotional cracks.
But this?
First, she had touched him while he was unconscious. Now, she was taking a bath without locking the door. stumbling into his arms, and ripping open his shirt?
This crossed every line of decency and self–control.
When her hand squeezed his chest again, his face turned pitch <b>ck </b>with fury.
Grinding his teeth, he snapped, “Lily. Get your hand off me. Stay away from me! Don’t touch me!”
Lily nearly fainted from shock.
How had things escted like <b>this</b>?
She had only reached out to stop herself from falling–and <b>somehow</b>, she’d torn open his shirt? And then, by some cursed reflex, groped his chest?
She hadn’t meant to take advantage of him. She hadn’t meant to leave the door unlocked either.
Still, she <b>understood </b>why he was furious.
He didn’t like her. He hated being touched by her. He probably thought she left the door open on purpose -trying to seduce him.
<b>And </b>honestly, if their roles were reversed <b>and </b>a man had done this to her, she’d probably want to kill him
She totally got it
Lily wanted to exin herself. But before she could get a word in, his voice cut again–cold enough to freeze her blood.
“Don’t press yourself on me. From now on, stay away from <b>me</b><b>. </b>No more physical contact. Let go!”
His <b>voice </b>shook her straight down to her bones.
Only then did she realize that while <b>one </b>hand was still stered to his chest, <b>the </b>other had–somehow- gripped his belt.
She froze in horror.
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Chapter 86 Boundaries and Breaches.
From his perspective, it probably looked like she was about to-
Her face flushed <b>red</b>, like a boiled shrimp.
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Once she regained her bnce, she <b>stumbled </b>back, yanked a towel from the rack, and wrapped it tightly around herself.
James remained standing there like a frozen iceberg, eyes sharp and cial.
Lily dropped her gaze, guilt heavy in her chest, and muttered like a scolded schoolgirl.
“I… I really didn’t mean for this to happen. The lock on the bathroom door’s broken. I tried several times but couldn’t get it to stay shut. I heard you were workingte tonight, so I thought… I thought you wouldn’t be <b>back </b>for a <b>while</b>…”
“I didn’t fake a fall to <b>throw </b>myself into your arms. The floor was wet. I slipped. That’s all.”
Her voice grew smaller as she caught sight of his <b>now</b>–exposed chest–sharp lines, strong muscles, unfairly defined.
“I didn’t expect your shirt to be <b>that </b>fragile. One tug and it came undone. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend <b>you</b>. I’ll be more careful. I’ve already signed the agreement. I <b>won’t </b>go back on my word. From now on, I’ll keep at least a two–meter distance. No more contact–guaranteed.”
James still looked like thunder incarnate.
But… her apology sounded sincere. And it really didn’t feel like she did it on purpose.
Besides, his body… wasn’t quite acting normal.
He didn’t want to waste more time. With a curt grunt, he turned and left for the study.
<b>Once </b>he shut the door behind him–hard–the cold anger melted <b>away</b>.
What reced it was pain. <b>And </b>deep, bitter shame.
Back in that bathroom his body had reacted.
Before he became a vegetable, the Luke family’s wealth had <b>drawn </b>plenty of women who threw themselves at him<b>. </b>
He had always felt nothing but irritation. He pushed them away without hesitation. His body <b>never </b>responded.
But just <b>now</b>, Lily had fallen <b>against </b>him and-
He closed his eyes, his throat tight with revulsion.
Ile only <b>had </b><b>room </b>in his heart for Le. How could he-
James hated himself for being weak.
For being unfaithful<b>. </b>
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Chapter 86 Boundaries and Breaches.
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He’d been raised in a household full of love. His grandparents, his parents–they were devoted through everything, through life and death..
Since childhood, he’d been taught to love with loyalty. Emotionally and physically.
One heart, one lifetime, one person..
He had only ever wanted to grow old with Le.
But his body had betrayed him–for Lily.
Disgusted with <b>himself</b>, James picked up his phone and sent a message to Le.
“I’m sorry.”
He shouldn’t have walked into that bathroom without knocking.
He shouldn’t have let his body react.
Love was supposed to be sacred.
Even in silence, even without words, he’d been taught that love meant fidelity–in heart <b>and </b>in flesh.
And now, he’d failed.
Meanwhile, Lily quickly wrapped herself in a bath towel and fled to the dressing room.
She changed into clean clothes and was just about to head downstairs for dinner when she got a text from James.
She opened it.
Just two words.
<b>“</b>I’m sorry.
Lily blinked.
Seriously? <i>Why </i>is James apologizing to me….
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