Chapter 136 Pulled from the Depths.
To be frozen and drowned like this–Lily couldn’t ept it.
This can’t be how I die.
But no one
ne came to help her.
Her body felt stiff, too frozen to fight anymore.
The water gradually swallowed her nose and mouth. No matter how desperately she clung to life, she couldn’t fight death off.
Just as she thought darkness <b>would </bpletely consume her, she heard James’s voice.
“Lily”
He rushed toward her, bathed in moonlight and starlight.
The darkness and the cold were driven away by the light.
She was pulled into his arms–held tightly.
In that instant. Lily felt like a flower had bloomed in the midst of a bitter wind.
James wrapped one arm around her, braced the other against the edge of the fountain, and lifted her out of the water<b>. </b>
The wind blew past, and Lily couldn’t hold back a sneeze. Then came the painful coughing
She knew James didn’t care about her romantically. He had saved her purely out of principle, but even so, she was overwhelmed with gratitude.
And she was right–James saving her had nothing to do with love. It came from his sense of justice.
She hade out tonight with him. He was responsible for bringing her back safely
When staff at Gold Towers came to clean the private booth, they noticed her phone had fallen on the floor. Something felt off. They checked the security footage and saw John forcibly taking her away.
They knew it was a room James had reserved and called him right away.
She was willing to <b>divorce </b>him, to set him free. So of course, before the divorce was finalized, he would protect her.
He hadn’t hesitated. He had Ashton drive him here immediately.
He never expected to find Jonah pushing her into a fountain–nearly killing her.
“What are <b>you </b>doing here?”
Jonah frowned.
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Chapter 136 Pulled from the Depths
He <b>knew </b>Lily could swim. He was sure falling into the fountain wouldn’t kill <b>her</b>.
They hadn’t even properly punished her yet, hadn’t stood up for Mathilda. Thest <b>thing </b>he wanted was James interfering.
And when he thought about how James had cradled Lily as they came out of the water, Sean’s face turned ugly.
His gaze turned ice cold as it locked on James. “Lily pushed <b>Mathilda </b>into the fountain. She has to pay for that”
“If you still consider me a friend, stay out of Ginger family business tonight.”
James had close ties with both Jonal and Sean.
He and Jonah had been college roommates. He and Sean were high <b>school </b>ssmates.
Before the ident that left <b>him </batose, they’d been tight.
Normally, James didn’t like meddling in others‘ affairs.
But his grandmother had told him to treat Lily like a sister and look after her. And besides, two grown men ganging up on a woman–that was clearly out of line. The values he’d been raised with wouldn’t allow him to stand by.
He nced at Lily, still shaking from the cold. Then he turned his eyes to the Ginger brothers.
His refined, noble features slowly took on <b>a </b><b>cold</b>, mocking edge.
“You say Lily pushed Mathilda… Did either of you actually <b>see </b>it happen?”
“We.. we didn’t….”
Jonah and Sean exchanged a nce.
Neither had seen it with their own eyes.
But they believed Mathilda wouldn’t lie.
James..”
Mathilda desperately wanted James to believe Lily was nasty and maniptive, to hate herpletely. <b>She </b>looked at him tearfully.
“They didn’t see her push <b>me</b>, but I’m not lying. <b>She </b>rushed over <b>and </b>shoved me into the fountain! I don’t know what I did to deserve this–why she keeps bullying and hurting me. If reconnecting with our parents made her upset… I can leave. I really <b>can</b><b>.” </b>
She tilted her face up, eyes brinuming with tears, gazing at James like the picture of innocence.
Hoping he’d see Lily’s evil for what it was and take her side, protect her.
<b>The </b>moment she said <b>she </b>would leave the Ginger family, Jonah and Sean’s hearts clenched with <b>pain </b>and panic,
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Chapter 136 Pulled from the Depths:
But James has always been sharp
Mathilda’s little act wasn’t going to fool him.
He curled his lips slightly, mockery flickering at theers. “People who actually want to leave… don’t talk alsout it every day.”
“Mathilda, you’ve been using lines like this for years, haven’t you? If you really wanted to leave.. why are you still in the Ginger family all these yearster?”
Mathilda’s face went pale as paper.
She’d thought falling into the water, soaked throughs and shivering like a delicate flower, would move him.
She never imagined he would embarrass her like this.
She trembled harder, tears falling like broken pearls,
Watching her cry like <b>that</b>, James stayed indifferent. But Jonah and Sean were heartbroken.
They rushed to scold James.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Mathilda is our real sister. We lost her for so many years. She’s suffered so much. How could we let her leave? Lily has hurt our sister again and again and still won’t admit it. She has to pay!”