Chapter 398 A Love He’ll Never Have
Chapter 398 A Love He’ll Never Have
James pressed a hand to every second,
his chest, trying to soothe the dull, empty ache–only to feel it grow worse <b>with </b>
He’d once clung to a despicable hope: that since Lily was carrying his child, he still had a chance.
He wanted to keep her by his side, no matter what.
But watching her now, doting on Jackson with such warmth, he finally understood–his forced affection would only bring her pain.
If he tried to make her stay, she wouldn’t be happy.
“You really have no shame!”
Jackson’s rage exploded.
James had gotten Lily pregnant–and still forced her into a divorce<b>. </b>
She’d even gone as far as to hire an actor to pose as a fake boyfriend, just to help him save face in front of the Luke family.
Jackson’s fury boiled over.
He gently let go of Lily, then spun around and punched James in the face, hard.
“You treat her like this and call yourself a man?”
James was more than capable of defending himself. He could’ve fought back.
And Jackson, the once–unruly young master of the Scott family, would’ve paid the price.
James wasn’t the kind of man to enjoy getting beaten up.
But he didn’t lift a finger to defend himself.
Because he knew–Lily didn’t love him. He had been the one who’d asked for a divorce. She had a fiancé she truly cared about.
And yet, despite all of that, he’d still crossed a line he should never have crossed.
He had no excuse. No defense.
So he stood there and took the punch.
And when Jackson’s second blow came–harder than the first–James still didn’t move.
“You selfish, disgusting, vile piece of shit!”
“Jack, stop!”
When Lily saw blood at the corner of James’s mouth, her heart clenched.
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Chapter 398 A Love He’ll Never Have
She ignored the dull ache still lingering in her belly and hurried down from the bed <b>to </b><b>stop </b>him.
Jackson hadn’t had enough yet.
He wanted to win her over–yes. But more than anything, he wanted her to be happy.
He could tell. Lily liked James.
That only made his heart burn hotter with fury.
He wanted to tear James limb from limb for hurting the girl he cherished.
But when he saw Lily trying to get out of bed, his anger gave way to worry.
With onest re at James, he held back his fists and turned to stop Lily.
“Don’t worry, I won’t hit him again. I’ll take care of you now–I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. Whether you keep the baby or not, I’ll support you.”
“He’s not a good guy. Don’t get back together with him, okay?”
Lily still nned to keep the baby in secret–there was no way she’d remarry James.
But she didn’t like hearing Jackson bad–mouth him either.
James had saved her. She didn’t want people saying he was a terrible person.
“He’s not that bad,” she said softly. “We’ll just go our separate ways. Don’t <i>say </i>that about him.”
Even after all she’d gone through, she still defended him.
That only made Jackson feel worse–more bitter, more heartbroken.
He hated James even more.
But he knew Lily needed to rest. Her pregnancy was unstable, and her emotions couldn’t take any more strain.
So he said nothing more, didn’t throw another punch.
Instead, like an abandoned puppy, he looked up at her with wide, wounded eyes.
“You left Capital City without saying goodbye. Did you not want to see me anymore?”
“Of course not!”
Jackson looked so pitiful Lily’s heart melted into a puddle.
She quickly reassured him, “I nned to call you after I settled in. The scenery there is beautiful–<b>I </b>took tons of videos just for you.”
The moment he realized she hadn’t meant to cut him off, Jackson brightened like a puppy who’d <b>just </b><b>been </b>called a good boy.
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Chapter 398 A Love He’ll Never <b>Have </b>
<b>He </b>grabbed her hand and hooked pinkies with her. “You said we’d never be apart. <b>You </b>have <b>to </b><b>keep </b><b>your </b>promise<b>! </b>Let’s pinky swear again!”
Lily couldn’t help butugh.
Even grown up, Jack was still the same–still insecure, still childish.
Couples break up. Husbands and wives fall out of love and divorce.
But family? Family never leaves.
And Jack… he was family. He always would be.
She smiled, linked her pinky with his, and said dotingly, “Pinky swear. One hundred years. I’ll <b>never </b><b>leave </b>you.”
<i>I’ll </i><i>never </i><i>leave </i><i>you</i>.
The words echoed in James’s mind like a cruel wind through an empty house.
His chest burned so badly he nearly doubled over.
Even the color had drained from his usually perfect lips.
She really did love Jackson.
Of course she did.
How could she raise a child conceived through violence, when she loved another man so deeply?
That night, drugged and out of his mind, he had forced himself on her despite her resistance.
How was he any
different from those monsters–Ben and Jerry?
No matter how much his heart broke, he had no right to ask her to carry the child of her rapist.
Chapter 399 Soup and Silence