<b>Chapter </b><b>425 </b>Shattered Illusions
Chapter 425 Shattered Illusions
Marilyn had been just about to slip her arms around his neck, lips curved in a <b>seductive </b>smile, when the was suddenly flung to the floor without mercy.
She hadn’t even recovered from the shock and humiliation when the sound of painful retching <b>cut </b>through the air.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Was Mr. James…. gagging because of her?
<i>No</i><i>–</i><i>impossible</i><i>. </i>It had <i>to </i><i>be </i>because <i>of </i><i>that </i><i>disgusting </i><i>woman</i><i>, </i><i>Lily</i>. <i>Yes</i>, that had to be it. He had thrown her aside because Lily’s sudden appearance had put him in a foul mood, and she had simply been caught <b>in </b>the crossfire.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself up, determined to <i>try </i>again. But before she could get near him<b>, </b>James snatched up the teacup from his desk and mmed it to the floor right by her feet.
“Get out!”
“Mr. James-”
“Boss!”
Ashton strode in, taking in the sight of Marilyn sprawled on the floor in her revealing red dress. He didn’t need to guess twice to know what she had tried.
Seeing his boss’s expression darken and the air around him turn sharp with danger, Ashton yanked Marilyn up by the arm. “Are you out of your mind? Get out of here!”
This time, Marilyn was truly frightened. No matter how unwilling she was, she didn’t dare stay another second. She scrambled up and fled.
Ashton let out a heavy sigh.
Henry had once warned him not to hire male secretaries, worried about flirtations from “fox spirits” outside. So this round, Ashton had only hired women.
He hadn’t expected that the female secretaries could be just as much trouble.
“Boss…”
Marilyn had been his hire, and now that she’d dared make a move on their leader, Ashton felt a cold knot of guilt.
“Out!”
James had no interest in listening to him. After dismissing him with an icymand, he picked up the sheet of paper on his desk–the abortion record.
Lily had already told him she’d gotten rid of the baby.
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<b>Chapter </b><b>425 </b>Shattered Illusions
Even so, he’d clung to a tiny, desperate hope.
He had wished she might change her mind and keep the child. Hoped he had misheard her. Even wished absurdly, that his ears were failing him.
But the words printed clearly on the paper left no room for hope. She had indeed undergone the procedure.
“Boss<b>…</b>”
Ashton hadn’t left immediately. Seeing James holding a sheet of paper, his face drained of color, he couldn’t hide his worry. “Are you feeling unwell? What is that in your hand-”
“I’m fine.”
James wasn’t about to tell him the truth. If Henry learned about the abortion, they might not be able to take it.
He kept his tone t. “Have someone watch over Lily in secret. Report to me about anything that happens.”
“Lily!”
After crouching in silence for a while, letting her tears fall, Lily finally stood and began to walk toward <b>the </b>gates of the vimunity like a sleepwalker.
She had barely stepped outside when a hand mped around her wrist.
Hearing John’s voice, her face tightened with rm. Instinctively, she tried to wrench herself free.
“John, what are you doing? Let me go!”
She struggled several times without breaking his grip.
Her eyes darted around, searching for a nearby security guard to call to.
But John was too fast.
Before she could shout for help, he had snatched her phone away, tossed it aside, and shoved her into his
car.
“What are you doing? You have no right to treat me like this! I want to get out!”
His rough handling threw her hard onto the backseat. The jolt left her sore, and with her body still drained from the night before, she had no strength to push herself up.
By the time she managed to sit upright, the car was already speeding away.
Memories of thest time he had abducted her–when he’d tried to force her into ending her pregnancy- made her blood run cold. She shivered from the inside out.
“John, stop the car!”
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<b>Her </b>panic brought tears to her eyes as she pounded on the seat in front of her. “<b>I </b><b>said </b><b>stop</b><b>! </b><b>You </b>Jumatic” <i>stop </i>right now!”
“Lily, James has divorced you. He doesn’t love you. He doesn’t want you, and he sure as hell <b>doesn’t </b>want the bastard in your belly!”
His voice was thick with obsession and madness, every word like a de.
“You’re my girlfriend, my woman, and I will never let you give birth to another man’s bastard!”
“I… I already ended the pregnancy.”
Instinctively, Lily’s hands went to protect her abdomen. “James didn’t want the baby<b>. </b><b>It’s </b>gone now. Just stop
the car and let me out!”