Chapter 517 A Shattered Promise

    Lily’s smile froze, the joy on her face slowly hardening into ice.

    She truly loved children.

    To have once been told she could never conceive, only to now be carrying two lives at once- her heart had been brimming with delight.

    She had been reveling in James’s warm embrace, glowing with happiness, when John’s crazed outburst cut through the moment like filth sttering across sunlight. It was foul, maddening, utterly ruinous.

    Lifting her face from James’s chest, she turned with cold disdain toward him. “John, this happens to be a hospital. If you’re sick, hurry up and get treated. Stop acting like a rabid dog every time you appear.”

    “James is my boyfriend–the man I love with all my heart. So what if I give him twins? Even if I bore him triplets, quintuplets, ten children–it’s none of your business!”

    “Lily!”

    Hearing her say again that James was her true love, hearing her talk of giving him ten children, John’s eyes all but burst with red, his chest twisting with agony until he bent over in pain.

    He couldn’t bear it.

    When they had once been together, she had nestled in his arms, speaking of their future. She had told him time and again she wanted to give him two children–best of all, a boy and a girl, to make a perfect “family.”

    She had promised him. Promised.

    But now, their children had nevere to be, and instead she was carrying twins for James.

    The betrayal gutted him.

    His lips trembled for a long time before a broken, rasping voice escaped, dry as a desert.

    “Lily, you said you’d only ever have children with me. You can’t go back on your word. Bob, Dawn… are you really abandoning our babies?”

    Lily’s forehead throbbed with ck lines of exasperation.

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    Chapter 517 A Shattered Promise

    Yes, once upon a time, when she had loved John with all her heart, she had spoken those dreams aloud, even given their imaginary children nicknames–Bob and Dawn.

    She had been so foolish, so hopeful, imagining a happy little home with him, filled with

    sweetnessb. /b

    But after his betrayal, hearing him bring it up now only made her feel sick.

    “How I treat someone depends on how they treat me.”

    When he mentioned Bob and Dawn, she caught the sour tang of jealousy in the air.

    She cursed him inwardly again.

    He was too malicious–always trying to provoke James’s jealousy, as if he wanted James to smother her with kisses until she couldn’t breathe.

    Why did he want to ruin her?

    Had she ughtered his entire family in some past life?

    Taking a deep breath, she snapped, “James has been loyal and true to me. Naturally I will love him with everything I have–he is the only one for me in this life. You, John–faithless, fickle, shameless–do you deserve anyone’s heart? Please, do the world a favor and stop disgusting

    me!”

    With every word she spoke, John’s face drained paler still.

    He knew he had hurt her again and again for Elsa’s sake, and he regretted it bitterly.

    But he had only stayed by Elsa out of guilt, he told himself. His heart had always belonged to Lily. He had truly believed she would never leave him.

    “Lily…”

    When she turned away, unwilling even to look at him, her hand in James’s as she prepared to leave, John panicked and blocked her path.

    His trembling fingers fumbled in his pocket, pulling out the diamond ring he had once ripped from Elsa’s hand. Dropping to one knee, he offered it to Lily with desperate reverence.

    “I know… I know you’ve always hated me for cing your wedding ring on Elsa’s finger. But I’ve taken it back. I don’t care that you’re carrying James’s twins–I’ll ept it. Please, just give me onest chance. Let’s start over. Elsa lied to me–she never had cancer, her suffering abroad wasn’t my doing. I was wrong. I regret it all. Don’t leave me. Please, don’t abandon me.”

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    Chapter 517 A Shattered Promise

    Lily’s gaze fell to the ring in his palm.

    20 FIN

    It was the very ring he hadmissioned for her, a unique design, exquisite, one she had once adored.

    She had dreamed of the day he would slide it onto her finger himself.

    But now, the sight of it only filled her with revulsion.

    That ring reminded her of how she had once held out her true heart, only to have it tossed aside, trampled, wasted.

    “John.”

    Lily smiled.

    She was devastatingly beautiful when she smiled–like the sun breaking through clouds, like spring blossoms in full bloom, breathtaking.

    But the sharp irony gleaming in her eyes was so piercing that the fragile hope rising in John’s gaze shattered, crumbling inch by inch.

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    Chapter 518 Poisoned by Jealousy