Chapter 86 Boundaries and Breaches.
Chapter 86 Boundaries and Breaches
Lily’s hand, completely 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 black 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 escalated like this?
She had only reached out to stop herself from falling–and somehow, 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 understood 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.
And honestly, if their roles were reversed and a man had done this to her, she’d probably want to kill him
She totally got it
Lily wanted to explain 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 me. No more physical contact. Let go!”
His voice shook her straight down to her bones.
Only then did she realize that while one hand was still plastered to his chest, the 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 red, like a boiled shrimp.
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Once she regained her balance, she stumbled back, yanked a towel from the rack, and wrapped it tightly around herself.
James remained standing there like a frozen iceberg, eyes sharp and glacial.
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 working late tonight, so I thought… I thought you wouldn’t be back for a while…”
“I didn’t fake a fall to throw myself into your arms. The floor was wet. I slipped. That’s all.”
Her voice grew smaller as she caught sight of his now–exposed chest–sharp lines, strong muscles, unfairly defined.
“I didn’t expect your shirt to be that fragile. One tug and it came undone. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’ll be more careful. I’ve already signed the agreement. I won’t 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.
Once he shut the door behind him–hard–the cold anger melted away.
What replaced it was pain. And deep, bitter shame.
Back in that bathroom his body had reacted.
Before he became a vegetable, the Luke family’s wealth had drawn plenty of women who threw themselves at him.
He had always felt nothing but irritation. He pushed them away without hesitation. His body never responded.
But just now, Lily had fallen against him and-
He closed his eyes, his throat tight with revulsion.
Ile only had room in his heart for Leila. How could he-
James hated himself for being weak.
For being unfaithful.
C
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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 Leila.
But his body had betrayed him–for Lily.
Disgusted with himself, James picked up his phone and sent a message to Leila.
“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 and 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.
“I’m sorry.
Lily blinked.
Seriously? Why is James apologizing to me….
againt
