Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

A carefree and light-hearted laugh.

The sound of her laughter made his heart swell and ache with a bittersweet longing. It was like a weary traveler on the brink of dehydration in a desert, finally spotting an oasis.

"Take it easy," Remington whispered softly, leaning in closer, driven by his emotions and longing to kiss her lips, to capture that fleeting smile.

But just as he was about to close the gap, Lizetta sharply raised her hand.

Remington's intended kiss landed on the tips of Lizetta's fingers instead, sending a thrilling shiver through him from the point of contact.

Lizetta quickly withdrew her hand and pushed Remington away, stepping back as she did.NôvelDrama.Org © content.

"You're pushing your luck again!" she exclaimed, turning her gaze to the car window, effectively ignoring him.

He talked about starting over, yet he was eager to put a full stop on a page that wasn't even fully drafted. She thought to herself, life isn't that simple!

Seeing her ears turn slightly red, Remington couldn't help but smirk.

He tapped on the three books he was holding and said with a laugh, "Alright, I'll hit the books first. Once I ace this 'Gentleman 101' test you've got for me, then we'll see about moving to the next step." Lizetta couldn't help but smile at his words, but her thoughts quickly shifted to Yolanda, causing her smile to fade.

If Yolanda were firmly against this, she wouldn't hurt her for Remington's sake.

The mess Remington made was his to clean up.

However, when Lizetta returned to Pine Villa and waited until evening, not only did Yolanda not show up, but she also received news that the girl had flown to Windale for an audition.

Yolanda was auditioning for a leading role in a big production and was taking it very seriously, planning to stay there for three to five days to prepare.

Worried her issues might affect Yolanda's mood, Lizetta chose to remain silent over the phone.

She figured she'd wait for Yoli to return from Windale, by which time she and Remington would have finalized their divorce.

But sometimes, fate has its own plans, and the words left unsaid might as well have been unnecessary, perhaps even deemed futile by fate itself. Three days later.

Remington finished a meeting and left his office by 8 PM.

Cedric, trailing behind his boss, was going over the schedule for the next day.

Noticing Remington wasn't heading towards the elevator but instead towards his private office, Cedric felt a surge of dread.

Looks like it was going to be another late night at the office!

Lately, Remington had been setting a relentless pace, first with his work ethic and now with overtime.

Fortunately, he didn't expect the same from his staff.

But as his assistant, Cedric felt the pressure; he'd been googling hair loss prevention tips due to stress.

Following Remington to the office door, Remington stopped and turned to him.

"Go home," he said.

"Should I stay a bit longer, maybe help out?" Cedric offered.

Remington gave him a strange look, "I'm staying late because I'm about to take some leave for the divorce

alaternity leave. You're single,

what are you trying to get mixed up in?"

Cedric was speechless.

Divorce leave? That was a new one.

And paternity leave, wasn't that usually for women?

Clearly, this involved his wife, so Cedric didn't dare to ask further. He just cracked a smile and made a quick exit.

Remington entered his office and went through a couple of documents when his phone rang.

Around this time, Bess would call to update him on Lizetta's day. He answered, expecting to hear about Lizetta's wellbeing.

"How's her foot? Any better?" he asked. The day before, Bess mentioned Lizetta was experiencing some swelling.

Remington had checked with a

doctor, who suggested it might just

be

aboutal and nothing to worry

but it was still on his mind.

However, the voice that came through wasn't Bess but Stella's, tinged with urgency.

"Remington, it's me! Lanson just

called. Evelina just fell, her wat net

broke, she's going into labor! What do we do? Can you come with me, please? I'm freaking out here..."