Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Her hands always seemed to have this lingering stench of blood. Lizetta, with her head tilted back, let her tears mix with the water and disappear without a trace.

She felt pretty pathetic. Even when Evelina had answered her desperate call for help, she couldn’t bring Herself to hate Remington.

Because even though Remington didn’t come to her rescue, it was him who taught her how to survive on her

own.

That incident when she was twelve left a dark shadow in her heart. For a while at school, she’d freak out. whenever a middle–aged male teacher got too close – so much so that she couldn’t even function normally at school.

It was Remington who would cycle with her every day to clear her head and take her to see a therapist.

She didn’t have much faith in therapists, so Remington learned about desensitization therapy by shadowing one and did a ton of research.

Eventually, he took it upon himself to guide her through the desensitization exercises. In the dark, he’d play different roles, pushing her to face and overcome her fears.

He’d then take her out to meet all sorts of middle–aged men, offering encouragement and support until she got better.

If not for that, she would have been a complete mess tonight, trapped in her painful memories with no fight in her.

Her ability to stay calm and composed under pressure came from the patience and care her brother had shown her in the past.

How could she possibly hate him? He was her brother, after all.

But it was that same tender care that turned the past four years of cold treatment into a bunch of knives. slashing Lizetta to ribbons.

The taste of having and then losing was like a slow poison, spreading every moment.

A loud knock at the door jarred Lizetta from her thoughts. By then, she was completely drained, slumped in a corner against the wall.

“Lizetta!? Open up, did you fall asleep?”

Forty minutes had passed since Remington had finished showering in the guest bathroom, and Lizetta still hadn’t emerged.

Remington knocked vigorously, yet only the sound of running water answered from inside. Frowning, the man stepped back, ready to kick the door in, but just then, the bathroom door swung open.

Lizetta was wrapped in a towel, her face ashen and her hair still dripping wet.

Remington’s face turned stormy, “Lizetta, what the hell were you doing in there?”

Lizetta shook her head slightly at Remington, flinging droplets from her hair onto Remington’s neck, cold as ice.

Remington grabbed her wrist in a tight grip and sure enough, it was bone–chilling. “Lizetta! Are you trying to kill yourself? You were showering with cold water!”

Looking at the furious Remington, Lizetta appeared somewhat innocent and dazed, “Was I using cold water?”

She had just stood under the showerhead feeling dirty. So filthy dirty, and she had scrubbed herself so hard that she didn’t even feel the cold.

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At the sight of her lips trembling and her whole body on the verge of collapsing, Remington’s instinct was to pin her down on the bed and spank her senseless.

Annoyed, he picked her up. “Has the cold water destroyed your brain? Just keep it up!”

He tucked her into the covers and went back to the bathroom to fill the tub with hot water.

Coming out of the bathroom, Lizetta hugged herself under the covers, shivering from the cold. Remington was grinding his teeth, tempted to just throw her out, covers and all, to save himself the headache.

But that thought lasted less than half a minute in his mind.

When he snapped back to reality, his body seemed to have its own response, already stripped down and lying in the covers, having also stripped her bathrobe and holding her tightly in his arms.

Like he was hugging a snowman, the contrast of hot and cold made even Remington shiver.

He lowered his head, his voice angry as he pressed against her cold ear, “What the hell happened tonight?”

Lizetta was way too out of it!

Curled up in Remington’s embrace, surrounded by a warmth and a familiarity that enveloped her, she closed her eyes, feeling her stiff body warming up and coming back to life.

Remington waited impatiently for Lizetta to speak up, his voice stern, “Talk!”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .