Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Chapter 83

Remington had headed back to Oakridge Heights early, pulling up to a stop.

Leaning back in his seat, he was eyeing the villa with a gaze as heavy as the air pressure around him.

The place was pitch–dark, a dead giveaway that Lizetta hadn’t come home again.

He lingered in the car, not getting out, until Cedric piped up. “Mr. Remington? You freaked out Lizetta’s friend at the hospital, she might be steamed. Maybe you should sweet–talk her a bit?”

Remington glanced over. “And how do you suggest I do that?”

“Grab a bouquet? Throw in some sweets, girls dig that stuff. Flowers and treats always cheer them up.”

Cedric felt partly to blame for today’s fiasco and was eager to make amends, throwing out suggestions left and right.

Remington’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “Girls also dig jewelry, don’t they?”

He hadn’t forgotten the morning’s episode, where he pushed a jewelry box towards the girl, only to have it chucked squarely at him.

Remington was starting to think his assistant was becoming useless; his skills were going downhill.

Forty minutes later, in the shadows beneath Yolanda’s apartment building.

There he was, in the driver’s seat, with a bunch of gaudy red roses, courtesy of the florist’s hard sell, sitting on the passenger seat.

lights off. Lizetta wasn’t back yet.

impatient, when he spotted

reached for the flowers, ready to step

guy caught up with Lizetta, taking the shopping bag off her hands

each other, obviously, chatting and laughing

on the shoulder, and instead of ducking away, she beamed

movements froze, the emotion draining from his eyes.

the building. Lizetta waved goodbye cheerfully to

by floor until they hit the sixth, then he turned and left.

car, Remington let out

ticked off, not by a long shot. She seemed in high spirits, simply not

that’s all:

he tossed the roses into

corner store for some necessities and bumped into

taken a tumble by the flowerbed a few days back, and Lizetta was the one who found her and called the ambulance.

קיד.

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Chapter 83

give her the good news that Granny

fainting could lead to big

went to pour herself some water and

to