Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Remington's shoulder had taken a hit from a billboard's steel frame, leaving a nasty wound. After the doctor patched him up and left a tube of ointment for the bruising on his back, he hurried out, leaving Liz and Remington alone in the room.

"Mrs. Dashiell, just apply this to Mr. Dashiell's bruise, rub it in well, and it should do the trick. I've got other patients to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

Before Liz could utter a word, the doctor was gone, and the door clicked shut behind him.

Remington glanced at Liz, who, without any fuss, grabbed the ointment and approached him. She stood behind him, unscrewing the cap of the tube and began applying the ointment to his back.

His back was a canvas of swelling reds and purples, a sight that was hard to stomach.

The moment her fingers made contact, Remington stiffened slightly, prompting Liz to pause.

"Does it hurt? Haven't you applied any ointment before?"

Only then did Remington relax a bit; a slight smile played on his lips as he looked back at her.

"You've been neglecting me."

His tone was unexpectedly tinged with grievance.

Liz's fingers trembled slightly as she retorted, "This is all your own doing! If you had just listened to Grandma, none of this would have happened!" Suddenly, Remington turned around and gripped Liz's wrist.

Looking up at her, he softly said, "Liz, you still care about me, don't you?"

Liz didn't respond; her lashes fluttered slightly as she bit her lip.

"You saved me just now, and applying this ointment is the least I can do. The doctor said to rub it in well; it might hurt a bit, but just bear with it." After saying that, she pulled her hand free from Remington's grip, signaling him to turn back around.

Seeing the panic in her eyes, Remington couldn't help but let a smile flicker across his face.

"Go ahead, Mrs. Dashiell, and thank you," he said, straightening his back for her to continue.

Liz placed one hand on his shoulder, using the other to vigorously rub the severely bruised areas. The initially cool ointment gradually heated up under her firm strokes.

Yet, Remington felt no pain, and his heart warmed instead.

He sensed the contradiction in her words; despite her protests, she still cared.

If she truly felt nothing, she would have tossed the ointment aside and left.

Feeling somewhat calmer, Remington allowed a deeper smile to emerge. "Liz, can we start over, please?"

Liz, standing behind him, paused momentarily and remained silent.

Just as Remington was about to turn and face her, she hurriedly said, "I don't want to talk about this now. Can you please just stop pushing me?" Her tone cooled, but Remington's expression softened even more. Owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

It was normal for her to be angry, but it was clear she wasn't as indifferent as before.

"Alright, I won't push you. We'll take our time. When you're ready to forgive me, we'll have a grand wedding to overshadow all these bad memories." Liz's lips tightened, and her eyes flashed with sarcasm.

Replacing bad memories with good ones was nothing but self-deception.

She continued applying the ointment meticulously, yet her thoughts were elsewhere, feeling fortunate.

Thankfully, she had learned from the

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past ordeal, Last time, after he got stabbed, she cried like a fool, falling right into his trap and ending up hurt. How could she not learn from that and let him deceive her again so easily?

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Liz changed the subject by mentioning, Ms. West said that the West family intends to keep Evelina's baby? Have you already handed Evelina over to the West family without planning to involve the police?"

Remington turned to face her again, taking her hands into his.

"Stella was abandoned in the mountains, found by a mountain man who carried her back. This man had a simple-minded son, five years younger than Stella, and he locked Stella in a shed, intending for her to marry his son.