Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

"The Wests sent some folks to Evercrestia again a few days back. I'm a bit worried about it." Jerome said, his legs crossed.

Lizetta's eyebrows furrowed in surprise. She hadn't expected that two months on, not only had the Wests not given up on searching for her, but they had also increased their efforts. What were they planning? Were they relentless?

A chill ran through Lizetta, her hands on her lap trembling slightly without her noticing. She was both afraid and angry.

The warmth from Jerome's hand enveloped hers as he set down his coffee mug and leaned in to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. This material belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

Looking up, Lizetta met his comforting, smiling gaze. "Don't worry. I've set up a few obstacles and distractions in Evercrestia to lead them off your trail. They won't find their way here."

Lizetta's heart gradually calmed, and she nodded.

But at that moment, she realized they were sitting a little too close.

The snow continued to fall outside, casting a serene, dim glow in the living room. The quiet of the night was inherently romantic, perhaps too conducive to unintended intimacies. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Lizetta instinctively pulled back slightly, her fingers curling up. But before she could withdraw her hand completely, Jerome let go.

Standing up, he said, "Oh, I brought something for you. It's outside the door, I'll go get it."

With that, he turned and strode out.

He did indeed bring a suitcase, and he had nearly been hit by a flowerpot at the door when he saw Lizetta.

As he left, a gust of cold wind swept in. Lizetta let out a sigh and a small laugh. She felt like she had been away from men for too long and had started to overthink things.

Outside the door, Jerome picked up the suitcase and strode toward the two-story villa, then abruptly halted.

Turning around, he looked around and saw only the snow sweeping across the silent, deserted path.

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned back and quickened his pace, soon disappearing into the yard.

"Mr. Remington Dashiell, it's really Jerome! Madam must be here. I' call our guys over," Ray's voice emerged from behind a low wall, moments after Jerome had disappeared.

In the shadow beside Ray, a man stood silently, his gaze piercing through the snow and walls into the house. Clenching his leather-gloved hands to resist the urge to barge in, he was close to finding the one he had been searching for two months.

He didn't want to scare her, or worse, drive her further away.

He turned back and quickened his pace, soon disappearing into the yard, "Not now. Find a place where we can keep an eye on her."

Ray turned back in surprised, "We finally found Madam, aren't we taking her with us now?"

Jerome's distractions in Evercrestia had led Ralap and his men on a wild goose chase.

But Remington wasn't that foolish. He immediately realized that it was a smokescreen set up by Jerome. He also guessed that Lizetta might have already left Evercrestia, and since Luminesia was adjacent to Evercrestia and the languages were similar, both being of the Northern Germanic language group, it was likely she had gone there. Content

Although Lizetta had only studied it in the past, she had a talent for languages and had no problem with everyday communication.

Remington had his people watch Luminesia and had indeed discovered Jerome's presence there. But Jerome was very cautious, and their people had lost track of him. Fortunately, they had a general idea of his whereabouts.

Remington circled a few possible locations, ruled out several nearby bustling tourist towns, and finally thought this small town was the most likely.

He brought Ray here personally, initially just taking a chance, but it seemed like luck was on their side.

It was a gamble coming here, but luck seemed to be on Remington's side on this snowy night.

Liz, I've finally found you.

Our connection hasn't broken, and I won't let it.