Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

"Remington, thank you for whatever reason you did to protect my mom's reputation."

Remington simply said, "I've got things to do."

As he turned to leave, Stella took a step after him. "Remington, I can't go to work at the company until after my mom's funeral."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Stella.

Stella was about to remind him to take care of his health when she heard him say, "You don't need to come to work at Starlight Group anymore." Stella was stunned, panic setting in. "Why... why?"

She looked at him, those eyes of his always held a distance when looking at others, but seemed to soften unknowingly when they landed on her.

Stella had always thought she was special, but now she could see, Remington's gaze was truly cold.

Towards her, there was still no complete trust, was there?

Even without any evidence, even after her mother had completely disassociated her from any wrongdoing before she died, Remington still harbored doubts. Could they never return to how things were before? This sent Stella into a panic, tears sliding down her cheeks again.

Remington's tone remained indifferent, "I'm very busy, and following me around, you won't really learn anything significant. At Starlight Group, you'd only be handling trivial matters anyway.

With Barbara's situation, even with cover-ups, there will always be people who find out the truth. There will be plenty of rumors in Zion City for a while.

After the funeral, you should consider studying abroad. Discuss it with your family; if you agree, I can make the arrangements."

With that, Remington didn't linger any longer and quickly walked away.

His tall, cold figure vanished, leaving Stella in disbelief, unable to accept what had just happened.

He actually wanted to send her abroad.

She looked at Martin, "Does he want me gone? Does he not want to see me ever again? He... Ah!"

Smack!

Before she could finish, Martin had slapped her hard across the face.

Stella fell to the ground, unprepared, her head buzzing, vision blurring, tasting blood in her mouth.

She looked up to see Martin glaring down at her coldly, cursing, "You're good for nothing but trouble! Who told you to act so smart?!"Original content from NôvelDrama.Org.

As Martin advanced, Stella scrambled backward. She leaned on the hospital bed to stand, crying and trying to defend herself.

"It's all Lizetta's fault! She must have been playing me from the start, never intending to leave. She was tricking me!

Once abroad, she had people ready

to meet her, waiting for us to make a move, then informed Remington, orchestrating this whole thing. That woman is too cunning... Mmph!

W

Martin moved closer, his hand closing around Stella's throat.

Stella was pushed back onto the hospital bed, tears of fear in her eyes. She whimpered, trying to pry Martin's hands off, her legs kicking under the bed.

Remington, delayed by this incident, caught up in the morning rush.

He arrived at Lakeside Cafe just as Lizetta and Yolanda were leaving.

Yolanda mentioned she had other things to attend to and left.

Hamilton and Hogan were vying to take Lizetta home when Remington's car abruptly stopped in front of Lakeside Cafe. He got out and strode towards Lizetta.

His expression was dark, his gaze sweeping over the white teddy bear Lizetta held, and the "Divorce Party" banner in Hamilton's hand, his eyes turning icy.

Lizetta, slightly frowning, quickly noticed a faint scratch on the man's neck.

Long and thin, it was clearly made by a woman's nails.

Lizetta couldn't help but find it amusing. Was Stella unable to keep him happy, and now he was turning to her?