But fantasies, in the end, are just fantasies. The quiet night was suddenly shattered by a sharp, piercing shriek.
"Ah!"
Accompanied by a heavy thud, before Stella's seductive daydreams could even fully form, she found herself crashing miserably onto the hard floor. The glass shattered, splashing warm milk all over her clothes and the ground. A sharp, stinging pain shot through her hand where a piece of broken glass had sliced into her skin.
Humiliated and aching, Stella wanted to scream again, but she could acutely feel the cold, contemptuous gaze of the man looking down at her. Was it just her imagination, or had something swiftly tripped her? Even if Remington had dodged out of the way, she should have been able to catch her balance.
Just as she was drowning in shame, the female voice she least wanted to hear chimed in.
"Oh my, how lively! What exactly is Ms. West doing? Screaming like a banshee in the middle of the night—are you here to take care of Ron, or are you just terrified the poor kid might actually get a good night's sleep?"
Liz had already finished her shower. She was dressed in a bathrobe matching Remington's, her skin flushed and glowing. Leaning casually against the doorframe, relaxed and completely in her element, she presented a stark, glaring contrast to Stella's wretched state.
Propping herself up, Stella looked back, only to see Remington take a step toward Liz. With an exaggeratedly serious expression, he explained, "Girlfriend, I need to clear my name. The second I opened the door, she threw herself at me. But I didn't let her touch even a corner of my clothes. Do you want to inspect me just to be sure?"
Remington's words stripped away whatever shred of dignity Stella had left. Her face turned crimson as tears welled in her eyes.
Scrambling up from the floor, she sobbed, "Remington, I only wanted to bring you a glass of milk. There's no need to misunderstand and humiliate me like this."
Clutching her bleeding hand, she stormed past Liz in a fury, holding back her tears as she stubbornly retreated into her room.


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Shattered Illusions Love Lies and Redemption (Lizetta and Remington)