Shattered Illusions Love Lies and Redemption (Lizetta and Remington) novel Chapter 1129

Lizetta's eyes were full of warmth as she looked down at the baby. That final name slipped out before she even realized it.

The moment the word hung in the air, she realized her mistake.

A look of devastation briefly clouded her eyes, and the smile on her face froze.

But right then, sitting against her stomach, Ron started waving his tiny arms in pure excitement, babbling and kicking his little legs.

His soft bottom bounced firmly against her stomach twice.

The sensation... it felt exactly like when she was pregnant with Joy.

Every time she would rest her hand on her bump and whisper his name, Joy would kick back, dancing against her palm to let his mother know he was there.

Lizetta choked up instantly, a profound sense of disbelief and overwhelming sorrow pooling in her eyes as she stared at the baby.

Hearing her call him by that name, and seeing her eyes turn instantly red, Remington misunderstood.

He assumed the sight of the baby was just making her grieve for Joy all over again. His chest tightened painfully. Wanting to snap her out of it, he stood up and lifted Ron off her legs.

"Where did Stella touch you earlier?"

With the baby gone from her arms, Lizetta looked up. She opened her mouth, wanting to tell him.

She wanted to say that for just a split second, she had felt a powerful, undeniable mother-son bond. It felt identical to when Joy was still in her womb.

But seeing the deep concern etched into Remington's features, she swallowed the words.

She figured she was just losing her mind. She missed her baby so much, wanted him back so desperately, that her broken heart was projecting Joy onto Ron.

Remington was already so worried about her. He was trying to distract her.

She didn't want to add to his burden with her crazy, grief-fueled delusions.

Forcing a pout, she played along with his change of subject.

Lizetta was so slender now, the pants offered zero resistance, sliding all the way down to her knees and dragging her underwear slightly down with them.

Blushing furiously, she let out a yelp and scrambled to pull them back up, but Remington planted a large, firm hand on her knee.

He gently pushed her legs wider, his eyes locking onto a dark bruise high up on her inner thigh. His face instantly darkened to a terrifying degree.

Lizetta's skin was impossibly smooth and luminous, especially on her inner thighs. The bruise looked like a crude stain on pristine silk, glaringly ugly and heartbreaking to look at.

The fact that Stella had managed to inflict this right under his nose only fueled his absolute fury.

The hand resting on Lizetta's knee curled into a tight fist.

"I'm sorry. I didn't protect you."

When Stella had lunged at him, he had been holding Ron. He'd only had a split second to dodge and hadn't been able to kick her away in time.