Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Just then, another faint pink line began to slowly emerge on the pregnancy test.

It wasn’t clear, but it seemed to be a faint positive. Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

She was pregnant.

Lizetta’s legs gave way; she plopped down on the toilet seat cover, staring into space at that soft pink line.

Yolanda snatched the pregnancy test, and her hands were shaking with fury, “Damn it, where the hell was Remington hiding when they were handing out human decency? Knocking up two women at the same time? That bastard can really pull some shit!”

She squatted down and wrapped her arms around Lizetta, “Liz, what’s your game plan? You gonna keep the baby?”

Lizetta didn’t have a clue.

She had promised Remington that they wouldn’t have kids after they got married, but deep down she was dying for one.

She was desperate for a baby to validate her relationship with Remington.

She had even thought that maybe, just maybe, if she had his child, Remington would finally accept her as his wife and start to fall for her.

Now she knew how foolish and demeaning that thought was, and she was determined to let it go.

But just her luck, the baby decided to come now.

Just as Lizetta was a mess, her phone rang; wanting a break from her thoughts, she answered the phone immediately without even having looked at the caller’s ID.

“Maestro Adagio? This is Evelina, I’m reaching out about setting up a music deal. I believe. William from The Dashiell Group made it clear, money ain’t an issue. If you’re not satisfied, we can up the ante.”

Lizetta’s phone was dual–SIM, and Evelina contacting this number meant she was reaching out to her alias.

Lizetta frowned, and just as she was about to hang up, Evelina raised her voice.

“With The Dashiell Group and the entire Starlight Group backing me, your music will get the promotion it truly deserves. There are plenty of talented folks out there, but talent alone won’t cut it. On the flip side, there are a dime a dozen cases of people getting sidelined or blacklisted because they were too cocky to seize their chance. Isn’t that right?”

Evelina was basically threatening to blacklist Lizetta

music career would be dead in the water.

Lizetta remained cool as a cucumber.

Yolanda, feeling like she was to burst a blood vessel, grabbed the phone and let loose.

“Excuse me? This is the first time I’ve heard someone make having a sugar daddy sound so fresh and innocent! Do you even know your own level? If our Maestro Adagio gives you his music, do you seriously think your amateur fiddling is gonna do it justice? Why drop The Dashiell Group’s name in a music deal; do you think the world revolves around you? With your crappy skills, you’re just looking for

a shortcut. The way I see it, if you ain’t got the talent, all the effort in the world’s just gonna make it hurt more. Better tuck yourself in and call it a night, and stop harassing us!”

Yolanda unleashed her tirade and cut the call.

Worried, she looked at Lizetta, who had just found out about her pregnancy and was now dealing with the brazen mistress who had knocked at her door, especially since that jerk. was backing the mistress to steal her creative work.

Yolanda feared Lizetta couldn’t handle it all.

But Lizetta just chuckled; he stood up from the toilet seat, and playfully ruffled Yolanda’s hair.

“Let’s go.

I’m not in the mood for instant noodles anymore. Let’s hit up a restaurant; I gotta treat your golden mouth right.”

Lizetta linked arms with Yolanda and headed out the door.

Seeing Lizetta’s carefree attitude, Yolanda breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

“You’re right. You’ve got a special condition now; you need to eat something nutritious. And we gotta find a step–daddy for Remington’s kid.”

The two of them stormed out the door, leaving a trembling Evelina back in the hospital

room.

“She’s just a no–name composer; does she really think she’s some sort of maestro? I was doing her a favor by offering a deal, and you heard the crap she just spewed!”

April tried to calm her down, but Evelina wasn’t listening.

She could never forget the first time she saw Lizetta; she was in a bun, wearing a pink and white princess dress, barefoot on the couch, playing the violin.

The music was enchanting, it was like seeing a princess in a castle.

But that should have been her life!

All these years, she stuck with the violin with the single goal to crush Lizetta.

But she was only average in talent Elara was a dancer, and she, Evelina, is the biological daughter. But the one who Inherited the musical and dancing talents somehow seemed to belong to Lizetta, the fake heiress!

No matter how hard she tried over the years, she always fell short. The fleeting look of disappointment in her mother’s eyes fueled Evelina’s burning jealousy and hatred towards

Lizetta.

Now that she was back in the country to develop her career, she wanted to dazzle everyone at her first solo concert. Classic violin pieces were too easy to reveal her technical shortcomings.

She had set her sights on Maestro Adagio, since one of his works, a hip–hop infused piece, helped a young violinist win a prestigious international prize last year.