“Don’t kid yourself, girls these days are running the show. In our ss, Lisa and Leo were an item, but
when Leo shared his only piece of chocte with E, Lisa dumped him after ss and hooked up with
Jerry. She even ratted Leo out to the teacher for sneaking his phone into ss to y games. Now
Leo’s parents are being called in! Scary, right?”
Remington couldn’t care less about the drama over a piece of chocte. He stood up, his gaze slightly
darkening, “Zip it!”
Joseph was still a bit scared of him, pouting and muttering. “You’ll regret this.”
Lizetta was peeling an apple when a pair of arms reached around from behind and tightened around
her waist.
Her back was suddenly pressed against the broad, firm chest of a man, and his scent filled her nostrils.
Lizetta stiffened, and Remington rested his head on her slender shoulders, his voice cold and low in
her ear, “Who’re you nning to hook up with after dumping me?”
Lizetta pressed her lips, “Once we’re divorced, it’s none of your business who I’m with!”
“We’re not getting divorced!”
He said it with such conviction, as if Lizetta had no say in the matter concerning their marriage.
Lizetta mmed the fruit knife into the apple, “Whether we divorce or not isn’t just up to you.”
She broke free from Remington and left the room with the fruit te, grabbing her bag on the way out
and patting Joseph on the head.
“I’lle to see you tomorrow.”
Joseph blinked, “Liz, you’re not going home with Remington?”
“He just got here; let him spend some time with you,” Lizetta didn’t nce at Remington, who was
emerging. from the kitchen, and walked out.
“Remington, is Liz really over you?” The door closed, and Joseph’s eyes widened in concern.
“We’re fine; just do what the doctor says.”
He was about to leave, and of course, Joseph wouldn’t stop him but couldn’t help worrying.
“Remington, charm Liz a little; she’s easy to win over!”
As Remington left the hospital room, he ran into a nurse pushing a medical cart to draw blood from
Joseph.
Watching the nurse go in, Remington narrowed his eyes and instructed Cedric, “Check into Joseph’s
illness.”
Just amon cold, why the daily blood tests?
After a day of sses, Lizetta’s foot injury had worsened.
She had intended to catch the subway after leaving the hospital, but severe foot pain made her call a
rideshare instead.
She leaned against a tree, waiting by the roadside.
A ck Bentley slowed to a stop, the window halfway down. Under the dim light before the street
lamps were lit, the driver’s chiseled profile and cool, jade–like fingers resting on the steering wheel
were distinctly visible.
He nced over, “Come home with me.”
Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
Lizetta looked through the car window at the man, wondering if it was her decision to divorce that made
her feel so distant from him, despite being so close.
She shook her head at Remington, “I’ve ordered a ride, and I’ve already moved my stuff out. I won’t be
coming
23 2
back.”
His fingers tapped on the steering wheel a few times, a sign of his growing impatience.
“Lizetta, get in the car; do as you’re told!”
Lizetta had followed Remington’s words for fourteen years, but he never fell for her. She’d grown up
now and didn’t want to obey anymore.
Lizetta suppressed the sourness at the tip of her nose and shook her head firmly at Remington, “Check
your schedule and let’s go get the papers to end this.”
Divorce was mentioned three times in as many sentences, and Remington’s handsome face visibly
darkened.
Another car came from behind and honked.
Remington had probably run out of patience with her. He looked away, rolled up the window, and drove
off. Lizetta’s clenched fist slowly rxed, she bowed her head to hide her teary eyes.
A low–key white BMW pulled up in front of her, and the man who stepped out was lean and well–
proportioned, with refined features and silver–rimmed sses adding a touch of gentle schrly
charm.
“Hogan?”
As Lizetta expressed her surprise, Hogan had already walked around the car and opened the
passenger door.
“Where are you headed, Lizetta? Get in, I’ll give you a ride.”
“It’s okay. I’ve ordered a ride; it should be here any time.”
“I’ve got some new information about your brother to share with you.”
Hogan was Lizetta’s senior in high school and studied dance under the same teacher as her, Yovnne.
He was also the primary doctor treating her older brother, Thaddeus, who had been in a vegetative
state after a car ident a year ago, with Hogan tirelessly working on his case.
Lizetta canceled the rideshare and got into the car, immediately anxious to know more.
“Hogan, what’s happened to my brother?”
She’d been too busy the past few days and hadn’t had time to visit Thaddeus.