Shattered Illusions Love Lies and Redemption (Lizetta and Remington) novel Chapter 1206

Remington caught the vicious glint in Conrad's eyes, and his own gaze turned predatory, sharp as a blade.

Conrad snapped out of his dark thoughts and let out a heavy sigh.

"Liz, we are standing in front of your mother's grave. I don't want to argue with you. If she saw us like this, it would break her heart."

With that final line, Conrad played the part of the defeated, broken man and turned to leave.

But Nelson's voice suddenly cut through the air, hard and final. "Don't ever step foot on these grounds again."

Conrad froze, whipping his head around in sheer shock to stare at the older man.

"Nelson, what did you just say?"

Banned from the cemetery?

This was the Madden family estate. Conrad had joined the Madden family upon his marriage.

He had always hated coming here, finding the cemetery depressing. Furthermore, having joined his wife's family, tradition dictated he would eventually be buried in the Madden estate.

The empty patch of grass next to Elsa's headstone was designated for him.

He was supposed to be buried here, despite his surname being West, not Madden.

That thought had always filled him with a suffocating sense of humiliation, serving as a glaring reminder of his inferior status within the family.

But now, hearing Nelson explicitly ban him from the grounds forever, Conrad didn't feel relief. Instead, a wave of panic, confusion, and utter disbelief crashed into him.

He knew exactly what Nelson meant. The older man was severing the final tie. Conrad was no longer recognized as Elsa's husband, nor was he considered a part of the Madden family.

Yet, over ten years ago, when he had knelt before Nelson and Bernice, begging for their blessing to marry Eartha, Nelson hadn't made this ruling.

"It was because on her deathbed, Elsa held my hand and said she was sorry for making you a widower at such a young age. She said you had a long life ahead of you, and if you ever found someone else you wanted to marry, she begged me not to stop you. She begged me to let you go! She even said that no matter who the woman was, as long as she truly loved you and the baby, Elsa would give you her blessing!"

Hearing his daughter's dying wish back then had shattered Nelson's heart.

But looking into her pleading eyes, he hadn't been able to say no.

"She... she really said that? I didn't know, I..."

Conrad was stunned, all the blood draining from his face.

He instinctively turned to look at Elsa's headstone, but halfway there, he stopped. His eyes darted away, suddenly unable to meet the photograph of the woman he had married.

They had been each other's first loves. They had shared a passionate, genuine romance in their university days.

He thought they would live happily ever after. But when he actually joined the Madden family...