Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Lizzie felt a wave of tenderness wash over her as she instinctively lifted her hand to touch the back of her hand to the baby's forehead. The fever had broken.

"Liz, let me take Ron, will you?" Stella, as if fearing Lizzie might harm the child, stepped forward again, bending over to take him into her arms. "Ron, do you want to come to auntie?" But as she approached, the little one's mouth puckered, and he looked as if he was about to cry again. Remington intervened, blocking Stella's attempt to reach for the baby. "Remington? Ron is a member of the West family, the sole heir of our bloodline. I've always treated Ron as my own. I'm worried sick about him being ill. Liz has been holding him tight and won't even let me get close. What's the reason for this?" Stella frowned, her voice full of accusation.

Remington's voice was stern, "You've brought the smell of alcohol over to the child!" Stella's expression changed slightly; she indeed had been at a bar, drinking and dancing. If it hadn't been for Anna's call, informing her that Remington and Lizzie were at the hospital, Stella wouldn't have come tonight at all.

"I... The smell of alcohol must have accidentally transferred from someone else. I rushed over as soon as I heard Ron was sick at a friend's birthday party tonight!" Stella defended herself.

Lizzie, holding Ron, stood up, her gaze fixed on Stella. "Stella, the doctor said Ron was premature, has a weak constitution, and is more prone to illnesses. He needs extra care. If you truly care about him, you wouldn't leave everything to the nanny." If Stella genuinely cherished the baby, there wouldn't be a lack of attachment from him towards her. Clearly, the baby didn't like Stella, showing even more dependency on Lizzie, a stranger he had only met twice.

"Lizzie, what are you implying? Ron

is a child the West family was fortunate to have. Being premature, he was so tiny at birth, you can't possibly imagine. If I hadn't been careful, how could Ron have grown this adorable?" Stella tried to take Ron from Lizzie's arms, her lips curving into a smirk. "I forgot you've never cared for a baby. You can't possibly understand howContent from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

challenging and exhausting it is. I can't be with Ron at every moment. A little negligence is normal; otherwise, what's the point of having a nanny?" Stella's words, a mix of not having cared for a baby and

being unable to imagine, were thinly

veiled jabs at Lizzie.

Lizzie's eyes sharpened, "Stella, if you were truly attentive, the nanny wouldn't be neglecting the child to such an extent!" Lizzie was inexplicably infuriated by Stella's superficial efforts, clearly just a facade. She shouldn't have felt any pity for this child, yet she couldn't ignore the negligence he was subjected to.

Stella seemed somewhat surprised

by Lizzie's attitude, her smile not quite reaching her eyes as she said, "It seems Lizzie is quite fond of Ron." Turning to Remington, her mind working, she suggested,

"Remington, speaking of which yet

and share the same birthday, which is why your mother always treated me as her own daughter Ron and Daisy were also born on the same day. If Lizzie really likes our Ron, why not let him recognize Lizzie as his godmother? It would be a comfort."

Lizzie had been trying her best to ignore the baby's identity, to forget the tragic night where one child lived and another didn't. Yet Stella kept bringing it up, her proposal, feigning understanding, was just to provoke Lizzie A sting in her heart, Lizzie instinctively loosened her grip on Ron, intending to hand him back to Stella. But who would have thought Stella's attempt to take the child was so clumsy, the baby nearly slipped from her grasp, tumbling towards the ground.