The woman blinked in confusion, then shifted her gaze between Remington and Lizetta.
Having suddenly figured out what was going on, she hurriedly waved her hands to Lizetta and said,
"Oh dear, I think there's been a huge misunderstanding. Mr. Dashiell hired me to pretend to be Stella!" the woman hurriedly explained, waving her hands for emphasis.
Lizetta stared at her, with astonishment written all over her face, before turning to Remington with a puzzled look.
"She's not Stella?"
Remington's lips twisted into a bitter smile, "I wish she was. But I couldn't find her."
The woman, eager to clear the confusion, quickly added, "Mrs. Dashiell, my name's Eileen. I am not Ms. Stella West."
Seeing her nervousness and how she remained standing, Remington gestured towards a chair, "Please, take a seat."
Gratefully, Eileen sat down and began to unravel her story, "I'm an orphan, and I fell seriously ill when I was just a teenager and lost all my childhood memories. About four months ago, Mr. Dashiell found me, believing I might be the lost family member he'd been searching for.
I was over the moon, thinking I'd finally found my family. But after a DNA test, it turned out I wasn't the person he was looking for.
Mr. Dashiell mentioned that Stella's mother had been searching for her daughter for her entire life, and now, she's on her deathbed. He didn't want her to pass away with that regret, so he asked if I could pose as Stella.
Truth be told, Mrs. Dashiell, I was desperate for money. My husband was diagnosed with kidney failure last year and needed a transplant. We have a young daughter, and I couldn't bear the thought of her growing up without her father.
Waiting for a donor kidney is like waiting for a miracle, and we were scraping by just to cover the medical bills.
Mr. Dashiell offered to cover the surgery if I agreed to help him, and I simply couldn't refuse. So, I followed Mr. Dashiell back here, and that's the whole story."
After her lengthy explanation, Eileen's throat was parched, but she felt too embarrassed to help herself to a drink.
Being only a temporary resident, she hesitated to make herself too comfortable.
Noticing the water glasses and pitcher on the coffee table, Remington leaned over to pour two glasses of water-one for Lizetta, as to the other one, he pushed it towards Eileen.
Eileen quickly thanked him and took a few sips to quench her thirst.
Lizetta was taken aback by the revelation; she was still processing the information when noticing Remington's thoughtful gestures.
He had shown the same care when helping Eileen with the car door and catching her when she missed a step at the hospital while distracted by her phone.
Such acts might seem trivial to others, but they were uncharacteristic of Remington.
It was these small, caring actions that had initially led Lizetta to believe Eileen was Stella.
But Eileen was merely a stand-in, chosen for her resemblance to Stella, and Remington's kindness was simply his way of looking after her.
"Mrs. Dashiell, Mr. Dashiell and I haven't met alone more than twice. He was just making sure I knew enough not to give myself away.
Oh, and Mr. Dashiell had asked me about some pregnancy-related things because of you, Mrs. Dashiell. He's been really concerned about you," Eileen's voice drew Lizetta back from her thoughts.
Feeling the shadows of doubt dispersed, Lizetta smiled awkwardly at Eileen, "Thank you for sharing all this with me. By the way, is your burn still bothering you? If it hasn't healed, you might not want to keep it covered all the time."
Lizetta's eyes fell on the gloved hand Eileen had kept hidden since their last encounter at the diner. Eileen seemed to instinctively curl her fingers inward.
Lizetta sensed something odd about her hand, but couldn't quite put her finger on it at the moment.
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