Chapter 160
After Bonnie finished speaking, she made a beeline for the balcony, looking to jump.
If Dean hadn’t acted fast enough to grab her arm, she could have died tonight. Tears streaming down her face, Bonnie turned to Neil. “Neil, everyone says Irene loved you for you for a decade with deep feeling and kindness. But what about Karina? You screwed her over! And me, from the first moment! heard your name, I felt like we were destined to meet. I worked my ass off to get into Rosemont College and stay in Rosemont, all because I believed in the bond between us”
I did the math. Bonnie must ve been around 15 or 16 when she had her heart transplant, right in the middle of her awkward years
From her emotional outburst, I figured out another piece of the puzzle.
Turns out, the gift Karina’s mom gave to Bonnie was a photo album and diary, full of snippets from Karina’s life. There were group photos of the Aaron family sisters in the album, so Bonnie must ve recognized Kate from the get-go.
Too bad Kate wasn’t here today, otherwise, she could ve seen Ronnie’s true colors for herself
But I’m sure she’ll see my tweet. She’s always been keeping tabs on Bonnie’s antics
Bonnie, now a blubbering mess, seemed to have no effect on Neil who was fed up with her constant deceit.
“Neil, do me one last favor. Can you help minimize the damage from Irene’s tweet? I still care about my image,” Bonnie pleaded, still concerned about her reputation
“Get lost!” Neil’s response was ice cold, his eyes sending a chilling warning to Bonnie. “From now on, I don’t want to see you ever again. You and your family better pack up and leave Rosemont for good”
Bonnie’s lips trembled Fear and defiance filled her eyes. She took a few shaky steps, clearly unable to accept what was happening
Neil’s final warning meant she’d have to deal with her studies and surgery on her own. Her family would have to uproot from their familiar surroundings
and start anew elsewhere.
Ada and Dean looked like they’d seen a ghost
Bonnie then turned to Cooper, grabbed his hand, “Cooper, can you help me? My family isn’t well-off and I’ve had a hard time getting to where I am today You’ve always encouraged me Can you help me…. please
“Bonnie Cooper’s heart softened seeing Bonnie so distraught, but he quickly snapped back to reality.
He pushed Bonnie away, shaking his head. “You’ve crossed the line. You ve deceived me, deceived everyone”
After being rejected by Cooper, despair washed over Bonnie’s face.
The tension in the room was palpable.
Suddenly, Bonnie grabbed an ashtray and hurled it at me.
There were several people around me, but everyone had taken a step back after the earlier confrontation I watched the ashtray fly towards me, too
stunned to react.
Neil was the first to react. He rushed over and took the hit for me.
The ashtray banged against his arm with a dull thud and fell to the floor.
His injury looked pretty bad. It seemed like the sharp edge of the ashtray had cut him. Blood quickly seeped through his sleeve.
“Neill Mitch shrieked, yelling at Ada and Dean, “What the hell are you waiting for? Get out! What’s your plan? Murder?”
Ada and Dean were equally startled. Leaving the city was the least of their worries. They might’ve even disappeared from the face of the earth.
The two of them helped Bonnie downstairs.
Mitch and Cooper were checking on Neil’s injuries I watched them from a distance. When Neil looked up at me, we both fell silent.
All the misunderstandings were finally cleared up. It felt like we had just emerged from a dark tunnel into the light
But we also knew that some people and things, once missed, can never be had again,
Our experiences felt like a war shrouded in smoke. When the war ended and the smoke cleared, we found nothing but ruins around us
I swallowed my pain, quickly went downstairs, got in my car and drove off. Not long after, I saw Ada frantically flagging down cars on the road.
Under the streeflight, Bonnie was lying on the ground, unconscious. Dean was performing CPR on her.
I didnt stop I drove past them, the image of my parents crying by my hospital bed when I was diagnosed with terminal cancer in my past life flashing in my mind.
It seemed that God had dealt Bonnie’s family the same hand of despair and pain.
When I got home, my parents were waiting for me. They’d seen the news about me
My dad looked stern, Trene, you’d better explain what the hell is going on!”
“Trene, what’s all this about?” My mom was slightly calmer. She held my hand as we sat on the couch.
I tried my best to keep my cool and told them everything about the news.
They seemed a bit relieved after hearing everything
The photos of me and Oscar were taken after my divorce. There was nothing inappropriate about them.
The photos of me dancing in the club were from a bar event. Lots of girls got up on stage that day. There was no inappropriate behavior.
Even though my parents believed me, the gossiping public might not
After consulting with a lawyer, I sent a cease and desist letter to the publisher and the website.
About a day later, the content was taken down, but I’m sure people had saved the photos.
I didn’t care. The fact that they took the post down was proof of their quilt.
My reputation was somewhat restored, which was good enough as long as it didn’t affect my parents too much.
Compared to me, Bonnie’s situation was a mess.
The university withdrew all its donations and revoked her enrollment.
Those who once defended her, those who trusted her, all came forward to say they’d been deceived, that they misjudged her.
Then something unexpected happened. Oscar stepped in
He originally wanted to help me, but I’d already set my plan into motion.
After I exposed Bonnie’s true colors, he, as her ex-boyfriend, released some screenshots.
When he first saw Bonnie and Neil’s chat logs, he snapped some pics with his phone, which proved that it was Bonnie who made the first move on Neil.
This was like pouring gasoline on a fire. Bonnie’s reputation online took a nosedive in no time, with netizens slapping a “home wrecker” label on her.
Neil, of course. got a lot of flak for being a playboy, but with his history of scandals, netizens were pretty much used to it, so the criticism toward him wasn’t as intense.
The bummer was, Bonnie had been in ICU these past few days, completely oblivious to the public reaction.
I honestly couldn’t care less about her situation. After giving a quick hello to Stella and others, I jetted off for a round-the-world trip.
The journey was expected to last three to four months. I planned to check out places I’ve always wanted to see, and make it back before Stella pops out the baby
Barbara initially wanted to tag along, but her little bro was about to pop the question, so she couldn’t take off just yet.
My first stop was the end of the world – Ushuaia. I wanted to embrace the freedom and anticipation, soak up all sorts of views the world has to offer, and bid farewell to the past.
