Chapter 332
Russel was still a bit sober, trying his best to keep himself steady, but I had to assist him.
As we got to the elevator, the doors slowly shut. A hand shot out to stop them.
“Hold up!” Cooper Clarke’s voice rang out. As the elevator doors reopened, I saw his peeved face.
Behind him were Neil and Bonnie.
Bonnie was clinging to Neil’s arm, looking utterly reliant on him.
“Irene?” Cooper looked surprised when he saw me. Then his gaze fell on the tipsy Russel. He subconsciously glanced at Neil.
Neil’s brow furrowed for a moment before returning to its calm state.
“Well, what a coincidence, Irene. Are you on a date with Dr. Russel?” Bonnie, with a sweet smile on her face, asked as she walked into
the elevator with Neil.
I was supporting Russel and didn’t respond.
Neil glanced at me. Others might not have noticed the look in his eyes, but I felt a pressure, a bad feeling brewing.
Would he misunderstand the situation between Russel and me again? My head was starting to hurt.
“Irene, why did Dr. Russel drink so much? Aren’t you going to do anything about it?” Bonnie deliberately blurred the lines between Russel and me.
“What’s it to me how much he drinks? I should send him home out of friendship,” I responded nonchalantly.
“Oh my, was it just the two of you having dinner?” Bonnie feigned surprise, “Indeed, you’re the only one who can send him home.”
Then Cooper chimed in, “Who said so? Can’t I send him home?”
He sounded annoyed. I wasn’t sure what had happened earlier.
Cooper’s statement made Bonnie awkward. She looked up at Neil, her face a bit aggrieved.
Yet Neil was silent. When he was upset, he usually chose not to speak.
The elevator arrived quickly. Cooper helped me get Russel out while Bonnie and Neil followed closely behind.
“Alright, you guys head back. Irene and I will take Russel home,” Cooper said to Neil. He clearly didn’t want to be with Bonnie.
“Okay, we’ll head back first.” Neil’s tone was very calm, without any fluctuations.
Bonnie glanced at me and then at Neil with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
But as soon as Neil left, Bonnie didn’t hesitate to follow him. After their car drove away, Cooper couldn’t help but ask me, “Irene, what’s going on between you and Neil? Is he really with Bonnie?”
“That’s exactly how it seems,” I answered softly, “Can you help me get Russel into the car first? He’s had too much to drink.
Cooper frowned as he helped Russel into my car. Since I had a bit to drink as well, he drove.
As he drove, he explained how he ran into Neil and Bonnie – it was purely by chance.
“I thought you and Neil just had a little misunderstanding. Weren’t you two planning to reconcile? What on earth happened?” Cooper was still confused about the situation.
“Love can’t be forced. Maybe Neil and Bonnie are more suitable,” I didn’t say much.
“I really don’t like Bonnie now. She’s not good enough for Neil. Irene, I’m rooting for you.” Cooper told me earnestly.
This was quite unlike his usual attitude.
I didn’t answer.
“Why aren’t you speaking? Bonnie’s already pushing Neil to propose.” Cooper was genuinely worried for me.
Bonnie still wanted to marry Neil.
“Let’s see. Everything depends on fate.” I answered indifferently as if I saw through everything. Cooper almost slammed the brakes.
Cooper knew where Russel lived. We got to the apartment building and helped Russel get home.
༠༩ ཟ
“Alright, you head back first. I can get him home,” Cooper clearly wanted to keep Russel and me apart.
I understood his intention and was more than happy to oblige.
By the time I got back to Sapphire River Community, it was quite late. I noticed the lights were on in the villa next door. My heart raced. Was Neil there?
1 had a hunch that if he had returned to Sapphire River Community today, it was because of Russel and me. He would come looking for
me to settle things.
Sure enough, I hadn’t even had a chance to shower when a message from Neil popped up on my phone: Come over, we need to talk.
I took a deep breath, thinking that what was meant to be would always find a way. Destiny just loved messing with me.
I replied, “Okay, I’ll come over after I take a shower.”
Neil replied quickly, “Come and shower here, or I’ll come to you now.”
This startled me. How could let Neil come over? It’d be trouble if my mom saw him.
I quickly replied, “I’ll come to you. Wait for me for two minutes.”
After sending the message, I left my house and walked into Neil’s villa next door.
He was waiting for me.
Seeing the cigarette butts in the ashtray, I knew he had been smoking quite a lot. The reason was probably me having dinner with Russel today.
As soon as I arrived, Neil looked at me coldly and asked, “Don’t you want to explain what happened today?”
“A few days ago, Chloe threatened to kill herself, right? I couldn’t find Russel, so I helped out. Russel’s condition was that I had dinner with him,” I didn’t hide anything because I believed it was a matter of life and death. I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing.
But Neil didn’t see it that way. He wasn’t close to Chloe, and his cold attitude scared me, “What does her life or death have to do with you? All you have to do is stay away from Russel.”
“We just had dinner, nothing else,” I disagreed with Neil’s indifference, and my tone turned cold.
“There wasn’t even a need for you two to meet, let alone dine together, right?” Neil extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray, the red glow instantly disappearing, leaving only wisps of smoke curling around.
His demeanor and actions put pressure on me. I could clearly feel his displeasure and gloominess, but I believed I did nothing wrong. In that situation, if I hesitated for a second, Chloe could have kicked the bucket.
Russel was cold-hearted. If I didn’t agree with him, he would truly turn a blind eye, letting Chloe bite the dust.
I couldn’t believe that I bumped into Neil just because I dined with Russel. If I had known, I would have definitely picked another restaurant in advance.
