Chapter 334
In the end, I didn’t bring Neil home with me. Even though my mom would find out sooner or later, I wanted to delay it as much as possible.
The incident of my mom falling into a coma had put a lot of stress on me, and I didn’t dare take any more risks.
1
I returned home alone to find Hannah Morse already up and making breakfast. Seeing me return, she didn’t ask much. She just gave me a small smile, “Ms. Finch, did you go for a morning run?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Your mom asked where you went. I told her you went for a morning jog. She praised you for finally understanding the importance of exercise,” Hannah replied.
I always felt that Hannah knew about my secret meetings with Neil, but she never directly mentioned it.
wouldn’t
However, Hannah had great social skills and wouldn’t spill the beans. Besides, she barely left my house, so I didn’t have to worry too much.
Since she had said that I went for a run, I had to take a shower. So, I headed upstairs.
“Rena, you’re back,” my mom was about to go downstairs when she saw me. She spoke with a smile on her face. Then she looked at my clothes for a few seconds, “You went for a morning run dressed like this?”
My attire indeed didn’t look like I had gone for a run. Remembering what happened the previous night in the neighboring villa, I couldn’t help but feel guilty, and my face turned hot.
I made up an excuse, “Yeah, I decided to exercise on a whim. I didn’t prepare any clothes. I’ll buy some suitable ones in a few days.”.
“You never liked exercising before. But now you understand the importance of health, huh?” My mom didn’t think much of it; instead, she seemed relieved.
“Alright, mom, I’m all sweaty. I’ll come down for breakfast after I take a shower.” I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly found an excuse to leave.
I was indeed all sweaty, but not from running; it was because of the intense activities with Neil in bed the previous night.
After taking a shower, I felt a bit more comfortable. Neil sent me a message, asking if there was any problem.
-He was probably asking if my mom had found out.
I replied, “It’s fine.”
Then I went downstairs to eat breakfast and had to go to the office later. Since I was then familiar with the company’s affairs and my mom had woken up, I could ask for her opinion and discuss matters with her, thus my work pressure had reduced a lot. The only thing that worried me was the collaboration with the FarHorizon Group.
At the breakfast table, I probed my mom with a few questions and concluded that she didn’t know about Neil and me.
The lights in the neighboring villa would occasionally turn on, and she was more inclined to believe that someone was cleaning at irregular intervals.
The reason why she believed that Neil and I had nothing to do with each other was that her friend had mentioned a few days prior that Neil was with Bonnie Tueley.
That was good. At least she would feel better. As for the future, I thought “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
After confirming that there was no problem with my mom, I felt an unprecedented relief. I quickly finished my breakfast and went to the office. However, as soon as I entered the lobby, I saw Chloe waiting for me.
What was she doing there again? I frowned.
“Ms. Finch.” Only two days had passed, but Chloe looked much more haggard. She had deep circles under her eyes and looked very tired. Her beautiful face had become a bit thin, and her eyes were red, as if she had just cried.
Althought sympathized with her, I didn’t want her to appear in front of me often.
“Ms. Reynolds, I don’t think you need to come see me so often.” I felt a headache coming on.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to thank you.” Chloe said as she looked at me, “I lost my mind and wanted to jump off the building the other night. I heard that you helped my parents contact Russel, giving me a chance to live. If not, I would have definitely jumped.”
I remembered what Russel had said. Was Chloe really as gentle as she appeared on the surface?
I’ve lived two lifetimes; usually, my ability to observe people was very accurate. I didn’t feel any malice from Chloe. Whether it was her gaze or her words, they all exuded a kind of gentleness.
But there was one thing that could make a person lose their mind and distort their character, and that was jealousy.
“Stop doing stupid things in the future. You owe it to your parents.” I said lightly, then prepared to head upstairs.
“I know!” Chloe stopped me, “I heard about your past with Neil. We’re actually quite similar. That’s why you helped me. I’ve thought it through now. I won’t lose myself over a guy anymore. If it weren’t for you, I might be in hell regretting it right now. You’re my savior. If you can, I’d like to treat you to a meal. After that meal, I’ll leave this country to avoid any more painful memories.”
She specifically came to invite me to dinner.
I wasn’t close with Chloe; even if I saved her, I didn’t need that meal.
“It’s okay. As long as you can live a good life in the future, that’s enough.” I rejected Chloe’s invitation again.
“Please accept my request. I’ll be leaving here soon. I don’t want to owe anyone anything, so I don’t want to owe you this favor. Please don’t let me keep thinking that I owe you, okay?” Chloe’s tone became firm.
I ignored her and went straight to the elevator.
Chloe followed me. It seemed like she was determined to not let me refuse her invitation.
I really didn’t understand. Was that necessary? Whether she owed me something or not depended entirely on my own thoughts. As long as I felt that she didn’t owe me anything, it would be fine.
I was about to tell Chloe to leave, but she suddenly started crying again, “Please let me completely sever ties with everything here. I won’t come back again.”
I had to swallow what I was going to say after seeing Chloe cry so miserably; I didn’t know whether to sympathize with her or feel helpless.
Chloe followed me into the office, and the assistants were all dumbfounded as they watched us. Until we entered the office, I was feeling really annoyed, “Fine, if you want to treat me to a meal, then invite your parents as well.”
I didn’t want to have dinner alone with Chloe, afraid that there might be problems. If her parents were also present, at least there would be some security.
I would bring along Stella Wallace when having meal with her.
Seeing that I agreed, a glint of joy flashed across Chloe’s face. She nodded, “Alright, that sounds good.”
“Can you get going now?” I asked.
“Sure, you call the shots on time and place, Chloe said earnestly, “Just let me know.”
I gave a nod. After she left, Lpulled out the USB stick Malinda had given me earlier from the drawer and gave it another look-over.
