Chapter 342
I was completely gobsmacked and at a loss for words.
It turned out, Neil really did visit my mom in the hospital, as the previous caregiver had told me.
But the fact that my mom knew about it was what blew my mind.
“Lately, he’s been spending a lot of time next door. Did you meet him?” Sure enough, my mom was aware.
At that point, I was stumped and could only nod in admission.
Seeing my nod, my mom’s face darkened. Clearly, she was pissed.
She remained silent for a while, and I finally spilled the beans, “Mom, think of it as me using him, okay? At the moment, he’s the only one who can help with dad’s situation.”
“You’re using yourself as bait?” The wrath in my mom’s voice was palpable.
“No, no, we didn’t do anything. He just wants to win me back!” I quickly explained to prevent my mom from getting more riled up. Even though it was a lie, it was better than her being mad.
Hearing my words, my mom let out a sigh of relief, but her face was still grim, “Rena, your dad would rather go to prison than see you
do this.”
But I didn’t want my dad to go to prison, and there was also the matter of Oscar Morse. I had to get to the bottom of it and give Oscar, the justice he deserved.
Both Oscar’s and my dad’s cases involved Bonnie; it was unavoidable.
After a moment of silence, I replied, “Mom, it’s not just about Dad; it’s also about Oscar. I treat him like a brother. Don’t worry, I won’t really be with Neil. Once it’s all over, I’ll make things clear with him, okay?”
“Alright, as long as you can draw a clear line with him, I might even give up the company, and we can leave this place as a family of three.” I was stunned to hear my mom’s words. She was willing to give up her company?
Seeing my disbelief, my mom said solemnly, “After some thought, I realized that health and family happiness are the most important. The empire I built doesn’t matter since I fell into a coma. Your dad has been in politics all his life and look where it got him. I think once he’s out, we should leave this place and live a quiet life.”
+ couldn’t believe my mom, who had always been so hardworking in her career, would say such things.
It seemed that her coma and my dad’s situation dealt her a great blow, causing her to change her deep-rooted views.
Seeing me quiet, my mom seemed unhappy, “Are you unwilling to leave this place, or do you still want to be tangled up with Neil?”
“It’s not that. This is where I grew up; it’s hard to let go.” I shook my head.
“But only by leaving can you truly say goodbye to the past, Rena. I’ve always respected your choices, but this time, can you listen to me?” My mom pleaded, looking frail and weak, making it hard for me to refuse.
I was torn but decided to go along with my mom’s decision.
Finally, I nodded in agreement and said, “Alright, I understand.”
Seeing my response, a satisfied smile appeared on my mom’s face. She held my hand, and we sat in silence.
After that conversation with my mom, Neil seemed to have sensed something, and we lost contact for a while.
As I was caught up with work, I couldn’t spare any thought for other things.
Soon, photos of him and Bonnie were leaked online, and there were rumors of their engagement.
I just took note of that news but didn’t think much of it.
At some point, my trust in Neil had grown very deep.
Even though I had promised my mom, I didn’t want to doubt Neil before everything was over.
However, I noticed a different photo. The place in the photo looked like Grandeur Oaks Estates, which was where Neil hid Bonnie in my past life.
like nie.
In my past life, I had never been there, but in this life, I went there before Bonnie. It was Neil’s private space.
I didn’t understand why I was so bothered. I thought Neil wouldn’t take Bonnie there, but he did.
At that moment, familiar feelings of jealousy and irritation flooded me, reminding me of how I felt when I was crazy about Neil.
“Phew.” I put down my phone, massaged my temples, trying to calm myself, and told myself I shouldn’t be like that.
And it was work time. I can’t have let those things affect my work.
I wanted to call Neil and ask him about it, but I held back.
Just then, Alicia called, also seemingly in a bad mood, and invited me for drinks.
“You want to drink during work hours?” I asked in surprise.
That workaholic was drinking during work hours. She must have been feeling really bad.
“Yeah, do you want to join me?” Alicia asked.
I glanced at the time; it was almost time to get off work, so I agreed, “Alright, give me the address, and I’ll be there soon.”
I was also feeling down, like Alicia. I thought maybe drinking would have helped me relax.
Once I got the address, I rushed over. Alicia could usually hold her liquor, but she was a bit drunk this time.
I sat down to join her, and she told me that Sean hadn’t contacted her since he went to Veridia. He neither answered calls nor replied to
messages.
“Did you guys break up?” I asked her.
“I don’t know; isn’t it ridiculous?” Alicia gave a bitter smile, “I only wanted to work in the past and didn’t date much. I had tasted all the hardships of love afterwards.”
I stayed quiet, not knowing how to comfort Alicia.
I was not much better than Alicia. I was preoccupied with whether Neil was with Bonnie or not, but I also didn’t want to call and ask. That conflict continued.
Two women with bad moods met and kept drinking. Eventually, I also felt a bit tipsy, and my head started to feel heavy.
Alicia was already passed out on the table. I grabbed my phone to call Bailey to pick us up.
But surprisingly, Bailey didn’t answer the call. Left with no choice, I had to call Stella.
“Alright, I’ll get Mitch to pick you up!” Stella agreed without missing a beat.
After hanging up the phone, I just sort of slumped over, waiting for Mitch to come get us. Before I knew it, I dozed off, only to be awoken by someone stroking my face.
Neil was there, bending over me, his fingertips touching my lips, wiping off the trace of booze that was left behind.
