Chapter 74
1 got something I need to ask you.” Russel started talking again as I was about to leave. It seemed pretty serious.
“What’s up?” I was a bit puzzled.
“Do you reckon I might fall for Bonnie someday?” Russel asked, looking at me with a funny expression. I felt a cold shiver down my spine: Could he have been reborn too?
Seeing my shocked face, Russel reminded me, “You once got drunk and started rambling in my car, telling me to stop chasing Bonnie and not to compete with Neil. I’ve been thinking it’s not just drunk talk.”
I jumped, startled. So I had blurted out something from my past life when I was drunk.
I let out a sigh of relief, then laughed and said, “I was just talking nonsense. You and Neil have been tight since childhood, how could you both fall for Bonnie? Even if you did fall for the same girl, you’d choose friendship, right?”
In my heart, I thought, that’s the real nonsense! In my past life, you two were like two alpha lions in the animal kingdom, wanting to kill each other.
Russel smiled faintly, “Perhaps.”
Then he got into his car and drove away. I stood in the parking lot, puzzled. What did he mean by “perhaps”? Did Russel actually have feelings for Bonnie and was just trying to control himself?
Anyway, this was between them. I was about to divorce Neil. From then on, I’d be out of the picture, a mere spectator.
The only thing I was unsure about was when Neil’s divorce papers would arrive?
I waited for two days, but the divorce papers never came. So I made a trip to the office and was told Neil hadn’t been in these two days.
Could he be at the hospital with his future father-in-law? I made another trip to the hospital and found Dean’s new room. I stood at the door.
Dean was sleeping, while Bonnie was on the phone. When she saw me, she murmured into the phone, “I got it. Thanks for helping my dad. I’ll pay you back the money I owe you as soon as possible.”
Oh, the guy on the other end was Neil.
Since Neil was on the phone, he obviously wasn’t in the hospital. So I turned to leave.
“Irene!” Bonnie called out to me. She got up and ran over.
“What’s up?” I asked with a forced smile after Bonnie stopped me.
As she approached, I caught a whiff of a familiar perfume. It was the one I’d given Ada.
This perfume would sometimes be on Neil, or in his car. Every time I smelled it, I knew they’d just been together.
I knew why Bonnie was willing to use the perfume I gave. It was a silent provocation.
Bonnie raised her hand and straightened the hair around her ear. Her young face was healthy and beautiful. Her pretty eyes seemed to be filled with mist, moist and gorgeous.
“I borrowed some money from Mr. Whitmore for my dad’s operation. I thought I should let you know.” She looked at me sincerely, “I will pay it back.”
“He won’t ask you to pay him back.” I waved my Lana Marks handbag a bit, still with a gentle tone, “And I won’t ask you to pay me back too. The money means nothing to me. Consider it charity.”
Seeing my handbag, Bonnie looked embarrassed. There was a hint of envy in her eyes.
I was a little surprised at her reaction, because whenever I flaunted my wealth in front of her before, she never showed such jealousy. Back then she was Oscar’s girlfriend, seemingly just a naive, innocent girl.
But she quickly regained her composure and said calmly, “Even if it’s just the cost of a meal for you, I should pay it back. A debt is a debt. Irene, see you.”
After that, she returned to the room to stay with Dean.
I watched her silently for a few seconds. Had Neil not told her about our impending divorce yet?
Neil was about to make it public with her, so this money really didn’t matter. Even if she wanted to pay it back, Neil wouldn’t take it.
But that’s their business. I couldn’t interfere too much.
After leaving the hospital, I drove to the private investigator’s. He had been to Springvale and told me he had some leads.
“Here’s her info,” the detective handed me some documents and photos, “She has a husband and a son, but the couple didn’t get along. They’ve been separated for a few years, and I heard they’re about to divorce.”
“Do you have the husband’s contact?” The man in the photo was short and had a scar on his face, not looking like a good guy.
“I do. I contacted him, but he’s quite a brute. He doesn’t seem to care at all that his wife’s having an affair,” the detective said.
It seemed this couple was tough to deal with. Generally, men would be furious if they found out they were being cu ckolded and try to get their wife back and teach her a lesson.
I needed to find a way to meet this man and let him take care of Geneva.
After parting with the detective, I drove home. On the way, my phone beeped with several messages. I I glanced at them. They were WhatsApp messages
from Stella.
I pulled over and opened the messages, “I finally exposed her lies! She’s not pregnant at all!”
Then there were a few pictures, Geneva’s personal and marital information
and a medical report.
10:45
Chapter
The medical report clearly showed Geneva wasn’t pregnant.
I immediately called Stella, excited, “Stella, you’re amazing! How did you get this?”
“That woman’s not only cheating your dad, she’s also a member of various dating websites. I made an account and pretended to be a successful single man, and she took the bait, Stella sounded triumphant. What a brilliant idea!
“How come she trusted you so easily?” I was a bit surprised.
“She’s just after money. So all I had to do was show her I’m loaded. I added her contact and sent her an expensive handbag right away. She started calling me darling immediately… Ugh, I almost puked,” Stella said with disgust, “I feel like my phone’s been polluted.”
She had me cracking up with her words, and I generously promised, “You’ve really saved my bacon this time. Pick any phone you want, and I’ll foot the
bill!”
Upon hearing this, Stella replied instantly, “I’m off to pick out a phone,” and then she hung up.
Originally, I planned on going home, but after learning about this, I returned to the hospital and told my mom about the situation.
As you can imagine, she was thrilled. Her shaky trust in my dad has been restored. “That woman must’ve been trying to frame your dad. I won’t fall for it!”
“Yeah! My dad’s not that kind of guy.” I was also thrilled. Now that we were certain Geneva wasn’t pregnant, her high and mighty attitude was going to take a serious hit.
