Chapter 84
When Bonnie saw I was ignoring her, she stood up, with her bag in hands, looking all innocent and docile, “Irene, Neil said you’re willing to divorce without getting anything. You… shouldn’t be so daft. You’ve waited him for the best ten years of your youthful life so you should get something in return. A woman’s youth is precious.”
With that, she turned around and left.
I was literally fuming. The other woman was advising the soon-to-be ex-wife not to divorce empty-handed? Was she pretending to be a saint?
And she knew I was in love with Neil for ten years!
She must feel both smug and pity. I waited him for ten years, but those few short months she had with him surely defeated that. She knew how good Neil was to her.
Neil must have told her, right? I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. It wasn’t the first time I’ve been made a fool of. What’s another round of mockery from Bonnie?
I didn’t want to make a scene. I decided to travel as soon as the divorce was finalized. Time heals all wounds.
“Spaghetti Bolognese is here!” Stella came back all excited. Noticing my gloomy face, she frowned, “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
I forced a smile, “Let me show you something.”
I took out my phone and played the recording.
Stella was fuming after hearing it, “How can that woman be so vicious? She’s trying to harm you? This is outrageous, I need to confront her! This is driving me mad!”
“Stella, don’t.” I shook my head, “You don’t know where she’s gone, how can you find her?”
“Isn’t she from Rosemont College’s music department too? I’ll expose her over the school’s broadcast radio. I, Stella, will make her drop out!” Stella said angrily.
“Why do you need to confront with Bonnie when I’m about to divorce Neil?” I said gently, “Wait until I’m divorced. Revenge is best served cold?”
Stella was surprised, “When’s the right time?”
I smirked, “Like, say, their wedding day? It would make a nice wedding gift.”
Stella’s eyes lit up at the idea. She gave me a thumb up, “Right! We can’t just tell Neil. He might take her side. Better to choose a time and place to let everyone know what kind of witch she is. Let’s see if she still dares to show her face.”
“Exactly. If Neil’s willing to divorce me for her, that means they’re likely to get married. No rush.” I reassured Stella.
After dinner, as the sky grew dark, I told Stella to head back.
The ward was quiet again, with only the occasional sounds of the nurses bustling outside.
I lay in bed scrolling through Facebook. Lots of people were posting pictures with their family and friends waiting for the New Year. Everyone looked happy.
I fell asleep without realizing it, only to be awakened by the sound of midnight fireworks.
Starlight Plaza in Rosemont hosts a grand fireworks display on every holiday, and it’s a popular spot for lovers. I had always wanted to go with Neil, but
never got to.
After being awakened by the fireworks, I couldn’t fall back asleep. A hunch led me to check Bonnie’s Facebook page. Sure enough, her latest post was about the fireworks at Starlight Plaza, along with a selfie. Behind her gleaming smile, there was half a man’s face. It was Mitch.
Given the time and place, if Mitch was there, Neil was likely there too. Bonnie probably didn’t feel comfortable taking a direct photo of him, so she took one of Mitch as indirect evidence.
Neil hasn’t divorced yet, so Bonnie can’t be publicly with him.
Like Sherlock Holmes, I zoomed in and out on the photo with my fingertips, trying to spot Neil in the background. Suddenly, someone appeared at the door of my ward.
“Can’t you sleep?” It was Russel.
“I woke up.” I put away my phone, “Dr. Russel, you’re on night duty?”
“Yeah. Want to go to the rooftop to watch the fireworks?” He asked again.
I wasn’t planning on going, but I was bored, so I got up and put on a jacket, “Let’s go.”
Russel and I walked through the long corridor. As we passed the nurse’s station, a nurse asked in surprise, “Wait, Dr. Russel, you switched shifts with Dr. Garcia?”
I was surprised and looked at Russel.
He replied, “Yeah. He caught a bad cold.”
I see. I continued to follow him, up the stairwell to the rooftop of the inpatient building. The cold air hit me instantly, causing me to shiver. Beautiful fireworks were continuously bursting in the night sky in the distance.
My phone rang. My mom had transferred me five thousand dollars, along with a message, “My dearest daughter, happy holidays!”
The gloom in my heart was instantly swept away by my mom. I happily accepted the money, then texted her back, “Mom and Dad, happy holidays!”
“Is that a text from Neil?” Russel saw me grinning and asked.
1/2
11:08
Chapter 84
“Do you think that’s possible?” I put away my phone, took a deep breath of cold air, and felt my heart freeze, “My mom gave me some spending money, that’s why I’m happy.”
Russel took off his mask and put it in his pocket. A faint smile appeared on his handsome face, “Didn’t expect you to be so money-minded.”
I replied, “Who doesn’t love money?”
He nodded and changed the topic, “By the way, Dean had his surgery yesterday. He should be discharged soon.”
Before, when mentioning Bonnie’s family, I might have been curious. Now, I just feel annoyed. I thought back to the photo Bonnie posted earlier. She must know I can see it, right?
“I don’t care. You should tell Neil. He’s been taking such good care of their family.” I said indifferently.
“Bonnie will tell him herself, no need for me.” Russel sighed, and then walked towards a corner of the rooftop. When he came back, he was holding a bundle of small handheld sparklers, “Want to play with these?”
“Where did you get these?” I was surprised.
“The hospital always stashes some sparklers on the rooftop every year, so the night shift staff can come up and celebrate the holidays,” Russel pulled a lighter from his pocket, inviting me, “Come on, let’s have a bit of fun.”
It’s been ages since the last time I played with these things. I took the two sparklers that Russel handed over to me. He shielded the lighter against the wind with one hand and helped me light one with the other.
The glow burst from the tip of the sparkler like a shower of sprinkling sparks, absolutely stunning. Russel grabbed one and lit it too. We were waving the sparklers around, laughing like kids.
Had I known that Neil was watching us from the exit, I would never have made a wish to the sparkler, Blurting out words “I wish Neil would drop dead.”
But we’ll get to that later.
By the time Russel and I had burned through all the sparklers, it was an hour later. I was having a blast. After thanking him, I returned to my room for some rest. After all, I had a head injury and needed to catch some extra sleep.
