Chapter 361
Chapter 361
“Halt!”
Neil blocked Russel with his hand, his eyes full of anger. “What are you doing here?”
Russel chuckled coldly. “Looking for Irene.”
Russel pointed at me. I looked terrible, with Russel’s words still echoing in my mind.
Karina was back. That meant any attempts at rekindling my relationship with Neil were pointless.
It was time to set boundaries with Neil, but not now.
“Neil, let Russel go. I’ve already talked to him.” I said to Neil.
Neil stared blankly at me. “What did you talk about?”
“I’ve always liked Irene, and that hasn’t changed. What did she tell you?” Russel answered for me.
This answer only infuriated Neil more. My past entanglement with Russel had caused several arguments between Neil and me, and now Russel was standing right in front of me.
I might have been scared before, but now, thinking of Karina and Russel’s words, I felt the need to protect myself.
If I was destined to be hurt again, why shouldn’t 1 pu
up a shield first?
“Russel, go. I’ll explain to him.”
Russel nodded and left, and this time Neil didn’t stop him.
When the atmosphere in the living room calmed down, Neil walked up to me. He sat where Russel had been sitting, his eyes full of disappointment.
He probably didn’t realize that I was feeling worse than he was.
Finally, he asked, “Why did you see him?”
“He was waiting for me when I got back. My mom told him I was living here.” I tried to calm myself, trying to appear composed.
“I’ll talk to Mrs. Finch.” Neil stood up to leave.
I immediately stopped him. “Let’s wait until the matter with Ethan Foster is settled. If my dad is released, my mom might change her opinion of you. Neil, I have no feelings for Russel. You just need to trust me on this.”
Hearing this, Neil stopped and looked at me with confusion. After a few seconds, he frowned. “You seem off today. Is something wrong?”
Had I not hidden it well? I quickly avoided Neil’s gaze and forced a smile. “No, it’s just that I had a check-up today. I’m still not pregnant.”
“Just that?” Neil came over and looked at me. “I know I really want a child, but you don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself. We can always adopt if you can’t give birth.”
I was stunned by this and stared at Neil.
Neil didn’t seem to be lying. He reached up to smooth my messy hair and gave me a helpless smile. “Don’t be upset about this. You’ve always been weak, and you’ve lost a child before. I share the blame.
I just want you to be with me, okay?”
I didn’t expect Neil to have such thoughts. He was even willing to adopt a child, even with no blood ties, just for me..
My feelings were all over the place.
Normally, I would be thrilled. Did this mean Neil had deep feelings for me? But in reality, I felt more nervous and uneasy. I couldn’t have children, but Neil had a child who was already six or seven years old.
Would he not care if he knew about Karina and the child?
Even if he could ignore Karina, he would definitely want his child back. The child would surely become a treasure to his family. He and Karina would inevitably intersect because of the child, and how could I, stuck in the middle, not care?
“What are you thinking about?” Neil noticed I was lost in thought and asked softly.
“Nothing; I just feel it’s too unfair to you. If I really can’t have children, I can leave. The Whitmore family can’t be left without an heir because of me.” I forced a smile. I sounded old-fashioned. Having a child was necessary to inherit the vast Whitmore family’s fortune. If we were just an ordinary couple with no family wealth or business, we might accept not having children.
I couldn’t be too selfish, and I didn’t want to see Neil change. As time went on, we might argue about not having children, and I didn’t want that.
“No one can interfere with my decisions about children.” Neil gently rubbed my nose as he smiled indulgently. “I was going to be mad about Russel, but I suddenly feel better after seeing you unhappy about whether we can have children.”
With that, Neil pulled me into his arms, gently massaging my hair.
I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. I was dealing with the shock and unease of Karina’s return and also feeling Neil’s affection and indulgence.
Neil stayed with me for more than an hour before leaving, mainly discussing the forthcoming engagement. He originally planned to have someone else pick up the documents from StarGlow Enterprises, but I felt like I should do it myself, as the fewer people knew about it, the better.
The plan would be executed the day after tomorrow, and I was a bit anxious.
But to make Ethan Foster, Bonnie, and Gloria face the punishment they deserved, clear my father’s name, and reveal the truth of Oscar Morse’s death, I had to do
this.
Ethan Foster was their biggest umbrella. I didn’t believe that Bonnie and Gloria would still have any power if he fell.
Karina must’ve known what was up with Gloria, including the bit about Gloria treating Bonnie like her own daughter. That was probably why Karina was all ice and daggers to Bonnie that day, questioning where she got her dough.
If Neil and I were to take a swing at Gloria, we might end up on Karina’s bad side.
I didn’t really give a damn, but the real question was: could Neil handle that?
He didn’t have much of a soft spot for Gloria now, but if he found out Karina was still kicking and that they had a kid together, he might not be so gung ho about not liking Gloria.
So, before popping the question, I couldn’t let Neil in on the fact that Karina was still around, let alone let her show her face to him. If Karina got recognized, what then?
Just as I was chewing on that, the doorbell rang. Neil was about to answer it, but I stopped him dead in his tracks.
