Chapter 367
Chapter 367
After Neil left, I was in a real funk, wondering if he would ever come back to me and if he would prefer to be with me since we’ve been together for so long.
He said he loved me, but could that easily change because of Karina?
But reality was a bitter pill to swallow. The day I moved out of Rosemont, Neil was nowhere to be seen. There were no calls and no texts. The movers were bustling about, clearing out the villa; my parents were checking the inventory, and I was sitting in the garden with Daisy, eyes closed, taking a breather.
“Dr. Russel?” My mom suddenly called out.
I opened my eyes to see Russel Dawson standing at the gate. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and light blue pants, looking fresh as a daisy.
What was he doing there? I was taken aback.
Most of the things from my family had been moved out, and my mom didn’t have a chance to offer Russel a cup of coffee, so he just sat in the garden, shooting the breeze. Before long, the movers called my mom away, leaving Russel and me alone.
It was quite hot under the sun, and I was breaking a sweat. Russel handed me a tissue and said, “Wipe your face.”
I took the tissue and wiped my face, then asked, “What brings you here?”
“I heard your family business is being sold, and you’re all’ moving out?” Russel asked, cool as a cucumber.
“You’re so concerned about my family. I’m touched.” Maybe because I was leaving, my mom stopped pushing me to be with Russel, so I was a bit nicer to him.
“How could I not know about such a big event, unless I’m too busy to care.” Russel said with a smile…
I was silent. Yes, only those who were too busy to care wouldn’t know. Neil had been busy taking care of Karina and didn’t have time to care about our family. The only time he came to me was when he learned from Karina that I couldn’t get pregnant again.
What a joke.
I once lost to Bonnie, a woman I had never met.
Then I lost to Karina, a woman who came back from the dead.
Every time I thought about it, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. I was born a side character, but I insisted on dreaming of being the lead.
I kept quiet, petting Daisy’s head while listening to Russel, “No matter where you go, I’ll find you until the day you’re ready to reconsider me.”
“Russel, don’t waste your time; don’t forget about Chloe Reynolds. A woman died for you, you know?” I reminded Russel seriously. Even though Chloe had it coming, there was a shadow of a life between us. If we were together, the public criticism might be too much to bear.
“Her death was mainly due to her pessimism.” Russel showed little remorse, saying,” won’t give up the most important person to me for someone who’s not important.”
It was really hard to change Russel’s perspective on that.
I shook my head, “I’m not your most important person. Now that Neil knows I can’t get pregnant, he probably won’t have anything to do with me. Your competitive desire can end here.””
“What competitive desire?” Russel’s expression hardened, “You see my feelings for you as a competition between him and me? A desire to win?”
I shrugged, not denying it.
Russel stared at me for a moment, then broke into a smile, “Then I need to prove to you more that I really like you, not some so-called competitive desire or conquest.”
“Alright! The stuff is all packed. Time to hit the road!”
At that moment, the driver’s shout interrupted our chat. I got up and said, “Russel, goodbye.”
I then led Daisy to the car outside. We had a lot of stuff. Two big trucks were full of our belongings. My dad drove while my mom and I sat in the back seat.
As for Hannah Morse and Bailey, I didn’t ask them to leave with us. Hannah’s parents were in Rosemont, and Bailey seemed to have some feelings for her, so I hoped they could develop their relationship there.
As the car pulled away, Russel stood at our gate, watching us leave. My mom kept looking back at him until, finally, she sighed and didn’t say anything. My mom chose a place far away, a city by the sea. It was a ten-hour drive from Rosemont, and by the time we got there, it was late into the night.
I woke up groggy to find the movers already at work. It looked like they would be busy for a while.
“Daisy, let’s get some sleep.” I said to Daisy, who was near my feet.
“Woof woof!” Daisy barked in reply and obediently went back to sleep.
My phone rang at some point, waking me up. It was a call from Stella Wallace.
She sounded rather ticked off, “Rena, didn’t Neil see you off today? Did he not contact you at all?”
“No, what’s up?” I was still cleepy and asked lazily.
You…” Stella seemed to have trouble finding the right words.
“Just spit it out. What happened?” I rubbed my eyes, looking at the houses cutside, My mom had bought that small villa. It had a completely different style from the big one we used to live in, but it looked peaceful and time worn. Two beautiful lanterns at the front door were casting & dim light, which was very pretty. Living there for the rest of my life seemed quite nice.
Stella sighed heavily on the other end, “Rena, is there something wrong with your health? Why didn’t you tell us before? Barbara Sands and others didn’t dare to ask you, afraid it would upset you.”
I instantly became more alert, “How did you guys find out?”
The media reported it. I don’t know who leaked lil’ Stella guessed angrily, “It wasn’t Karina, was it? I knew Karina was Snow, I would never have gone to her for
treatment, then you wouldn’t have been hurt.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it,” I said calmly, “Who could’ve guessed she was still alive? Besides, I really want to get better. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”
“Rena, if you like kids, I’ll give you one!” Stella’s bold declaration had me floored. What was she even talking about?
But she adored kids so much, yet she was offering to give me one. It showed her selflessness toward me.
But kids aren’t something you can just give away.
She was such a kind soul. I felt warmth in my heart, but there was a bit of moisture in my eyes.
Taking a deep breath, I replied, “No worries. I’ll treat all three of your kids as my own, and when I’m old, I’ll rely on them to take care of me.”
“Great! Where have you moved to now? Have you arrived? Don’t forget to send me your address. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mitch a thing!” Stella’s tone finally eased a bit, and she quickly asked me further.
