Chapter 503
After playing with the kids for a while, I bathed them and got them ready for bed. After a moment of hesitation, I sent a message to Faith, telling her about Neil’s visit and his attitude.
Faith quickly replied: [I get it, he’s always been set in his ways.]
Indeed, there was nothing I could do about it.
Once I got it off my chest, I felt much more relaxed and quickly fell asleep.
Stella called while I was helping the kids get dressed. I put her on speaker and tossed my phone aside. Her voice was loud and clear, “Rena, you’re back in Rosemont. Let’s get the girls together; it’s been too long!”
“I barely have time with two kids to look after; how do you manage with three?” I asked, laughing.
“Come on, if you have the money, why worry about taking care of kids? My sister hired three nannies for me, one for each kid. They’re all great, I’ve checked. I can trust them!” Stella replied cheerfully, a far cry from the gloom that surrounded her divorce. She was back to her old, bubbly self.
True, but I couldn’t exactly go out to a gathering at the moment, my nanny was still in Eldoria.
Understanding my situation, Stella suggested we meet at her place. She said her nannies. could help look after my kids too, making the most of the resources!
Under her insistent urging, I agreed to go and we planned to meet in the afternoon.
After lunch, I mentioned my plans to Bailey and Hannah. Bailey said it would be inconvenient for me to travel with two kids, so he offered to drive me to Stella’s place. I nodded in agreement.
Stella was now living in a house under her name, with her three children, three nannies, and three housekeepers. She was living a comfortable life. When I arrived, Alicia and Barbara were already there.
The biggest surprise was Alicia. I hadn’t seen her in a long time, and she had lost a lot of weight. She looked as skinny as me, and there was a sickly look to her. She wasn’t as lively as before, and she kept frowning, as if she wasn’t in the best mood.
“How adorable!” She picked up Serena and a smile finally appeared on her face. She kissed Serena’s little cheek.
“I didn’t bring my kid, I left Silas at home to look after him, so I could come and have fun.” Barbara took Brandon from me, grinning from ear to ear.
We all went from being single ladies to women with kids and family. When we got together, the conversation mostly revolved around our children, with other topics sprinkled in between.
“Rena, has Neil contacted you?” Stella suddenly asked.
“Yes, he’s come to see me twice.” I sighed. “It was mostly about Russel, but now that Russel is quiet, Neil won’t leave me alone.”
“Men can be so selfish, he still has feelings for you, but you must stay strong. Don’t fall for his sweet words!” Barbara advised me earnestly.
But Neil wasn’t one to use sweet words. He liked to manipulate and guilt people into doing what he wanted. I didn’t want to keep talking about Neil and Russel, so I changed the subject. Stella then turned her attention to Alicia.
Alicia was unusually silent and rarely contributed to the conversation. It felt like she had something on her mind.
My intuition told me it was still about Sean. For someone like Alicia, who never took relationships seriously, falling in love could be a deep and consuming experience.
“Ali, you and Sean need to end things. Stop torturing yourself.” Stella was always straightforward, and there were no secrets among us.
Alicia seemed stunned, then a bitter smile appeared on her face. “I want to end it, but every time I decide to, he comes back. I can’t bring myself to ignore him. Do you know what that feels like?”
We all knew what it felt like. Alicia was the only one among us who hadn’t been in a relationship before. We all knew what it felt like to be uncontrollably smitten with someone.
So we didn’t mock or blame Alicia. Instead, we empathized. Sean, who we thought was a decent guy, turned out to be a jerk who liked playing with people’s feelings.
“But you even went abroad with him and got nothing out of it. You have to be strong. We’re not young girls anymore. Do you want to waste your time on a man who’s not worth it, like Rena did?” Stella thumped her chest. “Look at me, I divorced Mitch as soon as he cheated on me, and we have three kids!”
We admired Stella for that, but knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. I added, “Let’s give her some time to get over him.”
Stella and Barbara exchanged a look and sighed.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Stella looked puzzled, “Who could that be?”
She got up to answer the door. I didn’t move, but soon I heard her voice, “What are you doing here?”
Who was it? I was curious. Could it be Mitch? Impossible, he definitely couldn’t leave Eldoria.
I went to check and wished I hadn’t.
Neil was standing at the door with bags in his hands, looking rather grim. Stella clearly wasn’t welcoming him.
He looked surprised when he saw me, but quickly composed himself and said to Stella, “Mitch told me you returned all the stuff he sent for the kids. These are some clothes and toys he asked me to bring.”
“You knew I returned everything and you still brought more?” Stella retorted, indicating she wouldn’t accept what Neil brought either.
“That’s your problem.” Neil dropped the bags near the door and added, “If you don’t need it, throw it in the trash.”
“Neil!” Stella looked angry as she saw the toys and clothes scattered on the floor. She instinctively bent down to pick them up.
Mitch was smart, he knew Neil would do his bidding and deliver the goods effectively.
Watching Stella stoop to pick something up, a satisfied grin spread across Neil’s face. Suddenly, a round ball rolled by, stopping at the entrance of the living room. Stella called out to me, “Rena, could you fetch that for me? What’s Mitch thinking, buying all these toys? Does he think I can’t afford to spoil our kids?”
Poor Mitch, he just wanted to show some love to the kids, but all he got was a scolding.
