Chapter 60
Chapter 60 I had a hunch that Bonnie had fallen for Neil. This happened way faster than anything in my past life. Was it because of my meddling? I was about to like her Facebook post, but I was afraid Bonnie might have Neil as a friend who could see my sneaky like and cause me trouble. Whatever, they were destined to be together. I put down my phone, made sure Boomer was settled, and went back to my room to sleep. Before I could drift off, Russell video called me. I hesitated, then answered the call. The screen showed what looked like a hotel room, with Russell sitting in a wicker chair sipping coffee. “How’s Boomer? Still behaving? Can you handle it?” he asked when he saw me. I was surprised to see this soft side of Russel!. Boomer was like his beloved daughter and he was the doting dad. His question made me feel like we were an old couple discussing how easy or hard it was to raise kids. “She’s good, very obedient, even goes to the bathroom on her own,” I replied lazily, rolling onto my stomach on the bed. “That’s good. If it’s convenient, you can take her to the pet store in the next couple of days to give her a bath and get her a scheduled deworming treatment,” Russell casually instructed me from the tiny screen. “Do you think I’m your nanny?” I glared at Russell, trying to look as fierce as possible. “Believe it or not, I’ll sell your cat online if I have to.” To my surprise, Russell started laughing. He and Neil both had this aloof demeanor when they weren’t smiling, but when they did smile, it was the kind that made you feel like a warm breeze had brushed past. Luckily, I’d seen my fair share of handsome guys and had developed some resistance. After marveling
at Russell’s good looks for a moment, I snapped back to reality. “What are you laughing at? I really will sell your cat.”
“Go ahead.” Russell seemed to underestimate me. I rolled my eyes at him. “Hang up, I need to sleep.” “There’s something I need to tell you,” Russell said, his tone turning serious. “Neil and Bonnie are here too. I heard Bonnie came with the school band for a performance.” After a few seconds of silence, I said, “Okay, got it.” I hung up and turned over in bed, staring blankly at the vibrant crystal light on the ceiling. Why was Neil becoming harder to understand? During my past life, I seemed to know him better. He loved Bonnie, like crazy. But now, I felt lost. He seemed to like Bonnie, but he also seemed to change his attitude towards me. He was having sex with me the night before last, even building a snowman for me, but then he took Bonnie to another city today. When Bonnie posted on Facebook, Neil must’ve been next to her. I suddenly understood, Bonnie had specifically posted it for me to see. I should have the answer as to whether or not she was special in Neil’s heart. I had a restless night and woke up with dark circles under my eyes. The housemaids looked concerned when they saw me, but I brushed them off. The snowman was still standing outside in the cold wind, its scarf had fallen off at some point. I went out to put it back on and touched its nose with a bitter smile. Just as I was feeling down, Stella called. “Rena, my dad’s gone crazy.” she yelled, her loud voice making my ears ring. “What happened?” I was startled. “He actually wants me to go on a blind date.” Stella couldn’t believe it. “There are so many single guys out there, so many hearts will be broken if I get married. Who knows what kind of social harm that might cause.” I helplessly held my forehead, Stella was very averse to the whole marriage thing, and was all about dating and not marriage, but at this age, her family would put a lot of pressure on her, and she was
probably a bit overwhelmed by it. “Why don’t you just go through the motions, just take a look. Haven’t you been on blind dates before?” I comforted the angry Stella. “I’m not going! That guy is bald!” Stella roared. “Let’s go out for a meal, I need some good food to cheer me up.” She changed the topic. “Okay, okay, where should we go?” I asked. “Goldshire Restaurant, see you in half an hour.” Stella hung up after giving me the address. I grabbed a coat and headed out. 1/2 11.14 When I arrived at Goldshire Restaurant, I saw that Barbara and Alicia were also there. The restaurant was warm and cozy. I took off my coat and sat next to Stella. “So you’re really not going on a date with the egghead?” Stella was drinking lemon water and almost spit it out when she heard me. She burst into laughter, clutching her stomach, “Hahaha… Rena, I think ‘egghead’ is a perfect description for him, hahaha…” Barbara and Alicia, who must’ve heard about Stella’s blind date, laughed at the nickname I’d randomly chosen. After she finished laughing, Stella wiped her tears and said breathlessly, “I…I’m not going. I told my dad, if I’m going to marry, it’ll be to a handsome guy.” “Not just handsome, but also from a good family.” Barbara chimed in. Ever since Norman cheated on her leading to their broken engagement, she’d been very rational and no longer believed in passionate love. Marriage was about partnering in life, not charity. “Of course, by the way, has Norman stopped bothering you?” Alicia asked. Barbara’s smile faded and she shook her head. Then she turned to me, looking a bit worried. “Rena, Norman hasn’t bothered me anymore, he doesn’t have the audacity to. But I heard from a friend that he can’t find work anywhere and is having a hard time in Rosemont. He must’ve taken a huge hit and is blaming you for telling me the truth…”
Before I could even get a word in, Stella started cursing, “Da mn it, what the hell is this? He’s a real piece of work, doing all kinds of sleazy things but can’t handle being called out? If he dares to lay a finger on Rena, I swear I’ll hire someone to beat him to a pulp!” “Calm down, calm down,” I quickly tried to soothe Stella, patting her on the back. This girl’s got a serious sense of loyalty, but she was also quick-tempered. As soon as she heard what I said, Stella quickly scooped up a bowl of chicken soup and gulped it down after blowing on it. When I originally filmed and took pictures of Norman’s affair, I already braced myself for his backlash, so I was not surprised. Although he was nowhere in my league and it wouldn’t be easy for him to touch me, people can get pretty crazy when they were backed into a corner. I guess I should thank Barbara for the heads up, I’ll be more careful from now on.
