Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 78
Thinking back to the tragedy of my past, to the heartbreaking faces of my parents, I felt an endless sorrow Tears wouldn’t stop rolling down my cheeks. I always felt it was my fault, that their biggest mistake was having me, a person who loses all sense after falling in love.
When I cried, it was like I lost the ability to speak. I just stood there, clutching the photo, crying so much that I couldn’t utter a word.
This was the first time I broke down so badly in front of Neil since my rebirth. I watched him stand up and walk towards me. He hesitated for a moment before his hand came up to cradle my cheek, his thumb gently wiping away my tears.
He sighed, “What are you crying for?”
“You said you wanted a divorce, and I agreed!” I tried to control my emotions, choking back s obs, “What else do you want? You can give me less money, but please, don’t do anything to my parents! They’re still your in-laws!”
“You’re the one who said you wanted a divorce.” Neil corrected me, annoyance creeping into his voice. “I never mentioned divorce. How many times have you brought it up?”
1 mentioned divorce because I know you want it!” I looked up at him, “Don’t you love Bonnie? Don’t you intend to give her a future? Wouldn’t it be better if we divorced sooner?”
Neil just looked down at me. His eyes had this irresistible pull. They were always so cold. I rarely saw warmth in his eyes.
He kept saying he didn’t want to divorce, but he never denied his feelings for Bonnie.
“You don’t need to say anything more, and you don’t need to threaten me with these photos. I don’t need your money. My parents can support me just fine.” Neil’s silence brought another wave of heartache. I didn’t want to stay here anymore. After saying all that, I ran back to my room, grabbed my coat, and prepared to leave.
As I changed my shoes at the door, I glanced at Neil, still standing in the living room. With a nasal voice, I said, “When you give me the divorce papers, give me these photos as well”
Consider it a trade.
After rushing out of Grandeur Oaks Estates, I called Bailey to pick me up.
Half an hour later, I was on my way back to Sterling Estates.

“Ma’am, you’re dressed too lightly. You’ll catch a cold,” Bailey was considerate today.
I’m fine, I sniffed. The car was warm, but my hands and feet were still cold. What was even colder was my heart.
When I got home, I immediately took a hot bath to warm up.
Once I had warmed up, I wrapped myself in my pajamas and checked the unread messages and missed calls on my phone.
In the group chat, Stella was constantly shouting at me, “Rena, has Neil fallen for you? Did he take you away just now?”
Alicia said, “I also think it’s too outrageous.”
Barbara sent a few surprised gifs.
Stella: Rhea and I are no longer friends. She fully understands your relationship with Neil and even invited me to play with him. Is she trying to make me uncomfortable or you uncomfortable? It’s so annoying. Yesterday I almost had a big fight with her.
Alicia said, “That woman is really not good. Stay away from her.”
Stella said, “Of course! We’ve broken up!! Rena, where are you?! Did Neil take you away?”
Then there were endless gossip messages. The three of them chatted until 2 a.m.
I had a headache reading it all. Neil in love with me? I gave a bitter laugh then texted Stella about Neil getting the photos of my dad.
Then I saw a message from Oscar last night, “Irene, Merry Christmas! Do you have time to hang out?”
Ten minutes later, Oscar said, “Alright, you might be busy. Have fun.”
Next was a message from Russel:, “Reply when you wake up.”
I didn’t want to reply to him. I was mad at him for the game last night. I always thought he was a just and self-disciplined ideal man, but is he really as I imagined?
Impossible. Russel also had the potential to go crazy, otherwise, how could he have fought so fiercely with Neil during my past life?
Stella probably hadn’t woken up yet. I decided to get some food first.
Halfway through my meal, Stella called. Her voice was filled with anger, “My G od, Neil is too cun ning! He doesn’t agree to divorce you because he wants to find your weaknesses first? Rich people really know how to scheme!”
It seemed she thought the same as me.
“Maybe” I took a sip of soup, my voice calm, “Stella, accompany me to Springvale tomorrow. I want to talk to Geneva’s husband or her son.”
“Okay” Stella agreed without hesitation.
Early the next morning, I asked Bailey to drive me to Stella’s house. After picking her up, we headed to Springvale. Geneva’s husband, Donald, ran a car repair shop, but because he loved to gamble, his shop was often closed.
As expected, when we arrived, the shop was closed.
I looked around and walked into a small supermarket across the street. I bought a lot of stuff. When I was checking out, I asked the owner, “Why is the car repair shop across the street closed? My car has a small problem and I wanted to find a professional to check it out.”
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