Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 81
I still felt a little groggy, but my mind was clear. Seeing Barbara beating herself up, I comforted her, “This ain’t on you. The one to blame is Norman. I don’t regret telling you about his infidelity. He doesn’t deserve you.”
Barbara cried more bitterly. Stella and Alicia walked in with a fruit basket. Seeing me, they hurried over, “Rena, are you feeling okay? Still got a headache?” “Are you hungry? I can grab you something to eat.”
“Are you cold? I can crank up the AC. Can’t have you catching a cold.”
I shook my head slightly, “Not hungry, not cold, just a bit dizzy.”
Stella looked at me with concern, “Poor Rena. You’ve been having a rough couple of months. This is the second time you’ve hit your head. Hope you don’t end up getting dumber.”
I chuckled, “Even if I do, you guys can take turns looking after me.”
I got the rundown of what had happened from them.
Norman, out of spite, had gotten Garnett to get close to me. Their plan was to kill me after getting the money, then flee the country.
Luckily, Neil’s call was my lifesaver. After hearing my cries for help, he tracked me down with his phone and came to my rescue.
Wiping away her tears, Barbara said angrily, “I can’t believe how vile and selfish Norman is, blaming his mistakes on others. His parents came to me for help. How brazen!”
Stella looked at me, disgust in her eyes, “People like him belong in jail. Barbara, you dodged a bullet seeing his true colors before it was too late.”
Barbara nodded, “Yeah.”
While we were chatting, Russel walked in.
He gave Garnett a good scolding, making up for his previous actions against me in the game. I greeted him politely, “Hey, Dr. Russel.”

“Feeling dizzy?” Instead of answering, Russel asked, “Have you thrown up since you woke up? Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”
I answered all his questions.
After checking on me, he said, “You’ve got a slight brain bleed, but no need for surgery. In about a week, the blood will be absorbed. Just stay in the hospital and get the treatment you need.”
“Okay.” I decided to follow the doctor’s orders. Leave the professional stuff to the professionals.
Before Russel left, he gave me a deep look, but I couldn’t read his expression. Stella suddenly leaned in, a mischievous smile on her face, whispered, “Rena, do you think Russel’s got a thing for you? Is he interested in you?”
I quickly covered Stella’s mouth. Russel, just about to leave, paused at the door, then walked away.
Alicia hurried to close the hospital room door.
“Rena, didn’t Neil take you away on Christmas Eve?” Barbara also had a mysterious smile, “Did you run into a thug? Didn’t Neil give him a good beating?”
“How did you guys know?” I was a bit surprised.
“Because then Russel beat the guy up again. He’s still in the hospital. Didn’t you know?” Barbara was no longer crying, her eyes red from excitement, “After you guys left, we all left too. When we were leaving, we saw a crowd around a guy who’d been beaten up. After hearing about it from the manager, Russel gave him another beating.”
My heart raced. What was Russel trying to imply?
Was he like Neil, falling for two women at the same time?
Stella laughed with satisfaction, “Ha, Rena, seems like your luck is changing! Neil’s been treating you differently, and even the usually cold Russel is giving you special treatment. This is too exciting!”
“Not exciting at all!” I glared at Stella. She was blowing things out of proportion.
Russel’s true love was Bonnie, he just hadn’t fallen for her yet. He would, eventually. If I were to think he’s fallen for me, that would be too conceited.
Besides, I’m not Bonnie. 1 can’t bear to see two childhood friends turn against each other because of me.
I couldn’t tell Stella and the others about Russel’s future tussle with Neil over Bonnie, so I had to halt their imaginations for now.
After chatting for a while in the hospital room, Alicia got a call from work and had to rush back.
I took the opportunity to tell Stella and Barbara to go as well.
“I have to stay with you!” Barbara was full of guilt and refused to leave.
“Ali’s got work. Barbara and I have nothing to do. We can take turns staying with you.” Stella grabbed her bag, flipped her hair with a casual air, “I haven’t told your parents about your injury yet. You decide whether you want to tell them. I’ve got things to do today, need to discipline my disobedient puppy. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
With that, she quickly left.
Barbara looked confused, “When did Stella get a dog?”
“Are you crazy? By puppy she obviously means her new fling!” I laughed.
“Oh! totally forgot about her being a floozy!” Barbara slapped her forehead.
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