Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 380

“I was quite tied up, not just because of Karina. You should understand that, Irene,” Neil confronted me, his aura somewhat intimidating.

I was sitting, slightly lifting my head to look at him, not uttering a word.

Neil’s eyes seemed redder, with a touch of bloodshot.

“You promised me things. Were they all lies?” His questions came pouring in as I remained silent, “I tried to fix things with your dad. You said you’d remarry me and have a child with me, and yet you left without a word. You even told me these two kids are from other men. What else do you want from me?!”

When Karina returned, the thorn that had been embedded in my heart began to twist. But at that time, I held onto a shred of hope.

Neil confessed he had fallen in love with me, and he wanted me back, so I believed I still had a fighting chance against Karina.

I couldn’t suppress the fantasies deep inside me.

Especially when Karina appeared before Neil a few times, not revealing her true identity but speaking, and Neil didn’t recognize her by her voice.

This thrilled me. I always believed that if you truly loved someone, you could easily identify them by their voice, not necessarily their appearance.

Neil did not recognize Karina’s voice. Did that mean she was no longer important to him?

Unfortunately, I was too naive.

When Karina made an appearance at Neil and Bonnie’s engagement party, she stood in front of Neil without any disguise, not uttering a single word, and yet her brief appearance made Neil abandon me.

At that moment, the last bit of my fantasy vanished.

Even if Neil was indécisive, showing a bit of reluctance towards me, it meant nothing.

“It is what it is. Let’s just say I owe you,” I responded.

“Just like that?” Neil’s face twisted into a sarcastic smile, “If it was because of Karina, why were you pregnant before she returned?”

“Do you think I found out about Karina’s return only at the engagement party? Did you assume I was already with Russel by then?” I found it amusing.

Neil spat out two words, “Then what?”

“Didn’t you know she treated me before that?” I countered.

“Did you know who she was when she treated you?” His voice was cold as if my words were an excuse.

I laughed, “Alright, let’s say it wasn’t because of her. I was lonely and ended up with Russel, got pregnant by accident, and fearing retaliation, I left without a word. Is that acceptable?”

I couldn’t explain; I didn’t want to tell Neil the children were his, so I had to admit to being involved with Russel before.

But as long as Neil was resolute in believing in my innocence, as long as he insisted on testing the children’s DNA, everything would be clear.

Unfortunately, he didn’t do so. Maybe deep down he never believed in my innocence with Russel, so now he chose to directly believe I was with Russel, even had two children.

I guess I lost.

“Good, since you put it that way, it saves me a lot of trouble,” Neil’s face gradually regained its calmness, carrying that familiar cold indifference, “I’ve said before, if they are my children, I’d do everything to take them, but they aren’t, so they’re worthless to me. Irene, I’m tired of you. Your leaving came at the right time.”

Neil, despite being at a disadvantage, knew exactly where to strike to hurt me the deepest.

If I weren’t looking up, my tears might have burst forth.

Russel couldn’t stand it anymore. He cursed, “Neil, are you even human? How could you say such things?!”

“Oh, are you upset?” Neil smirked, disdainfully looking at Russel, “Her best years were all spent on me. Are you upset?”

“Bang!”

The next second, Russel threw a punch at Neil, landing it solidly on Neil’s cheek with great force.

Neil staggered back two steps. Once he steadied himself, he touched his lip corner, there was blood,

Anger roiled in his brows as if he was about to hit back, but he quickly restrained himself. He stared at me, “Consider this as compensation for monopolizing your youth for ten years. It’s worth just that much.”

Having just given birth and still in my confinement period, I wasn’t supposed to get too emotional. But Neil’s words were like the sharpest sword, ruthlessly piercing my chest, leaving bloody wounds.

Theld back my tears but quickly retreated to the living room. My parents rushed out after hearing the commotion, and their faces changed drastically when they -saw Neil.

By the time they wanted to drive Neil away, he had already turned to leave.

The sun shone outside, his silhouette disappearing in the yard, as if taking all the color with him.

My mind was clouded with gray.

“Rena, are you okay? You look so pale,” my mother rushed over to help me sit on the sofa.

“I’m fine.” As soon as I opened my mouth, my voice choked.

Tears rolled down uncontrollably, and I felt immense pain. The anguish in my heart made it hard for me to breathe.

I couldn’t repeat what Neil had just said, and I could only bury my head and cry.

Russel came to my side, gently stroking my hair, “Cry it out. Only then can you truly move on.”

J

My parents watched the scene unfold, giving their seats to Russel. I couldn’t help but hug his waist, resting my head on him as I continued to cry.

As if sensing my emotions, both children began to cry loudly. I had to collect myself to soothe them.

I initially planned to breastfeed, as I heard it was good for the child. But I knew my breast milk wouldn’t be enough for two children, so I hesitated.

A few days later, I realized I had stopped lactating due to emotional stress.

Let alone two children, and even one child wouldn’t be satiated.

“Just use formula. It’s the same,” Russel comforted me. These days, he was like a dedicated dad, coming over every day to help me take care of the children. He was very attentive.

I nodded. There was no other choice. Otherwise the children would starve.

Neil had made it clear that our paths would no longer cross. In that case, there was no need for me to leave here. I could just stay put, lead a decent life, and raise our kids.

The thought of his words still stung, but as time marched on, I began to find true peace. All it took was the sight of our kids’ beaming faces each day to wash away

all worries and fears.