Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 172

Ned was parked nearby, so when Bonnie and Helen stepped out of the mall, he was already there by his car, waiting and waving them over.

Bonnie didn’t bother with much chit-chat. She said hi to Ned, reached for the back door, and then that weird feeling of being watched crept over her again.

She couldn’t help scanning the busy crowd by the entrance, trying to catch whoever it was. Nothing. Just ordinary people coming and going.

Maybe someone was snapping her picture again.

Trying not to let it show, Bonnie pressed her lips together and slid into the car.

The ride was unusually quiet. Helen and Ned, who were usually quick with a joke or a jab, kept to themselves. Every now and then, their eyes met in the rearview mirror, sharing that look that said everything words couldn’t.

Bonnie distracted herself with her phone, answering a few messages. Some were from old coworkers and her former boss, reaching out with encouragement, others from classmates sticking up for her. The nosy ones and the gossips she ignored.

Aiken was on assignment tonight, so Bonnie just sent a simple “stay safe” his way.

Even that felt exhausting. And after she took Patton’s advice, posting her official statement from an account she’d never even used before, the fatigue hit harder than ever.

With how fast the internet moves, it didn’t take long for things to blow up. Hashtags, comments, strangers flooding in.

Bonnie tapped through the reactions, finding that most were from Hannah’s fans. Of course they didn’t believe her, not for a second. The comments were dripping with sarcasm, all sorts of nasty jokes and accusations, drowning out anything positive.

Some people straight-up demanded she apologize and leave Cabinda.

Worse, they dug up stuff from three years ago, determined to pin the “other woman” label on her for good.

Hannah had spent these last few years building her perfect, glamorous image online. Her fans weren’t about to let that go. Bonnie peeked at Hannah’s profile—there was a post with photos from today’s concert, another from the afterparty. Hannah looked flawless in her evening gown, holding her son’s hand, the picture of perfect, unbothered happiness.

She even hated herself. Why couldn’t she just let it go? Why did her heart still ache so much? It felt like someone had smashed a rock against her chest.

She struggled to keep her breathing steady, refusing to crack in front of her friends.

They were almost home when Bonnie spotted a convenience store sign and suddenly spoke up. “Can we stop? I want to grab something.”

She couldn’t spend another sleepless night, couldn’t let this pain take over again. Just for tonight, before facing whatever came next, she was going to let herself go for once.

Ned pulled over, and Bonnie and Helen walked toward the store together.

Helen watched as Bonnie grabbed bottle after bottle of alcohol and piled them into a basket. She wanted to say something, to remind Bonnie about her bad stomach, but then she saw Bonnie’s bloodshot, brimming-with-tears eyes and bit her tongue instead.