Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 86

The car rolled away from the hospital and the silence stretched until Shirley finally broke it. “Bonnie.”

The way she said her full name made it clear. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant talk.

Bonnie made a quiet sound to show she was listening, her fingers gripping the crinkly plastic bag with her medicine.

“You lied to me,” her mom said, matter-of-fact. “You’ve met Lawrence before this, haven’t you?”

Bonnie’s breath stuttered. She tried to steady her voice. “Not many times, I swear. It was just work stuff. He’s the client for one of our projects at the office.”

Shirley didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press it, either. She eased off the gas and took a breath, her voice calm but cool. “You’re squishing that bag, Bonnie. Relax, or the pills will be powder before we get home.”

Bonnie let go, bit by bit, without thinking. Years of lessons made her instinctively listen to her mom, especially when things got tense. Talking back would only make it worse.

Shirley glanced over. “Did Lawrence say anything to you?”

“Not really,” Bonnie muttered, keeping her eyes down. “He just feels guilty about what happened, wants to make it up to me. I told him not to bother. I said to stay away. We don’t talk anymore, Mom. I promise.”

Shirley seemed to believe her, but she still looked uneasy, like she couldn’t quite trust Bonnie to know what was best for herself.

Years ago, Bonnie had always been so proud, so stubborn. She’d rather break than bend, and when that relationship ended, she just couldn’t accept it. Instead, she took off for America, refusing to give up. Then she’d come home, all the fight knocked out of her, nothing like the daughter Shirley used to know.

Why did everyone think she was just sitting around, waiting for Lawrence to come back?

She’d been stupid once, let herself get hurt once. There was no way she’d let it happen again.

Shirley pressed on. “You better mean that. Or else you really haven’t learned a thing from all this. Think about your ear, Bonnie. The damage is still there, all because of him. And all those people gossiping, even now. Some people still say you were his mistress. Even if it’s not true, can you silence everyone?”

Bonnie clamped her mouth shut, digging her nails into her palm.

“And look at these last three years. You’ve been living like you’re underground, hiding from everything. Even a rat will claw its way out of a pit, but you just let yourself waste all that time. For him. You barely came home, you let your studies slide. I used to brag to my friends that Bonnie would get a master’s degree, maybe a PhD. I said you’d go abroad, see the world. But you haven’t done any of it. Do you know what people say behind my back?”