Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 188

My mom got a shocker from my thoughts, "If you're married, why wouldn't you want a kid? Is a child less important than a man?"

Caught off guard and with a fork and knife in hand, I didn't know how to respond. I dared not tell her that I might never be able to have a kid.

"Irene, having your own child is always better!" My mom gave me a serious talk.

I felt really upset after listening to her.

After dinner, my mom had to go to her office, leaving me all alone. I found Russel's mother's phone number, and after thinking for a bit, I decided to give her a ring.

Russel's mom picked up almost instantly, and her voice sounded young, "Hello, who is this?"

"Mrs. Dawson, hello, I'm Irene, a friend of Russel's." I calmly introduced myself, completely composed. Since I never had any intention of being with Russel, his mom's disapproval didn't bother me.

There was a slight pause on the other end after my introduction, and it seemed like she didn't expect me to reach out.

Due to my background and the fact that I was Neil's ex-wife, Russel's mom had always been cordial with me. Even though she had a strained relationship with Russel, she never showed me any disrespect.

Over the phone, she explained politely why they were against Russel and me being together.

"Ms. Finch, I know you must be a good person, or else the Whitmore family wouldn't have allowed Neil to marry you, but you know the relationship between Russel and Neil. Can you imagine the public backlash Russel would face if he were with you?" she sighed and said, "I still can't figure out how he suddenly turned against Neil these past two years. Looking back, it might be because of you."

"Mrs. Dawson, Russel and I are just friends. I know how he feels about me, but our dating is out of the question. You have my word," I said, understanding her concern.

Russel's mother chuckled, "Ms. Finch, that's a relief to hear."

"Yes, but please don't force him to resign," I requested earnestly.

"As long as he's not so stubborn, we won't be unreasonable. Ms. Finch, I know I may come across as blunt, but please, if it's not necessary, try to avoid seeing Russel, okay?" she asked again.

I was silent for a moment. I knew Russel's mother still suspected an inappropriate relationship between me and Russel. She feared we might take a step too far.

I felt utterly humiliated after making that call, but at least it would lessen the pressure on Russel from his mom.

"All right." I agreed.

"Ms. Finch, thank you." I could hear the relief in her voice, and with that, she hung up.

I was left in a daze, feeling a pang of rejection.

Yet, I completely understood why. If my son were to pursue my friend's ex-wife, I wouldn't accept it either, especially if that ex-wife might not be able to have kids in the future.

After a while, I laughed at myself, grabbed my bag, and headed out, planning to find a place to have a drink and unwind.

While waiting at a red light, I rang up Stella, "Stella, do you know which bar in town has the most hunks?"

Stella laughed and said, "I have no clue, but if you ask me about which brand of diapers is the best, I can give you an answer!"

"Wow, hilarious!" I joked, then hung up the phone.

Three minutes later, Barbara called, her voice filled with excitement, "Rena, are you looking for a hottie to date? Come over; I’m having drinks with Silas and his friends. A couple of them are single and quite a looker, perfect for you!"

"Do you like it?" I flirted back, playing with my hair.

He replied honestly, "I do. Shall we head straight to a hotel?"

I nodded and then gazed out the window. My decision today wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. Faith hoped I could find a man I liked as soon as possible so that Neil would give up on me, and Lauretta Dawson hoped I could avoid seeing Russel in the future.

If I didn't find a man to settle down with soon, it was gonna be hard to explain.

Maybe once the physical shackles were gone, the soul shackles would be released too. I gotta give it a try.

My thoughts were still a bit jumbled when the car we were in pulled up in front of a decent-looking hotel. Yeah, he didn't take me to some cheap motel.

"Ms. Finch, let's go in," Jameson seemed to be quite familiar with this place. He swiftly handled the check-in process, then draped his arm around my shoulders and whispered in my ear.

For some reason, I felt a little weird, even uncomfortable, when he said that. The lust within me started to fade.

Once we were in the elevator, Jameson still had his arm wrapped tightly around me. He pushed the button for the fifteenth floor, then waited for the elevator to ascend.

When we got to the fifteenth floor, the elevator doors slowly opened. Standing outside were three or four men, with Neil at the front. When he saw me stepping out of the elevator with Jameson's arm around me, his eyes showed clear surprise; then his face quickly turned cold.

"Take the client to the company first. Let Carlos handle him," Neil said coldly to his assistant, speaking very quickly.

I was shocked. Why would I bump into Neil here?