Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 206

Neil was just around the corner. He was looking dapper in a simple yet subtly luxurious suit, always looking sharp and exuding a mature masculine charm.

At the sound of Bonnie's voice, he turned his head. His gaze barely lingered on me, as if I were just air. In his eyes, there was only Bonnie, and he looked at her with a gaze full of adoration.

My mom quickly took note of my reaction, and then her face relaxed.

"Thanks for coming despite your busy schedule." Bonnie said, latching onto Neil as he approached, making her look like she had two big rocks to lean on.

When she talked to Neil, there was a clear, playful tone in her voice.

Gloria gave a small smile to Neil, "Mr. Whitmore, it's an honor for all of us at StarGlow Enterprises to have you here. Your presence adds shine to our humble company."

"Ms. Gloria, you're too modest." Neil replied, his smile faint.

From their words and expressions, I could only see their hypocrisy.

But hypocrisy was the norm. Alicia once told me that if you want to make money, you need to be good at socializing and talking to people. Sincerity was not necessarily the key to success, but could actually be a fatal flaw.

Then I saw some familiar faces. They were Stella and Barbara's parents. They came over to say hi when they saw me and my mom.

Not far from us, Alicia, dressed in a chic suit and exuding a strong aura, was happily chatting with others.

"Mom, I'm going to find Alicia." I whispered to my mom.

"Go ahead." She nodded.

Just as I started to move, Bonnie followed me. She quickened her pace and stopped me.

"What's up?" I asked, wondering what she wanted.

Bonnie held a glass of wine, her expression sincere and her tone apologetic, "Irene, I wanted to take this occasion to toast to you and apologize. Can we put past grievances aside and be friends again?"

I looked at Bonnie speechlessly for a while, then asked, "Do we need to?"

"Yes, we were friends initially, weren't we? We became enemies only because of Neil." Bonnie said earnestly, "Now that you're with Russel and I'm about to get engaged to Neil, there's no reason for us to be against each other."

I retorted, "Why do you think so? What was the purpose of setting up this company?"

At this question, Bonnie paused.

Everyone knew that StarGlow Enterprises was established to compete with my family's company. Bonnie, as one of the founders, knew this too.

Neil came up and stood behind Bonnie. They looked great together, both in appearance and temperament.

Especially Bonnie, who was only about 1.6 meters tall, looked petite and provoked a desire to protect her.

"What's up?" He leaned down slightly and asked Bonnie.

A blush crept onto Bonnie's face, and she replied shyly, "Nothing; I just wanted to apologize to Irene. I hope we can let bygones be bygones and be friends again."

I looked at them coldly.

Only then did Neil look at me, his eyes cold, reminding me of the days when I was in love with him.

No matter what I did or said, he always treated me with such indifference.

"I guess I was too naive. Irene is still unwilling to forgive me. I've done her wrong before. Well, I'll find another chance to slowly win her forgiveness." Bonnie added.

Neil just grunted in response, not saying much.

Before I could avert my eyes, Ryan and Faith saw me. Their faces showed awkward expressions, then they gave me a friendly smile.

Faith even started to walk towards me.

I was a bit flustered. I really didn't know how to respond if she came over to talk. I thought we made things clear last time.

"Mom, I just met a lady over there who said she hasn't seen you for a long time and she's a good friend of yours." Neil appeared just as Faith was about to reach me, blocking her.

"Is that so? Let me go see her." Faith glanced at me, seemingly understanding her son's intention, then turned to find the woman.

Just then, Sean came over. He smiled at me and then said to Alicia, "I ran into some friends. Do you want to meet them with me?"

Alicia had the hots for Sean, so how could she possibly turn him down? She shot me a knowing glance, then took off with Sean.

I was about to go look for my mom when Neil blocked my way. "Why isn't Russel here with you?"

"He's busy." I brushed him off.

"On a day like this, with his mom around, shouldn't he take a break from work and be with you?" Neil stepped closer, his nearly 1.9-meter frame towering over me.

A smirk played at the corner of his lips.

I looked up at Neil, "I understand him, so don't sweat the small stuff. Plus, when I decided to be with him, I knew what I was signing up for with his family. You don't need to worry about me."

Neil pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. It was Russel having dinner with another woman.

"So he's actually on a date today, not at work. You had no clue?" He asked with a chuckle.