"Behind bars?" Neil seemed to not entirely grasp my meaning.
It seemed like he wasn't fully aware of what had just happened.
I then told him about Karina's visit to Hiram and the subsequent police incident, watching as his face gradually darkened.
"Anyway, I've accomplished a task for you, so our deal is over," I gestured for him to leave. "You can go back and explain things to Karina, so she won't misunderstand."
"When you called me, I was in a meeting. That’s why I didn't pick up," Neil explained to me, ignoring my words.
Of course, I knew he was busy. In the past, even if I had something urgent, he wouldn't pick up my calls while he was working.
I was accustomed to this. But I wondered whether Karina would be able to.
"You should explain this to Karina. She tried to contact you but couldn't get through, which led to the misunderstanding," I kindly reminded him.
"There's nothing to explain to her. I just need to understand what's happening." Neil's response was rather nonchalant.
I wondered why he had bothered to come find me.
Right now, Yara was in the living room, waiting for me to feed her. I didn't want Neil to discover Yara was here.
The baby's crying echoed from the living room, and I took the opportunity to say, "If there's nothing else, I need to go feed the baby. You should leave."
"Mmm," Neil grunted in affirmation, turning to leave.
I returned to the living room, only to see a scene that shocked me. Yara had vomited, and the vomit had gotten into her nose. Her little face was flushed and she looked uncomfortable.
I quickly picked up Yara, helping her clean up a bit, but she still seemed uncomfortable and vomited again.
What was going on? I hadn't fed her yet, so it couldn't be that she had choked on milk and vomited.
Norah, hearing the commotion, rushed out. Being more experienced than me, she immediately suggested that Yara might have a problem with her stomach and that we should take her to the hospital!
Serena and Brandon were still asleep, and Norah had to stay at home to look after her, which meant I had to take Yara to the hospital by myself.
Stella had entrusted me with her child. I absolutely couldn't let anything happen to her, or else I wouldn't be able to face Stella.
Carrying Yara, I rushed out of the house, intending to drive to the hospital, but discovered that Neil hadn't left yet. He was standing by the roadside, looking like a finely sculpted statue under the sunlight, a thin stream of smoke coming from the cigarette between his fingers.
He noticed me rushing out with Yara and frowned, looking at the baby in my arms. "So Mitch's kid is really here with you."
I didn't know how to respond.
Neil and Mitch were undoubtedly close friends. He had previously helped me fend off Mitch, probably thinking that Yara wasn't really at my place. Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he might spill the beans to Mitch.
And I couldn't let Mitch take the baby away before Stella returned!
"Is there something wrong with her?" Neil, observant as he was, noticed that something was off with Yara. He stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can before opening his car door, "Get in. We're going to the hospital."
Given the current situation, Yara was of utmost importance. Having someone to drive us was definitely the best case scenario. If I drove, what if she was alone in the backseat and started vomiting again?
Without hesitation, I got into the car.
Neil didn't ask any unnecessary questions on the way, but drove as fast as he could to the hospital.
Did he mean he was definitely going to tell Mitch?
I knew it wouldn't be this easy. No matter how much Neil expressed his disapproval of Mitch, he would still side with his good friend in action.
It seemed like I needed to find a new place to hide Yara when I got back.
Just then, Neil's phone rang. I thought it would be Karina, but it was someone I was even less willing to deal with at the moment, Mitch.
When Mitch's voice sounded in the car, I was afraid that Yara would suddenly cry out and he would hear it. Was Neil doing this deliberately?
"Neil, where are you?" Mitch's mood seemed relatively stable today.
"I’m in the car. What's up?" Neil replied without mentioning that I and Yara were in the car.
"I have something to tell you. You know that project I was having revised? I've been following up on it, but I might need to go back home for a few days. I've handed the project over to Ariana. Once it's revised, she'll give it to you, okay?" It turned out that Mitch was planning to go back home, probably because of issues with Stella and the kids.
Before he left, he passed off his work to Ariana to handle.
Is this guy out of his mind?
Wasn't he going back to patch things up with Stella?
"Ariana is not up to par. Get someone else," Neil's words were blunt, leaving no room for Mitch's pride.
"She's pretty competent. Trust me. She's contributed a lot to this project, Neil. I simply admire her work," Mitch's defense sounded utterly ludicrous.
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