Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 48

We needed to find a way to expose the real Norman. Delaying was not in our favor.

"We should tell her straight up. It'll break her heart, but it's better than letting her be fooled." Stella always took decisive action.

Even if it might ruin her friendship with Barbara, she would do it without hesitation.

I gave it some thought. At the moment, this seemed to be the best plan. I exchanged a glance with Alicia, silently agreeing.

I spent a long time discussing Barbara's situation with Stella. They didn't leave until late into the night. Since I had overslept in the afternoon, I felt pretty energized at night, so I decided to watch a movie.

While watching the movie, I remembered the phone call Bonnie made to Neil today, and involuntarily took out my phone to check Oscar's Facebook.

Although Bonnie and I were friends, I only have Oscar's contact. I usually got updates on their relationship through Oscar's Facebook posts. Oscar was the type who loved to post. He seemed eager to show off his girlfriend to the world.

Oscar's Facebook cover photo used to be a picture of him and Bonnie, but now it's a portrait of a basketball star, with a caption below: I wasn't good enough.

He hadn't updated his status for quite a few days.

I couldn't help but sigh. Innocent campus romance eventually shattered under the pressure of reality.

I sent Oscar a message, “Oscar, are you asleep?”

Oscar didn't reply until a while later, “No.”

I asked again, “Are you and Bonnie okay? Why did you change your Facebook cover photo?”

Oscar replied quickly this time, “Irene, we broke up.”

This was no different from my past life. Even with my involvement, I couldn't prevent Oscar and Bonnie's breakup. It seemed that the progress of the main characters' love story really wasn't something we side characters could influence.

Did Bonnie seek Neil today for comfort? Or was it about the relocation issue in her neighborhood? I really couldn't think of any other possibilities.

I started comforting Oscar, and asked him out for a meal the next few days.

Oscar agreed, and told me he was going to bed. I replied, “Good night.”

Oscar, “Irene, good night.”

From that night on, Neil didn't come home for a week. I didn't ask or think too much, but just dealt with Barbara's situation with Stella and Alicia.

We were worried that Barbara would still be attached to Norman after knowing the truth. After all, Norman was usually good to her, and their relationship was deep-rooted. If Norman apologized and begged for her forgiveness, she might soften.

So, Stella made up an excuse to lure Barbara to her house. Naturally, Alicia and I were there too.

"What are you guys up to?" Barbara was a little confused when she saw our serious faces.

"Barbara, have you heard the phrase 'there are plenty of fish in the sea'?" Stella started.

"Barbara absolutely can't marry him!" Barbara's mother, with red eyes, angrily and sadly wiped her tears, "Now Barbara and Norman aren't married yet, so everything is still in time. This child is an ectopic pregnancy. It's like God is helping her, pulling her out of the trap. Don't worry, leave this to us. We will give you a satisfactory answer. In the meantime, please don't confront Norman."

If we let him off so easily, it would be too cheap for him.

Barbara's parents agreed to our request. When Barbara was wheeled out of the surgery room, we all rushed up to see how she was doing.

Barbara was pale, her eyes closed, unresponsive. The doctor said it was because the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet, so she would wake up later.

I asked Stella and Alicia to accompany Barbara's mother back home to pack some necessities for the hospital stay, and told Barbara's father not to worry, to go back to work. Then I stayed by Barbara's side to wait for her to wake up.

"Barbara, you awake?" After a while, Barbara woke up. I quickly poured her a glass of water, "Here, have some water."

Barbara looked at me, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. I thought she would blame me, blame me for telling Stella and the others about Norman's infidelity, making her lose her dignity.

But, Barbara reached out and held my hand, weakly saying, "Rena, thank you. Without you, I might still be deceived."

I was taken aback, suddenly feeling a bit teary-eyed. I also put down the water glass and held her hand, comforting her, "Barbara, once you get through this tough time, everything will get better. Norman's not worth your tears!"

Barbara's eyes were full of pain. She nodded and said, "I know. But I just don't understand, why did he do this to me? Was I not good enough?"

I said, "You're great. He's the one who's not worth it. Barbara, even your child tried to stop you from making the wrong decision, so you must wake up." I squeezed her hand tightly.

Barbara touched her belly with her other hand. A tear rolled down her cheek, "Yes. Maybe the baby knew too, that if it existed, I might have to endure more pain, so it chose to leave me."