Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 223

I immediately sensed the tension in the air. I nudged Neil gently. "I've said all there is to say. You can go now."

"When did you ever clear things up?" Neil's eyes were locked on Russel, even as he responded to me.

Russel finally got on his feet. He walked into the living room and shut the door behind him.

My living room was not big. With Neil and Russel, two big and burly guys, it felt a bit cramped.

"Neil, why are you hassling my girlfriend?" Russel asked in an ice-cold tone.

"I'm just trying to get back with my ex-wife." Neil retorted shamelessly.

"But she's my girlfriend now. You're history. As a man, you should accept reality, not desperately cling to her." Russel tried to reason with Neil, but his eyes were filled with anger.

Neil scoffed, seemingly unphased, "As long as I'm alive, I'm not history. And you, after all these years of friendship, this is how you treat me?"

From any angle, Russel was in the wrong here. That was how the outside world saw it, too. Even if I were the last woman on Earth, Russel shouldn't have gotten together with his friend's ex-wife.

Russel's face changed instantly. He had a flash of complex emotions in his eyes, and clearly guilt was among them. He glanced at me, and I returned his gaze silently. At this point, I could pretty much take anything. If Russel couldn't handle the pressure and decided to break up with me, I could take that too.

I took a lot of hits in this life and in my past life. Because of this, my ability to endure had grown stronger.

"I owe you this one. When the time is right, I'll make it up to you." Russel explained.

Neil's face was stone-cold. "I don't need you to owe me anything, and I don't need compensation. All I need is for you to break up with Irene."

"That's not going to happen!" Russel was adamant.

I took a step forward, reached out, and held his hand, then stood in front of Neil with him. "I won't give him up either. Neil, you need to move on."

Neil's gaze was fixed on our clasped hands. His teeth clenched, and his eyes filled with bitterness and anger. It was frightening, but there was no turning back now.

Russel glanced at me, surprised by my initiative. A relieved smile spread across his face. Our hands tightened around each other.

Finally, Neil left, slamming the door behind him with a thud.

My heart skipped a beat.

The living room was quiet again. Russel looked at the half-prepared food on the table and apologized, "Sorry about that. Something sudden came up at work. I left immediately after my shift, but you still had to wait. Are you mad?"

"A little." I admitted. "I thought you were hanging out with your other friends again."

"Still thinking about Chloe Reynolds?" Russel playfully stroked my cheek, bending down to comfort me. "There's nothing going on between us. You're all I think about every second. But I can't help but feel a little happy to see you act jealous over me."

I smacked his hand away, "Then keep feeling happy! You might just make me mad enough to die."

Russel looked startled, shaking his head immediately, "No, no, no! If I screw up again, you can slap me until you're not mad anymore."

"Fine, since you're so sincere, I'll forgive you this time. Now, come eat barbecue with me." As I spoke, I headed to the kitchen and took out the food I had just put away.

Russel smiled warmly. The once-chilly apartment now felt a bit warm.