Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 396

I couldn’t be sure. The moment the thought took root, though, I couldn’t suppress it.

If Karina simply ignored me during my ordeal, I might have accused her of having an icy heart but if she intentionally tied that rope around my ankle, that’s a different kettle of fish. Wasn’t that akin to attempted murder?

“Neil, could you fetch me some wet wipes from my bag? My hands are all greasy,” Karina requested, shaking her oil-slicked hands in mild exasperation.

Karina had brought a bag, which was placed just a few feet away from me.

Neil responded, “Sure, in a moment.””

I got up first, “I’ll get it for you!”

Seeing me approach her bag, Karina’s expression momentarily flinched in resistance, she quickly stepped forward, “It’s okay, I’ll get it. God knows this bag is already dirty enough.”

She then moved her bag away to a place beyond my sight, only then did she proceed to take out a pack of wet wipes.

This action of hers seemed a bit odd. Was she worried that I would have seen something in her bag? Or was she just being protective of her privacy?

“What’s up?” My distracted demeanor caught Russel’s attention; he asked in a low voice.

“Nothing,” I snapped back to reality, shaking my head.

A while later, Karina and Neil prepared lunch, which was all seafood, complemented by a bottle of wine provided by the hotel. The spread was quite lavish.

Russel and I sat on one side, with Neil and Karina opposite us.

She beamed at us, “Ms. Finch, Russel, please try it and

should be delicious. It looks very fresh,” I praised, even

“Russel, shouldn’t you be more attentive to your wife? She’s hurt her hand. You should be

in unexpectedly, “She’s not left-handed.”

injured my left hand, but I was right-handed, so my daily activities weren’t much affected, especially

though that was the case, when

I just wanted to give Russel an opportunity to show his caring side. He’s always been so slow on the emotional uptake. I’m worried that Ms. Finch might not stand his wooden

and turned my head towards Russel, “He’s just a bit introverted in front of others, but he’s actually quite attentive

on highlighting my relationship with Russel to Neil,

of a smile tugged at his lips.

sitting opposite us, had an inscrutable expression, mostly keeping his eyes on his

for me, having to face Neil and Karina. Only Karina was enjoying herself, initiating most

restroom,” Karina announced midway through the meal.

Neil, and me left. My gaze fell on the bag lying on the edge of the table: She was so protective of that bag earlier. Why didn’t she just take it with

lobster, and ‘accidentally’ smeared my hand with sauce, “Where are the wipes? I think Dr. Karina has some in her bag.

glanced at Neil once. After all, meddling with someone else’s belongings wasn’t really polite, especially with Neil

present.

indifferently, “Yeah, go

the bag and as he opened it. I deliberately took a few glances. That’s when I noticed something odd. There was a piece of rope in the bag, identical in pattern and thickness to the one that had been tied around

that moment, a strange feeling overcame me. If Karina really was the one behind it, why didn’t she just dispose of the

as she went to the restroom. It was as

returned. But I decided against it. Instead, I took the

Karina returned. The first thing she did was check her bag. Noticing it had been moved, she glanced at