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.

at us, “Ms. Finch, Russel, please try it

delicious. It looks very fresh,” I praised, even before starting my

look, “Russel, shouldn’t you be more attentive to your wife? She’s

in unexpectedly, “She’s not

hand, but I was right-handed, so my daily activities weren’t much affected, especially when it came to

was the case, when

Neil a smile, “Right, I forgot one can eat with one hand. 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

turned my head towards Russel, “He’s just a bit introverted

was so keen on highlighting my relationship with Russel to

was pleasantly surprised, and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. He seemed to relish my compliments.

had an inscrutable expression, mostly keeping his eyes on his plate and not participating much in our conversation.

meal was quite a bore for me, having to face Neil and Karina. Only Karina was enjoying herself, initiating

to the restroom,” Karina announced midway through the

was just Russel, 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.

and ‘accidentally’ smeared my hand with sauce, “Where are the wipes? I think Dr. Karina

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

present.

“Yeah,

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

If Karina really was the one behind it, why didn’t she just dispose

protective of earlier was then left unattended as she went to the restroom. It was as if she was deliberately drawing my attention and giving me a chance

decided against it. Instead, I took

first thing she did was check her bag. Noticing it had