Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 399

“Thanks for the advice,” I replied nonchalantly before heading off to the hot springs with Stella.

Throughout, Stella was in a foul mood, constantly bringing up Karina.

She used to detest Bonnie, and when finally, Bonnie was in jail, Karina popped up. Bonnie had been able to interact with Neil only because she looked like Karina and had received a heart transplant from her.

She assured me firmly that she despised Karina more than she did Bonnie.

“Enough about her. Let’s talk about you,” Stella suddenly said with a suggestive smile on her face. “How’s it been going on this trip with Russel? Any progress in your marriage?”

“It’s okay,” I replied in a casual manner. Russel was indeed very kind to me. He was a caring and considerate person. But I was sure that I couldn’t have liked him just yet. Any moments of wavering were mostly due to the kids.

Stella, acting as if she knew everything, said, “Oh, I knew you didn’t have any feelings for him. You’re only together because of the kids. But I must say, I didn’t expect you to be so bold. When the media was widely reporting that you couldn’t have any more kids, you went ahead and had two with Russel. That’s impressive. You really slapped them in the face!”

I said nothing, choosing not to delve into the matter. After all, Russel and I had no relationship to speak of. Not to mention one of the two kids, who everyone thought looked a lot like Neil, though no one dared speak of it.

After we finished at the hot springs, Stella helped me get dressed. The perks of having a good friend were evident.

She then received a call from her husband, Mitch. “Honey, our boy is hungry!”

“I’m coming!” she immediately rushed off to get dressed at the news of her son’s hunger. Once she hung up, she swiftly got ready and said to me, “Rena, I must go. Weren’t you going to have some late-night snacks? I can’t accompany you this time!”

“Okay, you go ahead, I said, watching Stella hustle off. Thoughts of Serena and Brandon crossed my mind. I missed them, but I knew I would have been able to see them the next day.

incident with Hiram, so I was feeling a bit peckish. The hotel offered late-night snacks, so I made my

I grabbed some food and found a spot to

I heard Neil’s voice from behind me. He wasn’t speaking to me, though, but was on the phone. “You’re overthinking. It’s not mine. Don’t bring this

impatient, but he managed to keep his

Neil sitting there, his back to me. His white shirt accentuated his broad shoulders, giving off

pity he couldn’t smoke here; a cigarette would’ve

was he

need for

probably his parents.

With that, Neil hung up. I had a hunch about who he was talking to. It was

conversation, it seemed that Ryan and Faith were questioning

still left me

Just as Neil also stood up and turned around, our eyes met for a moment before we both quickly looked away, pretending we hadn’t

into Neil at the restaurant, I wouldn’t have gone for the

then. I didn’t see the

did the same. I stood up again, and so

turned to me and asked, “Who’s

to be on the same wavelength, and since I didn’t really want to be alone with Russel in our room, I decided

minutes before heading toward the

was still awake when I got back. “Where did you go?” he

then I got a bit hungry and had some late-night snacks,” I replied.

to get some rest now,” Russel said, settling down on the couch and spreading a blanket over himself. He’d been sleeping on