Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 469

“Good to see you,” Mitch greeted me warmly.

This time, Hiram seemed a lot more comfortable with me, even cheerfully calling me “Ms. Finch”!

But little did he know, the consequences of my visit would lead him into facing Karina’s scolding.

With a smile, I asked Hiram, “Where are your parents?”

“They’re inside, and so are my grandparents!” Hiram enthusiastically led me in. It was his birthday, and the house was beautifully decorated.

The staff was bustling around, Neil was on a call in the living room, and Ryan was fussing with a model toy, likely a gift for Hiram. Upon seeing me, a grin flashed across Ryan’s face, “Irene’s here!”

He then picked up Serena from her stroller, “And Princess Serena too. She’s getting prettier every day!”

Ryan was visibly more relaxed with Serena this time, his affection for her clear in his words.

Instead of bringing Brandon, I chose to bring Serena because Brandon’s resemblance to Neil was growing more pronounced, and I didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary associations for Ryan and Faith.

“Ah, Irene’s here?” Faith descended from the second floor, looking as healthy as ever, save for her slightly red, swollen eyes that showed signs of recent crying.

“Hello,” I greeted politely, my eyes scanning the room for Karina. On such an important day, where could she be?

Neil noticed my tense gaze and calmly explained, “Karina had to attend to something at the hospital, and she’ll be back shortly.” I was least interested in seeing Karina. If it weren’t for Faith’s situation, I wouldn’t be here at all.

I couldn’t come empty-handed. I retrieved a video game console from under Serena’s stroller and gave it to Hiram. “Happy birthday, Hiram. This is my gift to you. Do you like

console. He nodded enthusiastically, looking at me with newfound warmth, “I love

Faith exchanged puzzled glances, but soon broke into pleased smiles. They were more than happy

brought me coffee, and there were candies and fruit on the table, all from

first birthday since rejoining the Whitmore family, so a grand celebration was to be expected.

company of the Whitmore family, being well-behaved whether held by Neil or Ryan and Faith, and even entertained everyone with her

Look at her big eyes and cherry lips; she’s adorable. She’s going to be a beauty when she grows up, just like Irene!” Faith gushed

more and more like Irene,” Ryan chimed in. Without Karina around, their praises for me were explicit

didn’t say anything, merely focusing on

still one big family, and Serena was

important business partners of the Whitmore family. Some even traveled all the

they placed on the Whitmore family’s invitation.

finally put away his phone and stood up to greet the guests. Ryan handed Serena to

his game, oblivious to the buzzing activity around

to do so, with traces of sweat on her

Karina apologized sincerely as she embraced Hiram. But when she noticed the game

sensing Karina’s displeasure, quickly put down the

restrictions. Why was

with Hiram playing a little on his special day?” Faith intervened.

prolonged gaming can overstimulate a child’s brain. It’s not good for him either way,” Karina explained as she took the game console from Hiram and