The Returned Heiress Who Never Fit In novel Chapter 1001

Chapter 1001 A Suspicious Injury

45 Pearls.

Throughout the journey, Rianne kept her head turned toward the window. Even after boarding the plane, she remained visibly awkward and fidgety.

Eddie handed her a glass of water, leaning in to ask softly, “Does it still hurt?”

Rianne said nothing.

Her expression was already strained, but hearing his question caused a deep flush to creep across her face. She stared at the water he offered, unable to bring herself to reach for it.

Eddie felt equally uneasy.

What happened last night had been the ultimate accident. After watching the fireworks with Tessa, Victor, and the others, he had driven Rianne straight to a hotel. Since it was Stella and Abraham’s wedding night, it wouldn’t have been right for guests to intrude on the Dawson family home.

Only the universe knew that they had only shared a bottle of water from his car once they returned!

He had no way to explain it.

He had no idea how that water had been tampered with. It was maddening; how could his own car’s supply contain such a substance? Fortunately, Rianne seemed to accept his clumsy explanation, however vague it was.

Rianne lowered her head. To be honest, it did hurt, but she was far too embarrassed to say a word.

Suddenly, Eddie held out a tube of ointment.

Rianne’s face was already crimson, but this gesture sent the blood rushing through her veins until she felt like she was boiling over. She felt as though she were being cooked alive.

“If it really hurts that much, you’ve likely sustained an injury,” Eddie noted. “Apply some of this so it doesn’t get inflamed.”

“Can you… can you please stop talking?” Rianne pleaded.

The plane hadn’t taken off yet, so her phone was still on. Before Eddie could respond, her device chimed with a call from Stella.

“Did you fall during the wedding yesterday?” Stella asked with genuine concern.

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Chapter 1001 A Suspicious Injury

“Huh? No, I didn’t.”

“No? Then why are you limping?”

Rianne fell silent,

+5 Pearls

Hearing Stella’s observation made her want to crawl into a hole and disappear. If she hadn’t fallen, what other possible reason could there be for her walking like that?

Unsure of how to answer, she quickly changed her story. “Oh, wait–I did fall.”

“What?” Stella sounded confused. Had she fallen or not?

Rianne cleared her throat. “It’s nothing. I just had a minor trip.”

“It looked fairly serious to me, though.”

One didn’t walk with such a pronounced limp from a minor trip.

“I… well…” Rianne stole a glance at Eddie and immediately averted her eyes. “Look, the plane is about to take off. I have to go.”

“Already? I thought your flight was at noon. It’s only eleven…”

Before Stella could finish, Rianne hung up.

Stella stared at her phone as the line went dead, feeling bewildered.

“What did she say?” Tessa asked.

“First she said she didn’t fall, then she said she did.”

“That’s strange,” Tessa remarked. “So did she or didn’t she?”

Stella shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“It looked bad. She must have taken quite a spill,” Tessa added, recalling the awkward way Rianne had been moving.

As the two women whispered amongst themselves, Lewis suddenly appeared behind them.

“Is it possible it wasn’t from a fall?” he asked casually.

Stella and Tessa both turned to him, blinking in confusion. Not a fall?

“Then what was it?”

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Chapter 1001 A Suspicious injury

15 Pearle

“The morning after your first night with him,” Lewis said, glancing at Tessa, “you walked with that exact same limp.”

Stella was stunned into silence while Tessa’s face turned bright red. She looked ready to throttle him.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Do you want to keep that tongue of yours or not?”

Lewis realized he had stepped in it again, even though he felt he was just stating the obvious.

Tessa looked at Stella awkwardly, only to find Stella lost in thought. When their eyes met, they both remembered how strange Rianne and Eddie had acted during breakfast. Tessa had assumed Rianne was just too annoyed by Tempest to speak, but Eddie had been acting off, too.

“Could Rianne and Mr. Eddie have… last night?” Tessa whispered.

Stella turned to Abel. “Was the alcohol at the banquet tampered with?”

“I don’t believe so,” Abel replied.

“You don’t believe so?”

“It’s highly unlikely.”

He remained cautious with his wording, but he knew for certain that everything served to Abraham and Stella had been strictly vetted. Their priority yesterday had been ensuring the wedding went off without a hitch. As for the other guests, things were less certain.

Stella looked back at Tessa. “Do you really think they’d move that fast?”

“It’s hard to say,” Tessa replied. “But if there were certain substances involved, anything is possible.”

At the mention of “substances,” Stella went quiet.

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Tessa added with a smirk. “If anyone should be losing sleep over this, it’s Tempest.”

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