Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 423

"Quit pretending," I outed Neil, "I'm just a bit puzzled why you're doing this."

Neil responded calmly, "I just don't want you to waste any more time."

"Alright then," I didn't press the issue.

If Neil admitted he was doing this on purpose, I wouldn't know how to react.

On our way back, Neil's phone rang, it was a call from Karina.

He didn’t use a headset, he answered directly, so I could hear their conversation clearly.

"Neil, are you at Mitch's place?" Karina's voice was soft.

"Uh-huh, what's up?" There was something about Neil's demeanor that always seemed off to me.

Sometimes it seemed like he was really in love with Karina, yet his tone always felt distant. Sometimes I thought he was with Karina out of a sense of duty, but then there were times when I caught the way he looked at her, and it was unlike how he looked at other people.

It was all too confusing.

Karina must have been in the hospital corridor, every once in a while, you could hear someone calling for a nurse and some background chatter. But her voice was still clear, "Will you be home for dinner then? Hiram has been nagging about wanting you to take him to the carnival, there's an event going on tonight."

Just as Neil was about to reply, my phone also rang. It was a call from my mom, I chose to decline it and sent a text message instead.

But Karina was no fool, after a brief pause, she asked, "Why is Ms. Finch at your place?"

Neil and I exchanged glances, and Karina chimed in, "It's no big deal. I won't overthink. I just heard her ringtone and figured she was there. She and Stella are good friends, so it's normal for you guys to have dinner together."

“Yeah, I’ll be home for dinner,” Neil didn’t keep the conversation going but answered Karina's earlier question.

"Alright, Hiram and I will be waiting for you." With that, Karina ended the call.

She was definitely more composed and patient than Bonnie. Here I was with Neil, and she was so nonchalant about it, no accusations, no suspicions.

I couldn't tell what she was really thinking.

When I got back to Stella's place, I knew something was off.

The living room was filled with an invisible tension. Stella was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, glowering at Ariana.

Ariana, on the other hand, had red-rimmed eyes and kept glancing at Mitch.

Mitch looked deeply troubled, his face a mix of emotions.

"What happened?" Neil asked as he walked in.

The man who had accompanied Ariana explained in a low voice.

Apparently, while waiting for Neil and I to come back, Stella had come out for a drink and saw Ariana using her personal mug. This set Stella off, and she smashed the mug on the floor, leading to an argument.

My eyes immediately darted to Mitch. I wanted to know where he stood amid all this. Was he siding with Stella or Ariana?

If he was siding with Ariana, then he could go to hell.

Mitch deliberately avoided my gaze when he felt it on him.