Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 384

I averted my gaze, refusing to pay any attention to the duo, nor to the distasteful thoughts they brought to mind.

"Hello everyone, I'm Karina," she announced openly, greeting everyone in sight. "I believe you all are friends with Neil. I haven't had the pleasure to meet you all formally, but I'd love to treat you all to dinner someday."

Stella snorted, "Neil's friend? I'm Rena's friend!"

Barbara chimed in, "Exactly. Don't get it twisted."

Unfazed by their hostility, Karina calmly responded, "Mitch is your husband, and Mitch is good friends with Neil. We're all socially connected people. Our businesses have some form of partnership with Neil's. If we're not personal friends, we can at least be considered business associates."

Her argument was irrefutable, and Stella and Barbara had no choice but to remain silent.

Eventually, Mitch found what he was looking for. It was a stamp.

He handed it over to Neil, sheepishly grinning at Karina as a form of greeting. Karina returned the gesture, but Mitch dared not reciprocate, fearing Stella's wrath.

"Well, we should be going now," Karina announced. Seeing Neil turn to leave, she gave us a friendly wave.

We watched them leave the courtyard without any further interaction. Stella and the others then turned their attention to me, with a hint of worry etched onto their faces.

The unexpected appearance of Neil and Karina had slightly affected me, but it was nothing major.

I turned to my mom and said, "Mom, hand me Serena."

Brandon, who was nestled in my arms, was fast asleep. After settling him in his room, I took Serena from my mother's arms.

The little one soon fell asleep, too, after some fidgeting. I then began arranging rooms for everyone. Thankfully, we had enough space for everyone to comfortably sleep in.

Meanwhile, Stella was grilling Mitch, "Why did Neil come here? What did he want? Did you do this on purpose?"

Mitch defended himself helplessly, "I had genuinely forgotten to give him something. Remember I told you about our business deal with Whitmore Co.? The project is based here. So, we agreed on a contract, but I accidentally left a copy in my car."

Stella had mentioned this to me before. Their family was planning to stay in Eldoria for a while due to Mitch's project, but it seemed she was unaware that Neil was the business partner. Otherwise, she would have informed me beforehand.

"You're working with Whitmore Co.? You never mentioned that!" Stella fumed.

"I didn't want to upset you. But business is separate from personal matters, and Neil and I are good friends..." Mitch explained, caught between a rock and a hard place.

I intervened, "Stella, it's not Mitch's fault. It's perfectly normal for Neil to focus on Eldoria for a while since Karina is working here."

"Mitch is right; Neil won't bother Rena!" Mitch eagerly agreed.

"But..." Stella was still worried.

"Don't worry. I made it clear to Neil, and our meeting earlier was quite normal, right?" I reassured her.