Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled novel Chapter 639

The dust had barely settled on that old argument, and frankly, I had no intention of dredging it up with Neil again. There was no right or wrong in that situation, just the whims of fate.

Seeing my silence, Neil had the good sense to drop the subject. Dwelling on it would only stir up unnecessary trouble.

"Why didn't you consult with me before about Karina hiring someone to take you out?" he shifted the conversation to a different matter.

I had mentioned it once, around the time Russel got injured trying to protect me, but back then, I had no solid proof linking it to Karina.

Other events had unfolded since, and I hadn't brought it up to Neil again, including the fact that Frank had implicated Karina. I hadn't mentioned that to Neil either.

"What's there to discuss? If she fled the country, then I'll find a way to bring her back." I replied.

She was caught for making an attempt on my life and should have been tried here, but somehow, she managed to flee abroad swiftly, which was basically letting her get off scot-free.

"This would have been handled better if you had let me take care of it. You don't need to keep things so separate from me." Neil was clearly not pleased. He was more efficient and had better resources than I did, but he had already done so much for me. It was better I handled this myself.

I felt a mix of rivalry and camaraderie with Neil. Friends, yet not without our conflicts; enemies, yet more partners in crime.

"I know, but I don't want to owe you any more favors." I shook my head, speaking honestly.

Even though Neil had wronged me in a past life, I had to admit, from the start, he never loved me. He was upfront about it, never lied to me, and when he fell for Bonnie, he was honest about it and even offered financial compensation.

In some ways, my insistence was my downfall, unable to accept that my efforts were unrewarded. But love is often one-sided, and it's normal for effort and reward not to align.

"You don't owe me anything. Consider it my way of making up for what I did to you in a past life," Neil said, watching me intently.

"No, no, Neil, that's not logical. You're not me. I've been reborn and lived through the consequences of my past life. In a way, I'm still the same person from that past life, but you haven't lived through it. You and he... are not the same Neil, you get me?" I chuckled bitterly. "Sometimes, it feels weird, like changing my real-life based on a very vivid dream."

Neil fell silent, not responding for a long while. Just then, a gust of wind picked up outside, rattling the windows, and suddenly, it began to snow.

The snow seemed early this year, but I had a feeling this early snowfall would freeze all our stories in time.

"How about we have dinner together?" I broke the silence, inviting Neil to stay for the evening meal as it was nearing dusk and the lights outside had started to glow warmly.

Neil seemed surprised by my invitation but accepted it. Any tension from our conversation seemed to dissolve with the invitation.

I was about to head upstairs to spend some time with the kids, feeling a bit awkward to stay alone with Neil downstairs.