Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled

Chapter 318

I didn’t necessanly have to personally pick up Hannah’s parents, but I wanted to see where Oscar grew

up.

At night, I slept in his room. It was clean and simple, with a few photos of Oscar from his student days. I

stared at these pictures for a long time as my eyes got all misty

That night, I dreamed of Oscar He was working part time in a bar, and Lasked him ‘Oscar, how have

you been?”

Oscar gave me a bright and cheerful smile, his voice still clear “Ms. Finch, I’m doing alright. There’s no

need to worry about me

When I woke up. I found my pillow wet with tears, and outside the door, I heard the voice of Oscar’s

mother, Mia Morse. ‘Ms. Finch, time for breakfast”

“Ainight” I replied and got up

I had planned to leave after breakfast, but before I could, someone came to see Oscars father, Henry

Morse, to discuss some land sale matters I didn’t understand the details, so I had to wait.

I ended up waiting all day, so my plan to return to Rosemont was delayed by another day.

That night, something unexpected happened.

I couldn’t sleep due to the things on my mind, and Neil called. I didn’t reject the call and hastily picked

up.

“Irene, where are you? How can you go so far all by yourself? The voice on the other end was Faith

Whitmore’s She sounded worried but also a little bit happy. “I’m glad you’re still willing to pick up Neil’s

calls.”

“Maam, I’m fine. I’m here to fetch Oscar’s parents.” I was a bit sleepy, but this call woke me up, and

soon my eyes were wide open as I listened to Faith’s voice.

How could Faith be calling me from Neil’s phone?

Before I could think of what to say, Faith spoke again. “Trene, I’m completely against Neil and Bonnie

dating. I just gave him a piece of my mind today. If he insists on being with Bonnie, I’ll cut him off

completely! From now on, I’ll treat you like my own daughter. Daughters are better than sons!”

If Neil were here, he’d probably feel super awkward.

“Ma’am, please don’t say that. These are Neil’s choices, and he and I really aren’t suitable” I tried to

soothe Faith.

“You’re the best match for him. He just doesn’t appreciate you Irene, if you return to Sapphire River

Community, let me know. I’ll come to see you I heard your mother woke up, so I want to visit her Faith

rushed through her sentences, as if she were afraid that I’d reject her.

I figured my mom wouldn’t want to see Faith, so I had to tactfully refuse. “Maam, my mom needs to rest

for now, and I don’t want her to know about certain unpleasant things so soon. Once she’s better, Ill

invite you over for dinner, okay?”

Faith was silent for a while and then sighed. I could hear her disappointment.

“Alright, I wait for you Faith finally said, resignedly.

I was about to hang up when Neil’s voice came through. “When are you coming back?”

I glanced at the time on my phone. It was already half past midnight. Even if I set off early in the

morning, I’d only reach home late at night

“Late tomorrow night” I replied. Just as I finished speaking, I heard what seemed like footsteps outside

my window. I thought it was Henry and Mia, so I didn’t give it much thought

Tl be waiting for you at Sapphire River Community Neil spoke in a low voice, as if he were afraid that

Faith would hear

I felt a bit awkward, as if the villa in Sapphire River Community had become a secret rendezvous spot

for Neil and me with no other purpose

I could tell from Neil’s voice that he seemed to want to tell me something he couldn’t say over the

phone.

Just as I was figuring out how to respond, I suddenly smelled smoke wafting in through the window

gap.

I turned my head to look outside again and saw flickers of fire

Panic set in, and I quickly jumped off the bed, flung open the window, and saw that the Morse family’s

yard was already ablaze.

How could there be a fire here? The smoke made me cough, and Neil asked. “What’s happening?”

“Fire” I quickly replied and hung up, immediately dialing the fire department

I dashed out of my room Bailey lived next door, and Henry and Mia were in the room opposite mine, but

they were all sound asleep and didn’t seem to have noticed the fire

I ran to Bailey’s door and banged on it frantically while yelling towards the Morse parents’ room. “Fire

Fire! Wake up!*

It took a minute for Bailey to finally open his door in a panic. He looked at the fire in the yard, clearly in

disbelief.

The yard was covered with a glass roof, so the smoke couldn’t escape, and my throat was already

feeling unconfortable. But Henry and Mia still hadn’t woken up.

Bailey ran over and kicked their door, and they finally woke up.

“What’s happening? What’s happening?!” Henry shouted in panic. “Fire! Help!”

Normally, if there was a fire, shouting for help would get the neighbors to come over. But tonight, the

surroundings were eerily quiet, so no one came to help.

Henry then ran to open the yard gate, only to find it locked from the outside!

We were now trapped in this yard, which was like a furnace. Our lives were in danger.

I called the fire department again, and their reply sent chills down my spine. “A big truck is blocking the

road; we can’t contact the driver, and this is the only way…”

They then told me some self protection measures, but the temperature was rising and the smoke was

getting thicker. I hung up, grabbed Bailey and Mia’s hands, and ran towards Oscar’s room, with Henry

following suit.

There was an en suite in the room, so I quickly found some clothes and a towel, soaked them under

the tap, and stuffed them in all the cracks in the door and windows. All that was left to do was wait for

help.

I asked Henry to call the neighbors, only to find out there was a promotion going on at a night market

nearby. Everyone who showed up would get fifty bucks.

Suddenly, it all clicked. This was too much of a coincidence. I had a feeling someone had deliberately

set the fire and cut off all escape routes.

The room was getting hotter and hotter, and there was no one to rescue us. In this critical moment, the

image of Neil popped into my mind.

But he was miles away; how could he possibly show up?

“Irene!”

Through the roaring flames, I suddenly heard Neil’s voice, filled with urgency and anger. “Answer me!”

How could Neil be here? I thought I was hallucinating. Was this some kind of deathbed illusion?

The door in front of me was completely consumed by the fire. I took a couple of steps back as the door

teetered on the brink of collapse.

“Neil, I…” I was about to say something but stopped myself. If Neil were to rush in now, he’d definitely

be in grave danger. Getting seriously burned by the flames would be inevitable.