Reborn Heiress Is Remarrying
Chapter 74: A Sinking Situation

Chapter 74: A Sinking Situation

Chapter 74: A Sinking Situation

Diane trudged out of the freezing river, clothes soaked, hair dripping, and thoroughly unamused.

Water squelched in her boots with every step.

Gabriel was still standing at the edge, arms crossed, an annoying smirk tugged at his lips.

"You look miserable," he noted, completely dry and completely irritating.

Diane exhaled, forcing a tight smile. "And yet, I’m still standing."

Riot came beside her, shaking himself like a dog.

"Whew! That was refreshing."

Tessa stomped up next, wringing out her sleeves. "I hate everything."

The announcer, still chuckling from their unfortunate attempt, clapped his hands.

"Alright, folks! While Team Diane does their best impression of drowned rats, let’s check on our other competitors!"

Diane hated that he’d singled them out.

But worse, she hated that Gabriel was watching her like he enjoyed this.

Evelyn, standing beside him, wasn’t smiling anymore.

She had that fake polite look on her face, but Diane could feel the weirdness beneath it.

"Careful, darling," Evelyn said smoothly. "You wouldn’t want to catch a cold."

Diane forced a tight smile. "You’re right. Maybe I should borrow Gabriel’s jacket."

Evelyn’s smile twitched.

Gabriel chuckled under his breath. "You can ask, but I’m feeling selfish today."

Diane had to physically stop herself from shoving him into the river.

While Diane’s team was busy wringing out their failure, the other teams were making progress.

Gabriel and Evelyn’s team was already halfway across the river, their raft cut through the water with ease.

Evelyn was at the front like some victorious general, while Gabriel sat lazily at the back, not even pretending to put in effort.

"Are we seriously just letting him relax?" Mark, their quiet third teammate, asked.

Evelyn gave Gabriel a tight-lipped look. "It’s fine. He’s strategising."

Gabriel smirked but didn’t deny it.

Meanwhile, Team #4—the one whose raft had caught fire—was somehow still afloat.

One of their members had jumped into the water and was physically swimming alongside the raft, kicking to propel them forward.

"I AM THE ENGINE," the man screamed.

"THIS IS SO STUPID," his teammate shouted back.

Diane groaned, pressing a hand to her face. How were they doing better than her team?!

Riot nudged Diane. "So, uh, what’s the plan, boss?"

Diane turned to look at their soaked wreckage. The raft was barely clinging to existence, listing pitifully near the shore.

Tessa sighed. "We should just walk across the river at this point."

"No," Diane said firmly, straightening her shoulders. "We’re going to finish this."

Tessa gave her a look. "With what? Willpower?"

Riot formed a smile. "I like where this is going."

Diane exhaled again.

"We salvage what we can. If that means swimming while holding onto some planks, we do it. If that means building something even worse than what we just had, we do it."

Riot put a hand over his heart. "Inspirational."

Tessa groaned. "Fine. But if I drown, I’m haunting both of you."

After ten painful minutes of reconstructing, they managed to piece together a smaller but marginally more functional raft.

"Well," Riot said, inspecting it. "It looks like it might kill us slightly less than the last one."

Tessa sighed. "That’s the nicest thing you’ve said all day."

The announcer’s voice rang out again. "Looks like Team Diane is giving it another shot! Give them a round of applause, folks!"

Diane really hated him.

Ignoring the snickering from the other teams (especially Gabriel), they pushed their second attempt into the water.

And, miraculously, it floated.

Tessa let out a breath. "Okay, okay. This might actually work."

"Of course it will," Diane said confidently.

Then the current caught them.

And the raft immediately started spinning in circles.

Riot, gripping the sides, burst into laughter. "We’ve invented the world’s first river carousel!"

Tessa grabbed a paddle and tried to correct their course, but Riot’s uncontrollable laughter made it worse.

Diane tried to steer, but the raft refused to cooperate.

From the shore, Gabriel actually chuckled.

"You have got to be kidding me," Diane muttered.

"Hang on, boss!" Riot whooped. "We’re doing something!"

Tessa groaned. "Yeah. Dying."

Somehow—miraculously—they made it halfway across the river before their raft started breaking apart again.

Diane, desperate, grabbed onto the remains and started kicking toward the other side.

Riot, grinning, did the same. "We’re gonna make it!"

Tessa, face set in pure exhaustion, just sighed. "I hate both of you."

Gabriel’s team had already finished by the time Diane’s team stumbled onto the opposite shore.

Gabriel was there, dry, watching them like they were the most pathetic thing he had ever seen.

Evelyn was smirking again.

Diane hated that smirk.

"Welcome back to land," Gabriel said smoothly. "How was your little swim?"

Diane, still dripping, exhaled slowly. "Don’t talk to me."

Riot flopped onto the grass, completely unbothered. "I had fun."

Tessa pointed at him. "You are the problem."

The announcer clapped his hands.

"And that concludes the first challenge! Congratulations to our top teams—and a special mention to Team Diane for their tenacity!"

More laughter.

Diane was never going to live this down.

Gabriel smirked. "Hopeless."

Diane looked at him, eyes narrowed immediately.

She’d remember this.

She’d make sure Gabriel regretted ever underestimating her.

This wasn’t over.

As Diane squeezed the water out of her clothes, she could feel Gabriel’s smirk burning into the side of her face.

She gritted her teeth, pretending he didn’t exist.

Riot, lying flat on the grass, sighed contentedly.

"Well, we didn’t die. I consider that a win."

Tessa’s mouth frowned. "I almost drowned. That was not a win."

Diane exhaled, glancing at the scoreboard.

Unsurprisingly, her team was dead last.

Gabriel and Evelyn’s team, however, sat comfortably in second place.

Evelyn stretched her arms, clearly pleased. "Well, that was fun. Let’s try to keep up next time, Diane."

Diane’s fingers twitched. ’One punch. Just one.’

Before she could respond, the announcer called for a break before the next challenge.

Teams scattered to their tents, preparing for whatever fresh hell awaited them next.

Gabriel, however, walked near the trees.

He hadn’t meant to stop. But then he heard it—

Evelyn, just a few feet away, speaking in hushed tones.

"I don’t care, Adrian," she whispered into her phone. "The plan is still on. Just be ready when I give the signal."

Gabriel’s smirk faded.

He didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. Evelyn hadn’t noticed him.

But now, he knew he was right before about her plans.

"We will see how hard you try..."