Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
She stood frozen at the door as she listened to the loud thumping of her heart, a sensation she had never experienced before. “But why? I don’t get it.” She never understood why he fell hard for her, to the point of giving up his life just to save her. It was puzzling.
He thought it normal and explained, “You’re someone I love and care about. To me, your life is more important.”
“There’s literally nothing in me that’d attract you,” she muttered.
“Well, love isn’t rational. Sometimes, you fall for someone after one look.” That happened to him with Danika.
Back in Danika’s office, she couldn’t focus on work and replayed Eustace’s words in her mind. Thankfully, she had no surgeries scheduled that day and had all the time in the world to space out.
Someone knocked on the door. Moments later, Morgan entered the office. “Dr. Zellweger, the patient named Marigold Wagner has woken up. She didn’t say a word after becoming conscious. It’s not looking good.” “Alright. I’ll check on her.” Danika stood up and forced herself to put away her thoughts about Eustace. When she left her office, she ran into Stephanie, who was running over in a hurry.
Stephanie gave her a huge hug. “What happened? I heard a huge crash before the call ended. I couldn’t reach you after that. I was so worried?”
Hugging Danika tight, Stephanie sounded like she was about to cry.
Danika was touched by Stephanie’s concern. “Don’t worry. I’m okay.”
Stephanie let go of her and put on a stern look. “What happened? Tell me everything.” She clearly heard a crash that sounded like a collision on the phone, and she wouldn’t believe it if Danika had told her everything was fine.
Danika didn’t plan to lie to her. While walking to Marigold’s room, she recounted details from the accident. Stephanie felt her heart leaping into her throat when she heard how Marigold wanted to crash her car into Danika, but she felt much relieved after hearing that Eustace had saved Danika by ramming his car into Marigold’s.
They arrived at Marigold’s door right as Danika wrapped up the story. Fuming, Stephanie was about to barge into the room and fight Marigold, but Danika held her back. “She’s still in recovery. We should probably leave her to the police. Don’t worry. She can’t run from what she did.”
After all, she had filed a police report, and there was evidence from the surveillance camera on the street. She believed that Marigold wouldn’t be easily forgiven for the car crash, and she had no intention of offering forgiveness, even though she was safe and sound. At the end of the day, Eustace was injured while saving her. No matter what, she insisted that Marigold pay the price for the crazy act.
“I’m just angry! Is she a madwoman? How could she run you over with her car? No wonder Gilbert doesn’t like her at all.” Stephanie learned from Danika the reason behind Marigold’s hatred. Danika had thought that Marigold simply disliked her, not knowing that the girl would go to such an extreme to harm her.
Danika didn’t comment on Stephanie’s remark, but she agreed that it’d be better for Gilbert not to fall for Marigold, who was a tad too radical. The two would not be happy if they were in a relationship.
In the room, Marigold was staring at the space with a vacant look. Still, her eyes immediately flared with resentment upon seeing Danika, and she hissed, “You’re lucky to be alive, given the circumstances.”
At the moment when the brakes failed, Marigold had expected Danika to die from the crash. Even though she never planned to take Danika’s life, she wouldn’t mind Danika dying too.
“You should say that about yourself,” Danika smirked as she looked at Marigold’s bandaged head. Marigold glared at her viciously, but she suddenly thought of Eustace and blurted out, “Where’s Eustace?”
“Eustace Quincey? Don’t worry. He’s fine,” Danika replied. “Never thought you’d care about him.”
“He’s Paul’s good friend. That’s why I worry about him,” Marigold glared at her again and gritted her teeth. “I honestly do not know how you seduce Eustace. Why would he show up and save you?”
Danika shrugged wearily and smiled. “I don’t know why he saved me, just like I couldn’t understand your intention to kill me.”
“I never wanted to kill you,” Marigold mumbled in a hushed voice. “You were simply unlucky.”
She attributed the malfunctioning brakes to Danika’s bad luck.
“You never wanted to kill Danika? Stop lying, you murderer!” Stephanie couldn’t hold back and stood up to retort
Marigold gave her a side eye and snickered, “And you are Paul’s kept woman. Am I right? He really has no taste.”
Stephanie’s temper flared, and she almost charged at Marigold. “Who’s his kept woman again? You’d better watch your mouth. Since when did I ask him to pay for anything?” She had never taken advantage of Paul Wagner when she was dating him. However, the Wagners had the audacity to characterize her as a bloodsucker. How despicable!
Thankfully, Danika held Stephanie back just in time; she didn’t doubt for a second that Stephanie might get physical on Marigold.
“Steph!” Danika chided her. “Calm down. She’s not worth it.”
Stephanie bit her lips and almost cried. “You’re right. A murderer like her deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison.”
“Who are you accusing of being a murderer? I’m warning you to watch your mouth. I lost control of the car -that’s all.” Marigold wasn’t a fool. She adamantly denied her involvement in the planned act, considering that there was no evidence pointing at her and that Danika was safe.
Stephanie became livid at Marigold’s denial. “Danika, don’t stop me. I’ll beat her up today.”
She thought, “The Wagners are annoying. First, there was Paul. Marigold was the same too.”
“Steph,” Danika called out to Stephanie and shook her head. Stephanie was indignant but was surprised to find Danika staring calmly at Marigold despite her denial.
“Do you think you could run from justice by denial? Marigold Wagner, who do you think I am? I’ve checked all the surveillance footage. Any sane person could tell that it was premeditated murder. Do you think you’ll be fine because your family will back you up?” She flashed a chilling smile that sent a shiver down Marigold’s spine.
Marigold questioned, “W-What do you mean?”
“Do you want to guess how much Paul will pay for his sister? Is he willing to give up the family’s reputation to protect you?” She smiled at Marigold, who was quiet but pale. She went on, “Once I release the footage online, your family will have to get ready for the backlash if they want to protect you. Are you sure that Paul will make that huge sacrifice for you? Plus, the Wagners has been undergoing an image change because it wants to part ways with its ugly history. Do you think Paul will defend you in this case? I bet he’d rather give up on you to show his dedication to protecting the family’s reputation.”
Marigold trembled from head to toe after hearing Danika’s analysis, thinking she was scarier than Paul. Gritting her teeth, she finally muttered, “What do you want?”
“Nothing. I just want you to pay the price.” Danika chuckled softly and decided to leave with Stephanie. Before they reached the door, they saw Paul pushing the door open and entering.
He was momentarily caught off guard by their presence but soon gathered himself. “Give me an offer. What can I do for you to let this slip?” He believed nothing was impossible as long as he offered a matching incentive.
“You’re Marigold’s family, indeed.” Danika chuckled in disdain. She had never held any judgment against Paul, but after seeing how he treated Stephanie and his determination to protect Marigold, she started harboring a dislike for him.