Chapter 201 – The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion

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In no time, Harvey was wheeled into the operating room. Christopher and Danika sat on the bench outside the room, where she explained to him, “I know you trust me, but we doctors have to follow the scope of practice. I can’t perform surgery at this hospital. Besides, there are a lot of doctors who are more skilled than me in Bardoff City. I believe they can save your grandpa.”

Danika never thought of herself as the best doctor in the world. Even though a cerebral hemorrhage sounded vicious, it would not pose a great risk to the patient if treated on time.

Christopher hung his head. He understood everything that Danika had explained to him, but he couldn’t stop worrying.

While they were waiting in silence, a family in a Bardoff City castle was discussing Danika.

“Dad, Mom, did you know that Christopher brought home a woman today?” A young lady beamed as she shared the gossip with her parents.

The woman who sat at the head of the table raised her brows, looking interested and surprised.” Oh? What kind of woman is she? I thought people said that Christopher wasn’t interested in women.”

She was Rowena Glass, the matriarch of the Zellweger family. Seated beside her was the head of the Zellweger family, Graham Zellweger. The young lady they spoke to was their only daughter, Jolene.

“I heard she’s from a small city, and I bet she’s not up to the standard. Christopher’s parents are probably strongly against that woman. Who knows? They might be in a huge fight right now.” Jolene was not close to Christopher in the first place. They were acquaintances that brushed shoulders a few times at events. In Jolene’s eyes, the successor of the second-tier Spade family was not worthy of friendship. Still, that would not stop her from spreading gossip.

“That kid is too naive. He can’t possibly expect to make his own decisions on marriage when he’s born to an influential family.” Rowena dropped a casual remark as she stole a glance at Graham. He merely ate his breakfast and ignored the two women as though they were invisible.

An excited Jolene didn’t notice the awkward tension between her parents and said, “I heard that woman once saved Harvey Spade. That’s why Christopher treated her differently.”

“Saving Harvey Spade? I bet it was a calculated encounter. She might have made the move just to get closer to Christopher. Poor kid thought she was a savior.”

Rowena’s comment sounded jarring to Graham. He finally placed his cutlery on the table and shot her an icy look. “Why? You want to pick a fight early in the morning?”

Her shock quickly turned into anger. “Why? Did I hit you where it hurts? And did that ruin your appetite?”

“You’re impossible!” He stood and left the dining room, presumably heading to the office. He felt frustrated whenever she was around.

Rowena was unconcerned by his outburst. At the end of the day, he married her over that bitch, who was nothing but ashes by now.

Dumbfounded, Jolene stared at her with a hint of displeasure. “Mom, why do you always provoke him?”

“You won’t understand. It’s complicated between your dad and me.” Rowena treated her daughter better.

Indeed, Jolene was unaware of the history between her parents. Even since she could remember, the two never had a meal in peace.

Sighing, she advised Rowena, “I know you’re not over the fact that Dad was once into another woman. But she’s dead now, and he married you at the end. Do you still need to fight with him over it? Is that what you want for the rest of your life with him? Aren’t you tired?”

It was hard for Jolene to understand her mom, and she believed it would be best to let bygones be bygones.

Unfortunately, Rowena didn’t share the same opinion. “Tired?” She chuckled. “How would I be tired? Fighting with him is what keeps me going in this life.”

Given how he had treated her in the past, Graham’s pain was her happiness. How would she feel tired? In fact, it was exhilarating.

Harvey’s surgery lasted for a full five hours before it came to an end. Thankfully, Harvey survived the ordeal, but he was in a coma indefinitely. In simple words, he could well fall into a vegetative state.

It was a huge blow to Christopher, who found it difficult to accept that his energetic grandfather had fallen into a coma in a day.

Standing by his side, Danika looked at Harvey in the ICU with complicated emotions, and she was somehow riddled with guilt. Had she not visited, she would not have caused a misunderstanding for Ben and Evelyn, and Harvey might not have ended up in this condition.

Feeling sorry, she apologized, “I’m sorry. I…”

“It’s not your fault.” Christopher had calmed down by now. He was not an unreasonable man.

“Mr. Spade will wake up soon,” she said to him out of courtesy, even though the words might not bring him any comfort.

“Mm.” He left the ICU entrance and headed for the hospital exit.

She followed closely behind him with concern. “Where are you going?”

“To make them pay.” Filled with spite, he clenched his jaw tight.

Danika was worried but didn’t know how to talk him out of it. Perhaps, stopping him from releasing his emotions might be more damaging.

Christopher paused and turned to her with slight embarrassment. “I’m afraid Grandpa couldn’t tell you the truth given his condition. What do you plan to do now?”

“It’s fine. I came to Bardoff City to run some errands for the Zelliots anyway. I’ll scout an office location for their company. As for other matters…”

After giving it some thought, she added with a smile, “Let’s discuss them later. Maybe it’s a blessing to be kept in the dark.”

It was a pity that she couldn’t get her answers from Harvey, but since she couldn’t change the situation, she’d rather accept the reality.

“Okay. Shall I send you back to the hotel?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s fine! Do what you have to do. You’ll have a lot to deal with. There might be fights in the family after Mr. Spade’s hospitalization. You don’t need to worry about me for now. I can look after myself.”

Christopher seemed to have grown up overnight. He was sensible enough not to insist and said,” Sure, I’ll get going. Call me if you need anything.”

“Okay.” She nodded and watched as he left.

When his car was out of sight, she let out a deep sigh and took a last glance at the hospital. Since Christopher had posted some staff at the hospital, she wouldn’t need to take care of anything there. She decided to get started on her mission to help the Zelliots. With that in mind, she hailed a cab and left.

At Bardoff Airport, Eustace listened to Vincent’s updates while leaving the terminal. When they hopped into the car outside the airport, Vincent managed to reconnect to the internet and gasped, “Oh no! Harvey Spade is in hospital.”

Hearing that, Eustace grabbed the tablet from Vincent and carefully scrolled through the news. A moment later, he put on a grave and cold expression. “Call her and ask her where she is.

Vincent had an idea after he took out his phone. “Mr. Quincey, why don’t you make the call yourself?”

Eustace responded with a murderous glare, and Vincent promptly dialed Danika’s number without. further questions. “I’ll call her!”

Alas, Danika missed the calls because she was busy discussing details of office rental in Bardoff City.

“She didn’t pick up…” Vincent reported feebly as he braced for a storm.

Contrary to his anticipation, Eustace sighed gently and said, “Let’s get to the hotel for now.”

Graham returned to Zellweger Castle at night after his work engagements. Rowena and Jolene were in the living room, and Jolene quickly went up to support him. “Dad, why did you get drunk again?”

“I’m alright.” He waved at her, and she helped him to sit on the sofa.

She poured him a glass of water and massaged his shoulders. “Dad, I’ve told you not to overwork yourself. Mom and I would feel bad.” Jolene heard Rowena scoffing and quickly glared at her so that she’d shut up in case the situation ended in fights like before.

Graham was patient around his daughter. “Yeah. I’ll take note of it next time.”

Jolene mumbled unhappily to herself. Seeing that, Graham changed the topic and announced, Harvey Spade is in the hospital. You’should visit him someday.”

Even though he didn’t specifically address anyone, it was clear that Rowena had to take charge of the visit.

“Okay.” Rowena nodded. She had gotten wind of the news early on and would have arranged for someone to pay a visit even without Graham reminding her..

That was right; she would ask someone to pay Harvey Spade a visit on her behalf. As the matriarch of one of the Ten Elites in Bardoff City, she thought it was beneath her to personally attend to matters concerning second-class families.

“I was discussing this with Mom!” Jolene perked up. A day was sufficient for her to collect all the information. “Rumors had it that Christopher had brought the woman home, but his parents disagreed with their relationship and had an argument with Harvey Spade. Harvey Spade got too agitated and had a cerebral hemorrhage,” she rattled on.

Graham had no idea about the specifics of the incident, nor was he interested. He only knew that many were ready to attack the Spades after the hospitalization of its patriarch, and he wondered if Christopher could withstand the pressure.

“I heard her name is Danika Zellweger. We share the same surname. What bad luck!” Jolene had no regard for those from smaller cities than Bardoff, and it bothered her that Danika was a Zellweger too. In her eyes, her family name was far superior. She was raised as the proud daughter of one of the Ten Elites in Bardoff, and she couldn’t stand the fact that she would share a surname with someone beneath her. Before Graham got home, she had been discussing with Rowena if they should ask Danika Zellweger to change her surname.

Still, she was smart enough not to bring up the issue in front of Graham, for he hated any abuse of power.

Graham froze in shock when he heard Danika’s name, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “What was her name again?”

“Danika Zellweger. What’s wrong, Dad?” Jolene stared at him, puzzled by his unnecessary question.

He shook his head and said, “Nothing. I think it’s fate that both of us are Zellwegers.”

“It’s not fate-just bad luck,” Jolene protested, frowning.

Graham was unhappy at her comment and schooled her, “Jo, do you remember what I’ve taught you?” Jolene lowered her head and avoided his gaze. He continued, “Wealth doesn’t equal impunity. The fact is that she shares the Zellweger surname. How is that bad luck?”

He appeared upset upon thinking that Jolene had been raised wrong by her mom. He thought,” She didn’t learn the right values but was quick to absorb bad influence.”

Jolene pursed her lips, looking victimized. “Dad, how can you raise your voice at me over an outsider?”

“This has nothing to do with Danika Zellweger being an outsider. I scolded you because of your attitude,” he admonished her, but she was in no mood to listen. In her mind, she was wronged when her dad scolded her over an outsider, and she instantly held a grudge against Danika Zellweger, whom she had never met.

“What’s this? How could Dad scold me for a woman from a small city? That woman is trouble!”

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