Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
The cameras followed them, and the reporters kept snapping photos of them. However, Marigold was a little camera-shy. She had not been to such an occasion for a very long time.
In the next second, Gilbert pulled her into his arms. Marigold’s heart could not stop pounding as his unique woody scent enveloped her.
The reporters gasped. It looked like their relationship had progressed.
With Gilbert’s arm wrapped around Marigold, they entered the venue. It was packed in there, and quite a number of people looked toward them as well. However, it was not as bad outside, so Marigold was more relaxed.
Gilbert didn’t have the intention of letting her go at all. Marigold was as red as a tomato as she said, “You can let me go now.”
“Alright.” Gilbert didn’t insist. However, the sudden emptiness in his arms made him feel a little down.
Danika and Eustace were in the near distance. They had arrived very early, so they saw Gilbert and Marigold as soon as they entered. Of course, Danika and Eustace caught the interaction between Gilbert and Marigold.
Danika was beaming brightly. “When do you think my brother and Marigold would be an item?”
Eustace, who was next to her, was not interested in that at all. However, since Danika asked him, he would not reject her. “Probably very soon.”
He had seen the way Gilbert looked at Marigold. Eustace was a man himself, so he saw it even clearer. He was very happy to see this result. After all, Gilbert used to like Danika. Eustace was worried that Gilbert would still have Danika on his mind. However, it seemed like Gilbert had already fallen in love with another woman, and that was good news to him.
Danika had no clue Eustace was thinking about that. When she heard his reply, she kept nodding her head. “I also feel they will be together very soon.”
Gilbert and Marigold (42)
The party started very soon. It was only at that moment that Marigold realized it was a charity gala. They were auctioning items donated by the guests to raise funds for the people in a remote area. She didn’t mind too much about these. After all, she was only there as Gilbert’s date that night. The event had nothing much to do with her.
“You socialize, and I’ll find a place to sit.” She didn’t plan to stick to Gilbert the whole time. After all, she knew very well that events like these are meant for socializing.
Gilbert didn’t decline. “Alright. Call me if you need me.”
“Mmhmm,” Marigold nodded. After Gilbert found a spot for Marigold to sit, he turned and walked toward the crowd. He then started to chat with the guests attending the gala.
Marigold held a glass of juice and ate the finger food in front of her leisurely. She felt it was not too bad. She could just take it that she was here for the free food. However, she clearly underestimated a gala like this.
As Bardoff City’s new tycoon, quite a number of people had been eyeing Gilbert as soon as he set foot in the gala venue. He already had a child at that moment, but he was still unmarried. It would not be easy to be a stepmother, but plenty of people would still be willing if the man was Gilbert.
They knew that other than the child, the biggest obstacle stopping them from being with Gilbert was Marigold. After all, she was always by Gilbert’s side. It was only natural that they could not stand her.
Therefore, seeing that Gilbert had walked away, a few people approached Marigold and sat on the couch next to her. As soon as they sat down, Marigold could tell they bore ill will in the way they looked at her.
“I heard that you’re from Parrington, Miss Wagner,” a woman said. She looked attractive and was more than enough to match Gilbert in terms of appearance and family background. However, Gilbert didn’t give her any chance at all.
She had always been an it-girl, so of course, she could not accept Gilbert’s rejection. However, she would not cause trouble for him. Instead, she locked her target on Marigold.
In her opinion, the reason Gilbert rejected her advancement was simply that he had fallen for someone else, and the person might have been Marigold. She had heard that Gilbert had rejected Marigold before, but who could know what actually was going on? In any case, it was Marigold who gave birth to Gilbert’s child and was staying with him. Who could accept that?
Marigold didn’t know the women who approached her. However, she figured that people who attended the gala were not common folks. She didn’t wish to cause any trouble for Gilbert, so she nodded and said, “Yes, I am from Parrington.”
“Parrington is a small place, isn’t it? What is it like compared to Bardoff City?” Lilith Krueger added. Her eyes were clearly filled with scorn.
Before Marigold could reply, she heard Lilith’s follower say with a smile,” Lilith, are you joking? How could a small place like that be comparable to Bardoff City?”
As soon as she said that, the other women laughed with her. In their eyes, Marigold was an ugly duckling from a rural place. She was not presentable at all.
Marigold rolled her eyes at them and ignored them.
She didn’t answer them, but Lilith was provoked by her gaze. She said,” What’s the matter? Did we say anything wrong? People from rural places are just so rude. You got pregnant even before you married the man. Do you think you could tie a man down like that? What a bitch!”
Lilith wasn’t happy with Marigold, to begin with, so she certainly would not be polite to her at that moment.
Marigold initially thought of not creating trouble for Gilbert, so she didn’t mind her even though she could tell she was mocking her. Lilith was just saying a few things that were harsh to the ears. Marigold could put up with it.
However, Lilith seemed to be getting more and more overboard. Therefore, Marigold couldn’t hold it in any longer.
Gilbert and Marigold (43)
Did Lilith think she was afraid just because she remained silent?
However, it made sense from Lilith’s perspective. What did Marigold have at that moment? The Wagners absolutely would not acknowledge her as one of them. On the other hand, Gilbert did not give her a proper title either. She absolutely could not afford to offend anybody.
At the thought of that, Lilith became bolder. She looked at Marigold’s belly and sneered, “Putting aside everything else, you’re quite lucky. You got pregnant after a one-night stand. How impressive.”
Lilith looked down on Marigold, but she was truly envious of Marigold’s luck. If she could also have a child after sleeping with Gilbert, she would pluck up her courage and try, even if she had to employ a scheme.
However, she knew very well that not everybody would be this lucky.
“I’m sorry. I have something else to attend to,” Marigold said, and she was prepared to get up and leave. She truly didn’t wish to sit there any longer. Looking at Lilith and the others made her want to beat them up.
She wanted to leave, but Lilith and the others surrounded her, not giving her a chance.
“Why are you in such a hurry to leave? We’re all women here. Let’s have a chat.” Lilith gripped Marigold’s hand with a little force.
Marigold frowned. She looked down and saw that the back of her hand was reddened by Lilith’s grip. Marigold raised her hand and shook Lilith off. “We’re all women, and I know what you have in mind. If you like Gilbert, go after him yourself. What’s the point of directing your anger at me?”
Marigold felt that it was truly unfair. If she were together with Gilbert, she could still endure Lilith treating her like that. However, Marigold had nothing to do with Gilbert at all. Was it not a little too much for Lilith to lash out at her?
“Of course, I’ll go after him myself. However, before that, if you’re sensible, you should disappear from Gilbert’s world.” With Marigold by Gilbert’s side, the other women had no chance to approach him at all.
Marigold could not help but laugh when she heard that. “You don’t have what it takes but want me to disappear instead? On what grounds? Who do you think you are?”
Marigold wasn’t polite at all. At that point, she felt they would think she was weak and easily bullied if she continued to be polite. She didn’t have a good temper either. It was just that her child had been sick in the past few days that her temper was slightly calmed. However, that didn’t mean she would not be infuriated again.
“What did you say?” Lilith was worked up. She immediately stood up and came to Marigold.
Both the women were going head to head with each other. Lilith had the upper ground in terms of height, but Marigold was clearly more fierce.
“Am I wrong?” Marigold asked in return with a smile. That smile was filled with mockery in Lilith’s eyes.
How could Lilith stand such grievance? She raised her hand and slapped Marigold.
However, Marigold was not a fool either. She turned to the side and dodged her slap. “What’s the matter? You can’t win the argument, so you’re going to hit me? What a loser!”
Lilith was so infuriated that she was at a loss for words. Then, she said, “All of you, grab her! I’ll let her face the consequences of having a wicked tongue today!”
The few women next to Lilith immediately walked toward Marigold. They were all licking Lilith’s boots, so they wouldn’t dare to reject her request.
Besides, they were just dealing with a nobody like Marigold. They had nothing to be afraid of, to begin with.
Marigold really didn’t expect Lilith would be so crazy. How daring of her to do this when they were attending a gala.
“I advise you to calm down. Are you sure you can resolve the matter by making a scene?” Marigold asked while retreating.
However, Lilith didn’t care at all. She instantly burst out laughing when she heard what Marigold said. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid now? Listen to me. It’s too late! Go! Rip her tongue out!”
Gilbert and Marigold (44)
Marigold felt she had miscalculated it a little. They had more people, so she would not be their match. Perhaps she was lucky. She saw Danika walking over at that moment and called out to her.
Danika heard her, but she did not have the intention to come and help her at all. Marigold was absolutely confused.
Lilith saw Danika as well. She originally thought Danika would come and help Marigold, and she got worried a little. After all, she could not afford to offend the Zellwegers.
However, Danika didn’t come over. She even looked like she did not know Marigold at all and just walked straight off. Lilith burst out laughing when she saw that.
“You can’t really think Danika would be friends with you, right? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror? Are you even worthy?” Lilith mocked her and walked up to her. She grabbed Marigold’s collar and sneered. “How does it feel like to have no one helping you? Is it very hopeless?”
Marigold looked at her but said nothing.
Danika was secretly keeping a close look on Marigold in a near distance. It was a critical juncture at that moment. If nobody else helped her, she would not be able to hold herself back anymore.
‘Are you not going over to help?” Eustace noticed Danika was looking at something, so he looked in that direction as well. Then, he was a little surprised. Logically speaking, Danika would not just sit idly by.
Danika chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Eustace. “Someone is already going over. Of course, I have to give the chance to rescue the damsel in distress to someone who needs it.”
She obviously had no issues going over to help. However, she certainly had to leave it to a more suitable person to do the job. At that moment, the said person was already heading over.
Right when Lilith was about to slap Marigold, Gilbert arrived in time. He grabbed Lilith’s wrist and shook her hand away aggressively. “What are you doing?”
The other women were a little scared when Gilbert suddenly appeared. Taking advantage of the fact that he was only hostile toward Lilith at that moment, the rest of them quickly slipped away. They didn’t dare to go against Gilbert.
Lilith saw the coldness in Gilbert’s eyes, and she knew he had no feelings for her at all. It was inevitable that she felt a little hurt.
However, Gilbert didn’t care if she was hurt at all. He glanced at her coldly before walking to Marigold. Suddenly, his gaze changed, and he looked worried. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Marigold nodded. It was fortunate that Gilbert came in time.
“You should have notified me as soon as you were in trouble.” Who knew what would happen if he had arrived a little later?
Marigold knew what she was doing. She saw Danika smiling at her in the near distance and knew even if Gilbert did not appear, Danika would come over. Of course, she would not tell him that.
She leaned against Gilbert, looking slightly frightened. Then she said, “I didn’t expect she would do this.”
Seeing her scared, Gilbert felt even more heartbroken. He immediately hugged her and looked indifferent at Lilith. “Are the Kruegers the ones calling the shots in Bardoff City now?”
“She provoked me first!’ Lilith could not accept defeat, especially when she saw Marigold acting weak next to Gilbert. She desperately wanted to tear her mask off.
Gilbert didn’t care about what she said. He just looked coldly at her. “You’d better apologize now. Otherwise, I have no idea what I might do.”
“Apologize? I am not the one at fault, so why should I apologize?” Lilith already refused to admit defeat, to begin with. At that moment, Gilbert even wanted her to apologize to Marigold. How could that be possible? He could dream on.