Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“You’ve sabotaged me, Paul,” he murmured. Until now, he hadn’t found a way to let Danika forgive him.
At the same time, Marigold Wagner was drinking at a bar because she hadn’t been able to invite Gilbert out. As the Wagners’ daughter, she knew that her family was complicated, but she didn’t quite know why until she met Gilbert.
Although she was raised in the Wagners, she was nothing like them. She was shocked to hear about the things that Paul had done, yet she didn’t have the courage to ask. She felt alarmed, but she didn’t know what to do.
Not far off, Yvonne downed her drink in one shot. Then, she put it down and walked toward Marigold.
Marigold took no notice. She drank because she wanted to drown her sorrows.
“Do you know who Gilbert has a crush on?” Yvonne’s voice floated into Marigold’s ear. Gilbert’s name drew her attention, and the question stunned her.
“Are you talking to me?” Marigold looked at the person next to her. She vaguely remembered Yvonne, having seen her on the news a few times before.
“What’s her name…” Marigold wondered silently. “Yvonne? Yeah, that’s it.”
Yvonne nodded. “Yes. I’m talking to you.”
“What are you trying to say?” Although Marigold didn’t care about what happened in the Wagners, her gut instincts told her that this woman had no good intentions.
“I think you’re hurt because you don’t know why Gilbert rejects you.” Yvonne smiled lightly, looking as if she cared for Marigold.
Marigold frowned. “You said Gilbert liked someone.”
“Yes. In fact, you know her.” Yvonne was just waiting for Marigold to take the bait. She couldn’t do anything to Danika now, but that didn’t mean everyone else couldn’t.
Marigold’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s impossible. There’s no one by his side, and he’s said before that he doesn’t like anyone.”
“It’s not that he doesn’t like anyone. He can’t let her or anyone knows that he likes her.” There was a hint of mockery in her smile. Marigold was even more bewildered by her words. She stared at her, waiting for her to continue. “There is actually a woman by his side. You just haven’t considered thinking of them that way.” Yvonne was dropping a hint, not saying Danika’s name out loud. She believed that Marigold was smart enough to put two and two together.
As expected, after a moment of silence, Marigold’s eyes grew wide. “Danika? How can that be? They’re siblings…”
“They’re not biological siblings. I believe you can find this out.” Their family names were enough for anyone to make an educated guess.
Marigold was silent. She was still in disbelief. “Even if they’re not biological siblings, they’re still adoptive siblings. How could Gilbert like her?”
“Why not? Why do you think no other woman has appeared by his side? That’s because he has a crush on Danika, so he doesn’t want any other.” Yvonne was making things up. She wanted Marigold to hate Danika as she did.
Marigold didn’t take the bait. She was quiet for a while and then accepted it as it was. “Even if Gilbert likes Danika, they can’t be together. I’ll just have to wait. I’ll be with him one day.”
Yvonne seemed dazed by her words. She’d spoken so much, yet Marigold’s reaction was less than she had expected. Weren’t the Wagners a bunch of devils, doing things underhandedly? But this woman…
She didn’t give up and continued, “Do you think it’s a one-sided love?”
“Isn’t that so? Could Danika like him back?” Marigold couldn’t believe it.
“Of course Danika doesn’t like him back. But that doesn’t mean she’d reject him,” Yvonne said, making the implications clear.
Marigold seemed to understand now. Her face shifted at once. “Is she stringing him along?”
“What do you think? Why would Gilbert persist in his crush if he hadn’t seen a glimmer of hope somewhere?”
This time, Marigold didn’t retort. She thought it was likely as well. Gilbert was such a brilliant man. Many women liked him, but how could he keep liking Danika if she didn’t even like him back?
At the thought of this, Marigold began to hate Danika.
Danika raised her glass in the restaurant to toast the woman in front of her. “Thanks for agreeing to see me, Jade.”
“You don’t have to be so polite with me, Danika. I’ve said before that I can help you whenever you need it.” Jade Weston raised her glass and clinked it against Danika’s.
“I know, but I was afraid I’d be bothering you. You were going into hiding…”
“That was such a long time ago. Maybe no one even remembers me. You’re worrying too much.” Jade smiled, reminiscing her past. It couldn’t haunt her now.
Hearing Jade’s reassurance, Danika’s concerns dissipated slightly. She told Jade about the company and said, “I hope you’ll come help manage this company, Jade. After all, you were once in this industry.”
“It’s no big deal. I can do it.” Jade nodded. Managing a company was her bread and butter. “However, it’s a design company. It prioritizes designing. You can count on me for the business part of things, but design, on the other hand…”
Danika looked at her, widening her eyes innocently, making Jade’s heart drop. Danika’s smile was bright.” Designing is what you do best, Jade.”
“But… I haven’t designed anything in a very long time.” Jade was hesitant. The things that had happened before had made her swear off designing, and now…
Danika could see her hesitation and held her hand. “Jade, we can never escape the past. But the best way to deal with it is to defeat it.” She knew more or less what had happened, but she hadn’t told anyone of this. She didn’t want Jade to live in the past anymore.
“Danika…”
“It’s alright, Jade. Just help me manage the company for now, and I’ll handle the designs. Don’t forget that I’m your only mentee!” Danika said with a chuckle. No one was forcing Jade into anything now.
Jade said nothing more. “Alright. From a design perspective, you’re far better than I am. You possess more creativity.”
“Don’t flatter me, Jade. I’m embarrassed.” Danika pretended to blush, and Jade rolled her eyes.
“Quit with the antics. I don’t fall for that.”
They talked and laughed merrily. Outside the restaurant, Max chattered away, his voice grinding on Eustace’s ears.
“Hey, are you listening to me, Eustace? The plan must go exactly as I want, or I won’t let go of her so easily. When that happens…” He followed Eustace’s gaze toward the restaurant, spotting Danika and Jade at once. A smile appeared on his lips as he realized what Eustace was looking at now and smacked him, saying, “Isn’t that Danika? Why, are you sad that she didn’t invite you out for dinner?”
Eustace rolled his eyes in response.
Max smiled happily and pretended to walk into the restaurant. “Since we’re here, we should go in.”
“Get back here!” Eustace called to him. He hadn’t thought of how to make Danika forgive him, so he couldn’t very well appear in front of her now.
Max was not one to listen to Eustace. In the blink of an eye, he was already in the restaurant. Eustace had no choice but to follow him in.
Max’s appearance stunned both Danika and Jade. They were in the middle of a conversation.
“Is this a friend of yours, Danika? Could you introduce us?” Max said shamelessly, as if he had drunk liquid courage before sauntering in.
Danika rolled her eyes at the pickup line. “Mr. Pearson, I don’t mind if you want to flirt around with women, but please stay away from my friends.”
“Don’t be so heartless, Danika. We’re friends, too.” Max sat down in front of Jade and smiled. “Hi. I’m Danika’s friend, Max Pearson.”
Danika was speechless. Compared to her, Jade seemed much calmer. Little boys like him always amused her. “Hello. I’m Jade Weston. You may call me Miss Jade.”