Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
Danika was the one who had goosebumps over the uneasy exchange. She remarked, “Miss Dickman, we’re not that close. Why don’t you go with ‘Miss Zellweger’?”
“Danika, we’ve known each other for a long time. How could you say that we’re not close?” Yvonne glanced at her without any hint of budging.
Danika was dumbfounded by her behavior but couldn’t do anything about it. She couldn’t possibly tape up Yvonne’s mouth, so she turned around and stared out of the window, pretending that Yvonne wasn’t there. Eustace’s attitude was no better than hers. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing much! We happened to run into you here. Sam told me that we should come up and say hi. That’s why we’re here,” Yvonne explained while nudging Sam.
At that moment, Sam was in distress but was forced to look at Eustace. “It’s not often that I run into you, Mr. Quincey. It’d be impolite not to greet you. But don’t worry! Yvonne and I won’t take up much of your time. We’ll just say hi and leave.”
Although the Blooms were influential in Parrington, they were no match for the Quinceys. Therefore, Eustace didn’t need to go out of the way to please Sam.
“Okay. Are you done?” Eustace asked.
“Huh?” Sam was taken aback by the abrupt question but soon gathered himself. “Yeah, we are. We’re leaving now.”
“Eustace…” Yvonne wanted to say something more, but Sam pulled her away.
After the Bloom couple left, Danika finally felt more at ease. She poked fun at Eustace, “I never thought Yvonne would still be interested in you. Look at her-she’s married to Sam Bloom but insisted on coming over.”
“That’s her problem. I have no interest in her at all,” Eustace tried to clear the air as he worried that Danika might take it the wrong way. She chuckled and thought, “I’m not that unreasonable.”
Meanwhile, Yvonne put on a sour face after Sam dragged her away, and she hissed, “Useless trash!”
“Yvonne…” Sam was upset. “I know you love Eustace, and that’s why you hate Danika. But you’re now married to me. I have never hoped you’d fall for me, but I wish you could put Eustace behind. You could tell that he isn’t into you.”
He wouldn’t have to put up with the humiliation if he weren’t in love with Yvonne. Sadly, his genuine words meant nothing to her. “I don’t need you to butt into my business, And why do you think I’m into him just because I went up to say hi? I was hoping that you could foster a good relationship with him. Then, we could use our relationship with him to eventually take over the Bloom Conglomerate. Got it?”
She wasn’t lying, for that was her plan all along. However, she obviously had other motives when she approached Eustace.
Sam was naive and took Yvonne’s words seriously. Feeling that he had wronged her somehow, he apologized, “Sorry, Yvonne. I was…”
“Whatever. You probably don’t love me anyway.” She smirked and put on a pitiful look that almost broke his heart.
He quickly pulled her into a comforting hug. “Of course I love you. No one loves you more than I do.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Well, if so, I want to be a shareholder of the Bloom Conglomerate. Why don’t you give me some of yours? * she suggested, causing him to hesitate. During his deliberation, he heard her complaining, “See! You’re not willing to even give your shares to me. How could you claim that you love me? You’re a liar!”
“I will give you my shares,” he hurriedly agreed to her request to cheer her up.
Hearing that, she beamed at him and gave him a peck at the corner of his lips while holding back her disgust. “Okay! You promised! No taking it back.”
“No, of course, I won’t take it back!” Sam was overjoyed. Even if Yvonne wanted his life, he would probably give it to her without hesitation. Little did he know that his seemingly minor decision that day. would ring the death knell of the Bloom Family.
Danika received a call from Gilbert one week after their last meeting. He informed her that he would go abroad for some time.
She had thought that Gilbert would let go of his feelings after that night and that they could face each other like usual after a cooldown period as if nothing had happened. When she learned he was going abroad, she immediately understood that he had failed to let go of her. He wouldn’t have come to such a drastic decision otherwise.
At Gilbert’s villa, Danika stared at him while he was busy cooking in the kitchen. She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.
Zack walked up and gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. They went to the living room, where she whispered in disbelief, “Does he really have to leave the country?”
*Danika, you know the issue here is not about going abroad. He’s just seeking a temporary escape.” Zack glanced at Gilbert and sighed helplessly. He seemed to have read her mind and added, “I thought he’d let it go.”
“Me too. But now I understand that letting go is hard for him.”
Zack had long given up on advising Gilbert. If Gilbert wanted to escape from the matter at hand, he would let him be. “From what I know about you, I know you’ll never accept his feelings. So, you should let him go and stop advising him against it.”
They knew that Gilbert wouldn’t listen anyway.
Feeling upset, she had tears in her eyes. “I never thought we’d reach this point one day.” She had envisioned the three of them to be loving siblings forever.
“Don’t worry. When Gilbert returns, things will go back to how they were.” Zack could only hope for everything to be back to norma! when Gilbert returned. Danika nodded with a heavy heart.
Soon, Gilbert emerged from the kitchen and smiled at them. “Help me out over here.”
“Sure.” They nodded at him and exchanged glances with each other before heading to the kitchen.
It was a pleasant meal, or at least it seemed so. Beneath the facade, everyone was occupied with thoughts they’d rather not share for fear of causing worry to the others.
After the meal, Danika lifted her gaze and asked, “Gilbert, when are you leaving?”
“I’m leaving tomorrow. I have made arrangements for company matters,” Gilbert answered with a smile. She frowned. “Tomorrow? Why the rush?”
“I’ve been planning for this for a long time,” he said. “Don’t worry. I just think that the company’s business overseas is underperforming. I’ll take this chance to develop the business abroad and expand the company.”
“Oh,” she responded, but she didn’t believe a word from him.
“When I’m not around, ask Zack for help if you need anything. He’s capable of helping you out now,” Gilbert reminded her, as he still felt worried about leaving her alone.