Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
Christopher was taken aback by the information. The Spades might have appeared influential to the other families in Parrington, but they were at most a second-class in the high society of the wealthy Bardoff City. They were beneath the first-class elites, who were one class below the Ten Elites of Bardoff City. The ten elite families were at the top of the hierarchy and whom he would never have the privilege to meet.
He was shocked when Harvey proclaimed their family could be one of the Ten Elites if he married Danika. How is that possible?” he wondered. “Grandpa, about Danika Zellweger…”
‘Don’t ask questions. You only have the right to ask questions once you’re dating her. Your questions would be meaningless otherwise.” Harvey waved at him and refused to reveal more.
Even the information he held was courtesy of the old Quincey guy from Parrington-he had a favor to ask and leaked Danika Zellweger’s identity in exchange for help. Harvey would have never learned about
Danika’s background if it hadn’t been for that guy. Armed with that information, he wouldn’t give up on the one chance at becoming one of the Ten Elites.
Christopher fell into a long silence. He seemed to be deliberating over the idea of giving up love for al chance at becoming a member of the Ten Elites. His hesitation didn’t last long, and he came to his final decision.
“Love? Happiness? Those are bullshit compared to the attractive idea of becoming one of the Ten Elites of Bardoff City,” he thought.
A week later, Eustace was finally discharged.
He looked at the woman beside him in the car. “Have you checked the file I sent you yesterday-the one on the adoptive family?”
Danika nodded and handed him a tablet. “I dug deeper into their background based on your information. For now, the couple seems nice and checks my boxes.”
Eustace had found an adoptive family in Parrington for Justin and Lillian. The family was not wealthy by his standards, but they were upper middle class and got by comfortably. Raising two kids should be easy for them. Most importantly, the couple was loving but couldn’t have children, and thus they were searching for kids to adopt. Danika believed that Justin and Lilian would be treated well in that family.
“Let’s seal the deal then. Should we set up a time and get the kids to meet with the couple?” Eustace asked.
“Sure.” Danika wanted to get it settled as soon as possible too. “I’ll need to pick the kids up at Orchid Village.”
“Can I go with you?” Eustace was curious about the village Danika had grown up in.
She tilted her head as though she could read his mind. “Are you sure? That village is nothing like Parrington. I’m worried that you might struggle to adapt to life there. Regardless of how well-built the infrastructure was at Orchid Village, it would pose a challenge for a man like Eustace, who had lived his whole life in the city.
“You underestimated my ability.” He chuckled, wondering if he appeared weak in her eyes.
“Oh, okay. If you want to go, let’s go together tomorrow.” She didn’t say much since she also wished for Eustace to visit her hometown. The villagers were like her relatives, and it was about time she paid them a visit.
He was happy to get her green light. In his head, her lack of objection suggested she approved of him. After all, the visit would mean a lot, as it was her hometown.
Eustace parked the car at Perry Residence and got out with Danika. Not long after, a man jumped out and stopped them in their tracks. Danika was caught off guard, and before she knew it, Eustace had stood in front. of her, protecting her. She had to admit his swift action made her heart flutter. Staring at his back, she surprisingly found herself enjoying being around him.
“Who are you?” He stared warily at the unkempt middle-aged man and was ready to fight.
The man ignored him and glared at Danika instead. “Are you the one who asked Joey to go back to school?
Danika frowned when she realized who the man was, but he appeared very different, with stubble around his chin, compared to when she saw him at the hospital.
She collected herself and said, “I’m acting in his best interest. How could you actively stop him from returning to school when you, as his father, refused to pay for his studies?”
“And who are you to ask him to study? Now he’s in school, so who’s going to work and get me money for booze? The alcoholic father was unbelievably unremorseful, and his attitude came as a shock to Danika She never expected gratitude from Miller Little, but she always thought he would at least be glad about Joey going back to school. It appeared that she was wrong.
“If you want him back in school, no one will make money and pay for my drinks. You should be paying up in his place.” Miller extended his hand, signaling her to pay with a cocky attitude that asked for a good beating.
An angry Danika burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation. Miller Little was probably the most shameless person she had come across in her life. She couldn’t imagine how tough family life was for Joey with such an alcoholic father, and she started feeling bad for the kid.
Miller shot a threatening glare at her during her silence. “Are you paying up or not? If you don’t, I’ll make him get back to work!” Hearing that, Danika walked up to him from behind Eustace and stared at him coldly. Miller cowered underneath her stare but gritted his teeth and barked, “What can you do? You can’t beat me up, can you? Get over here. Punch me!” He pointed at his face provocatively and inched closer to her. He planned to fall to the floor and demand compensation if Danika punched him.
Danika rolled her fists and lashed out in the next second. However, instead of punching him, she grabbed him by his collar and lifted him off the ground. “I’m warning you, you’d better not cause trouble for Joey. If you do, I’ll see to it that you’re crippled for the rest of your life.” Her threat caused Miller to start feeling wobbly in the legs. She snickered at him and threw him onto the floor. “Behave yourself.”
With that, Eustace and Danika left. Miller stared at them resentfully and clenched his jaw. “Just you wait. I’ll not let this go.” Although he couldn’t enter Joey’s boarding school, he could target Danika-he believed it wasn’t hard to deal with a woman.
In the elevator, Danika was still fuming. Eustace shook his head as he watched her. “Why would you be angry at a loser like him? You don’t have to dirty your hands as well.”
“I’m just angry for Joey. He’s such a good kid, but why does he have such a terrible dad?” She was seething in anger. If Miller weren’t Joey’s dad, she would have taught him a lesson on the spot.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Joey’s school and make sure that his dad doesn’t kick up a fuss there.” The boarding school that Eustace placed Joey in was different-it was unlikely that Miller could get past the security.
Danika heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the assurance. “Great. Thank you.”
“Why thank me? It’s what I should do.” He smiled and patted her head. “If you run into jerks like him in the future, leave them to me. I don’t want you to dirty your hands.”
She froze up when he touched her head, paralyzed for a moment. Thankfully, the elevator bell chimed, and she hurried out of the space in great relief.
“It’s late. Rest early,” Danika said to Eustace from her door.
He nodded at her with an amused look. “Sure, you too. Good night.”
“Yeah. Good night.” She entered her apartment and vanished from his sight.
Danika clutched her chest in her bedroom as she realized her heart was racing uncontrollably. “What’s the matter? What’s wrong with my silly heart? Eustace didn’t say much just now, did he?” she wondered as she gently patted her cheeks, only to find them hot to the touch.
She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. After calming down, she stared at her reflection, water dripping down her face. She mumbled, “Danika Zellweger, you’re a hot mess!”
She felt even more embarrassed when she was reminded of her words after the divorce. She swore she wouldn’t walk back on the decision and declared that she hated people with the surname Quincey.
“Oh, Danika, why did you go back on your words?” she sighed, but she could not contain her feelings anymore.
beating.
The following morning was Danika and Eustace’s trip to Orchid Village. Before they left, she gawked at the trunk of the car, filled to the brim with all sorts of gifts. “We’re bringing the kids to Parrington. This is not a holiday visit.”
“The two can go hand-in-hand.” He beamed and added, “We’re meeting relatives who had watched over you as you grew up. I can’t visit them empty-handed.”
“Why can’t you? It’s not like you’re my boyfriend or anything,” she fired back. People might mistake Eustace for her lover at this rate.
“Well, maybe not now, but we’ll be in a relationship in the future. I want to leave a good impression early on. Don’t you agree?” He didn’t wish to face any objections from her family and friends in the long run. Even if her relatives were easygoing, he didn’t want to put Danika in a difficult place. Therefore, he wanted to do his best.