Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“Your grandfather spent so much time and effort on your education. You can’t let him down,” Hannah said.
Danika nodded. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him down.”
Having set the situation in her favor, Hannah got to the point. “Your future may be secured, but Felicity’s future is still uncertain. Danika, why don’t you bring her back with you to Parrington? Help her find a job too. We can’t just have her stay in the village forever, don’t you think?”
Danika, who was reaching for more food, froze and looked at Hannah in surprise. “You’re joking, right?”
“Joking? I’m being serious right now,” Hannah replied with a smile, tugging at Felicity’s arm. “Felicity is your cousin, after all, and we’re family. You can’t just sit back and watch her do nothing, can you?”
Felicity turned to Danika, smiling. “Danika, I’ll have to rely on you from now on.”
Danika was dumbfounded as Felicity certainly never wanted to have anything to do with her before. Nonetheless, for David’s sake, she couldn’t respond too harshly. She didn’t know how to reject their request.
“It’s difficult enough for Danika to live alone in Parrington, so don’t add to her troubles,” David scolded Felicity. He knew his daughter well and didn’t believe she really wanted to go to Parrington to find a job. Perhaps she had some wicked ideas up her sleeve.
“Dad!” Felicity was upset. “You always sided with Danika. You’ve been so kind to her, so what’s wrong with asking her to help me find a job? Do you want me to live like this for the rest of my life?”
Felicity genuinely felt wronged. Since she was a child, everyone in the family liked Danika more, except her mother, who was always on her side. Even Gilbert and Zack, who were adopted by their grandfather, had always protected Danika and ignored her completely.
She was David’s daughter, yet Danika had it better than her. The more she thought about it, the more upset she was, and she burst into tears, making the dinner awkward.
David was about to scold her. However, he felt bad when she started to cry. Hence, he could do nothing but sigh helplessly as he took a swig of beer.
Not wanting David to be put in a difficult situation, Danika said, “If you really want to go, Felicity, pack your things tonight, and we’ll leave for Parrington tomorrow morning.”
Felicity was overjoyed to hear that. “Promise?”
“Yeah.” Danika nodded before hurriedly adding, “But I may not be able to find you a good job, so keep that in mind.”
Felicity only had a high school diploma, which would make it difficult for her to find a job in Parrington. The most Danika could do for her was to get her a job at her own company.
“It’s okay.” The job was not important to Felicity. All she had in mind was to marry Eustace. She shoved more food into her mouth before she hurried back to pack her things. Hannah followed Felicity claiming she had to give her some instructions, but no one knew exactly what the instructions were about.
After the two left, David looked at Danika, clearly embarrassed. “Danika, I’ve troubled you”
“Don’t say that. I’ll always remember how kind you’ve been to me. I’m overjoyed now that I have the opportunity to repay it.” Although she disliked Hannah and Felicity, Danika was genuinely grateful to David.
Meanwhile, Eustace silently ate his food, keeping his opinions to himself.
That night, Danika tossed and turned on the bed. Despite being in a familiar room, she couldn’t fall asleep. Finally, she got up, deciding to go outside for a walk. As soon as she stepped out of the room, she saw a tall figure standing in the courtyard.
“Eustace?” she called out hesitantly.
He turned to look at her. “You’re still awake?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She walked over and stood beside him. “Why are you still up?”
“There’s something on my mind,” Eustace replied, his gaze falling on Danika’s face.
A little surprised, Danika asked, “What is it?”
“I was wondering how your life here was,” he replied, looking into the distance.
Danika smiled at his reply. “I guess you must imagine I’ve had a hard time here after what you saw today.”
Eustace didn’t answer, as her guess was spot-on. His heart had throbbed with pain and anger when Danika had not retaliated to Hannah and Felicity’s taunts. He couldn’t imagine how hard life had been for her when she was young.
“Well, it wasn’t hard at all. When Grandpa was still around, my life was great,” she replied, grinning.” Felicity and her mother didn’t dare to provoke me back then and always avoided me.”
Eustace frowned, unconvinced.
“Also, Gilbert and Zack always protected me. They protected me so much that even the stray dogs in the village were afraid of messing with me,” Danika said, laughing as she recalled those nostalgic days. Seeing the bright smile on her face, Eustace felt a little sad. “Then, did you regret going to Parrington to marry me?”
Danika turned to look at him. “A little bit. However, it was Grandpa’s last wish, so I had to do it anyway.” And there was no way she would have stayed in the village forever. Eventually, she would have to grow up and move out.
“I’m sorry, Danika,” Eustace said. “I owe you a proper apology.”
“Hey, it was ages ago, yet you’re still talking about this. There’s no need for that.” Danika waved him off, refusing to make eye contact with him. For some reason, her eyes were tearing up.
“Let me protect you from now on. I’ll never leave you again,” he said, suddenly changing the topic.
The night was silent, save for the sound of a gentle breeze. The moonlight illuminated the ground, allowing her to see him clearly. Perhaps it was her surroundings that stirred something within Danika.
“-”
“Eustace!” Felicity shouted, pushing open the door to the courtyard. When she saw Danika standing so close to Eustace, jealousy consumed her. “What are you two doing?” she questioned them.
Danika frowned. Meanwhile, Eustace was livid. He was certain that Danika would have agreed if she hadn’t been interrupted. Suddenly, he had half a mind to murder Felicity.
Instead of answering Felicity’s question, Danika asked, “Why are you still up? It’s already so late.”
“I…I came to see Eustace, not you,” Felicity replied rudely, not pretending to be nice to Danika.
“Alright, you guys talk. I’ll go to bed first,” she said, shooting Eustace a playful look. Even a fool could guess. why Felicity was looking for him.
Felicity scoffed as she watched Danika leave before smiling at Eustace.
“Eustace, you can’t sleep? Let’s chat for a while, shall we?” she suggested, approaching him shyly.