Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
He never expected him to appear when he first sent Eustace the invitation. Who knew The scale of this event had now been increased ten times more. As the main organizer, Mr. Nelson was, of course, very pleased.
“Mr. Nelson, you must be joking. BQ Magazine and the Quincey Group have always worked well together. Of course I had to show up,” Eustace nodded and smiled. Even though he was polite, his body language revealed a sense of distance.
“Hello, Mr. Nelson.” Faye noticed that he had ignored her presence and felt kind of neglected, so she initiated the conversation.
Mr. Nelson was slightly taken aback. He had only noticed her now. There was no other reason. It was purely because standing next to Eustace caused her to be overshadowed.
“This is…”
“My little sister,” Eustace answered. Ever since he had promised Anthony to take care of Faye, he had treated her like a younger sister, which was how he introduced her to others. But a bitter look flashed across Faye’s eyes. She didn’t want to be Eustace’s little sister!
Mr. Nelson nodded, a little confused. Then, he said, “Mr. Eustace, please come in. The dinner is about to start.”
He wanted to lead Eustace to the first row. The seats there were the best. They would also provide the best view of the stage for the auction later. At this very moment, there was another commotion at the entrance.
“It’s Gilbert Hawthorn!”
“Gilbert Hawthorn? The upstart?” someone asked.
“That’s him!” The other person nodded before saying, “He built his company up from nothing in a few years and became the youngest self-made billionaire on Forbes. Who else would it be?”
There were people younger than Gilbert on that list, but each of them got on the list because of their family. Even Eustace, who was top on the list, was no exception.
“That lady next to him looks very familiar. Is she that new star?” someone noticed the woman standing beside Gilbert and couldn’t help but ask.
Next to Gilbert stood a woman wearing a pearl-white gown. She looked exceptionally elegant with her long hair, scarlet-red lips, and perfect white teeth. Except for the exquisite bangle on her wrist, she wore no other accessories. But even so, just her standing there was enough to captivate the crowd.
Eustace was no exception.
He was stunned by her beauty every time she appeared. Although he had already decided not to inquire about her, he couldn’t help but want to learn more about her.
“Mr. Hawthorn,” Mr. Nelson greeted him with the broadest grin on his face. However, he wondered,” What’s going on? How come all the big shots decided to show up today?”
Gilbert nodded in response, “Mr. Nelson, I hope we’re not intruding on your dinner?”
“Of course not!” Mr. Nelson shook his head. He couldn’t help but glance at Danika, who was standing beside Gilbert.
“This woman is so pretty. I wonder what her relationship with Gilbert Hawthorn is. Maybe I could sign her as a model for BQ Magazine?” he thought.
Feeling Mr. Nelson’s direct gaze, Danika didn’t back down. Instead, she looked at him and smiled. “Hi, Mr. Nelson.”
“Hello, hello!” Mr. Nelson nodded. He looked at Gilbert with a curious gaze. “Mr. Hawthorn, this is your…?”
Gilbert lowered his head slightly to look at Danika with an affectionate look in his eyes. He answered quickly, “My little sister.”
“Oh, I see,” Mr. Nelson was shocked. He suddenly remembered Eustace’s little sister just now. What a world of difference it was between the two.
He complimented, “Your sister is beautiful. Your family has great genes.”
Gilbert smiled without saying a word but shifted his gaze toward Eustace and Faye, who were standing next to Mr. Nelson. He looked a little displeased.
“Eustace brought this woman along? Luckily Danika had already divorced him. A man like him doesn’t deserve Danika,” he thought.
“This is Mr. Quincey. I’m sure you know him, Mr. Hawthorn,” Mr. Nelson introduced them. He couldn’t afford to offend these two big shots, so naturally, he had to be careful with his words.
Gilbert nodded and smiled vaguely, “Who wouldn’t know Mr. Quincey here in Vale?”
“It takes one to know one. I’ve heard of Mr. Hawthorn too,” Eustace didn’t back down either.
The two men stood face to face. Mr. Nelson wondered if he was overthinking things. Why did it feel like there was a strong tension between the two? Just as the two refused to budge, Danika tugged on Gilbert’s sleeve.
“Gilbert, let’s go sit. The auction is about to start very soon.”
Even though she knew that Gilbert felt indignant on her behalf, Danika felt there was no need. Since she had already divorced Eustace, she didn’t want to have anything to do with him anymore. She also didn’t want Gilbert to offend Eustace because of this.
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s about to start.” Mr. Nelson nodded. It felt kind of suffocating being sandwiched between these two guys.
Mr. Nelson led the four of them to the first row. After allocating their seats, he found an excuse to leave to avoid getting involved if the two men decided to get into a fight.
Coincidentally, all four of their seats were right next to each other. Danika and Gilbert went ahead and took a seat. Faye planned to sit next to Danika, but she didn’t expect that Eustace had already made a move and sat down next to Danika. Faye bit her lip, reluctant to see the two sitting next to each other.
Danika didn’t expect Eustace would sit next to her either. She subconsciously shifted closer to Gilbert, creating distance between her and Eustace She had initially planned to cut ties with Eustace Combined with that incident with the Zelliot family, she despised him to the core. She just wanted to get as far away from him as possible. Her movement triggered Eustace. Was she deliberately trying to go against him?
Faye noticed the subtle change in Eustace’s mood and started to feel very anxious.
Danika ignored Eustace and Faye. She whispered to Gilbert, “I wonder when they’re going to auction off the goods I sponsored.”
She was pretty curious about what the bids would be.
“It’s still early. Mr. Birkett hasn’t released any new work on the market for so many years. Your painting is going to be the finale,” Gilbert replied.
Afterward, he shook his head helplessly and said, “Are you sure it’s not going to be a problem giving away Mr. Birkett’s painting just like that?”
“He’s my mentor. Surely he won’t beat me up for this?” Danika pouted. “Besides, he already gave me that painting. Of course I have the authority to deal with it.
“That’s true. You’re his mentee. I don’t think he will blame you for it.”
“Why, of course. Mr. Birkett adores me.”
The two of them spoke softly, so Eustace couldn’t hear what they were saying. He could only tell that they were enjoying the conversation. Inevitably, he found it annoying.
“Brother? Ha,” he thought.
As a man himself, he could tell from Gilbert’s eyes that he had feelings for Danika. He wouldn’t believe it if Gilbert said he only had pure intentions.
Soon, the auction began. The hall went quiet.
The first auction item was a diamond necklace sponsored by some trust fund baby. When the emcee announced his name, he stood up and waved at the crowd. Gilbert asked Danika if she was interested. Danika shook her head. She had never fancied diamonds that much.
She didn’t like it, but Faye, on the other hand, was obsessed. Her eyes lit up when she saw the large diamond.
“You like it?” Eustace asked.
“Yup.” Faye nodded. “I’m just admiring it.”
That sounded a little too fake. If she was really just admiring it, why did she have to tell Eustace that she liked it? Eustace made a bid. Unsurprisingly, he got the diamond. He didn’t even look at it and just handed it to Faye. This caused the people to doubt their genuine relationship