Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“I got it, Eustace. I’ll keep out of this and leave it to my dad.” She knew that the more she asked for Eustace’s help, the more he would dislike her. To her, Eustace was more important than her parents or Lawrence
Solutions.
However, she was reminded of the conversation she overheard at the door, which revealed that Dr.Zellweger was Eustace’s ex-wife.
Before this, she had only regarded his ex-wife as a country girl. Although she had never met Danika, her existence did not bother her much. Now that she learned that Danika was a doctor, on top of Eustace’s feelings for Dr. Zellweger, she was worried that sparks might fly between the two. She dared not picture the scenario where they remarry.
“No way! I have to do something about it,” she thought. Then, she beamed at him and said, “Eustace, let’s have lunch! It’s been a while.”
Eustace was in no mood to have lunch with her and waved her off. “I’m busy today. Let’s do it another day.”
The rejection stung. In the past, he had rarely turned down her invitation. But now…
“Dr. Zellweger or Danika Zellweger, no matter who you are, I will not let you take Eustace from me,” she thought defiantly.
The next day, Danika was at The Crispy Buns at noon for lunch. The burgers here had been on her mind ever since Eustace ordered delivery from this joint. When the weekend came around, she invited Stephanie to try it out.
She checked the time again. Half an hour had passed, but Stephanie was nowhere to be seen, and she started worrying.
Ten minutes later, she got a call from Stephanie. “Danika, I’m so sorry. Something came up at work, and I don’t think I could make it to lunch.” While speaking, Stephanie glared at the man seated across from her.
Danika almost exploded in anger. “What’s more important than lunch? I even ordered the food for you.” She stared at the spread on the table, failing to control her anger.
“I’m really sorry, Danika. I can’t make it,” Stephanie apologized again.
Danika was deflated, but she could tell that Stephanie felt bad about it. She replied, “Alright. Next time, tell me earlier if you’re not coming.”
Then, Stephanie hung up and bellowed at the man in front of her, “What exactly do you want?”
At the burger place, Danika was thinking hard about how to deal with the table of food. “Should I finish. them or pack the extra food for dinner tonight?”
While she was mulling it over, someone came and sat across from her. Her face fell when she recognized the man.
“Mr. Quincey, it’s rather rude to take a seat without asking for my permission. Don’t you think so?”
Danika looked up, and they locked eyes. Perhaps it was an illusion, but she had the impression that Eustace was looking at her differently this time.
“This is my treat,” he offered. She chuckled and rested her chin on the back of her hand. “I can afford lunch. You don’t have to do this.”
She had a dislike, or one might even say hatred, for Eustace. Having lunch with him would only ruin her appetite.
“Dr. Zellweger, let’s talk.” Finally, he gave in. She was amused by his suggestion, for she thought there was nothing to be discussed between them.
“Let’s put the past behind us and get to know each other again. What do you think?” he asked anxiously. Danika laughed at the idea and shook her head under his intent gaze. “No.”
“Why not? Sure, I might have upset you in the Zelliot incident. How about I work with them again? Is that okay?”
She shook her head again and leaned against the chair, as though she was enjoying a drama. He almost lost his temper, but he controlled himself out of guilt for his ex-wife. “What should I do to satisfy you?” he asked exasperatedly, suggesting that he had run out of ideas.
She stared at him for a while before asking. “You knew, didn’t you?”
He froze.
“I slapped you last night, but you wanted to make it up to me instead of giving me trouble. That itself is rather unusual. Unless you were possessed, the only explanation is that you knew the truth.”
Danika was not an idiot. In fact, she was born smart. When she met him in the elevator that morning, she sensed the change in his attitude but did not think much of it. Now, she was sure that Eustace had known about her identity as his ex-wife.
He deliberated for a long time and nodded. “I learned about it last night. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Had he known that Danika was his ex-wife, they would have had fewer misunderstandings.
Nevertheless, she did not care about the what-ifs and laughed. “Does that matter? We’re strangers anyway.”
He glanced at her and felt disturbed when she described them as strangers. “As for the Zelliots…”
“Quit it,” she cut him off with an unfriendly look. “It’s not like they wouldn’t survive without the Quincey Group. Save your help for the Lawrences.”
She didn’t hesitate to reject him. From what she knew about Stephanie’s personality, her friend would have made the same decision. No one wanted a second crisis.
He fell silent for a moment and added, “I did you wrong for the past two years. I didn’t know that-*
“Didn’t know what?” she interjected again, annoyed. “You didn’t know that I looked like this? Or you didn’t know that I was not as crude as you had imagined?”
He didn’t reply. She was not wrong.
Danika took a deep breath and realized that she had acted out, which was uncharacteristic of her. After a little pause, she announced, “Since we’re divorced, let’s go our separate ways. I hope you understand that I don’t want to see you again.”
She used harsh and merciless words on him without regard for his ego. Even though he wanted to repair their relationship, that did not mean he would tolerate everything she inflicted on him.
“Got it.” He nodded and stood up with a grim face. “I wish you the best.”
“Thank you. Same to you,” she replied.
Eustace left determinedly. Danika believed she had truly offended him this time, but she didn’t care.
She picked up the fork and knife to dig in but was interrupted once again by a figure who took the seat across from her. She was about to protest, thinking it was Eustace, then she realized it wasn’t him, but another person who would equally ruin her appetite.
“Dr. Zellweger,” Faye chirped. Danika was speechless by how she was ambushed by Eustace, and now Faye. When could she eat in peace?
“Miss Lawrence, please get straight to the point. I need to have my lunch.” She made no attempt to mask. her irritation. She didn’t like that woman in the first place. Plus, she couldn’t get over the fact that the Lawrences played a role in the incident, which made her trend on Twitter against her will. She was gracious enough not to tell Faye to get lost.
Faye’s expression crumbled a little. Her mood had been affected earlier because Eustace refused to have lunch with her. When shopping with friends, she ran into Eustace and Danika having lunch. Apart from feeling wronged, she also harbored a strong resentment for Danika.
“Eustace wouldn’t have rejected me had it not been for this woman,” she fumed silently. Furthermore, she felt oddly threatened by the fact that Danika was his ex-wife, which led her to approach and check out her rival.
“Dr. Zellweger, you seem quite close to Eustace, aren’t you?” she asked, nonplussed, but her fists were tightly clenched under the table.
That question did not surprise Danika, for there was no other reason aside from Eustace that would make Faye confront her. She leaned back, shook her head, and chuckled softly. “And how did you come to that conclusion?”
“So, you…”
“I thought I had made myself clear last time. You still look worried, though.” There was a gleam in Danika’s eyes as she went on, “But why? Has he not given you reasons to trust him?”
Faye stared at the floor and bit her lip. Not only did Eustace not provide any reason for her to trust him, but he never considered her a love interest-more like a sibling.