Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion >>
“Why did you force yourself to accept his apology?” Eustace asked softly.
With a chuckle, Danika answered, “Well, as you said, the Dickmans are not the Lawrences, so there’s nothing I can do about it. Can I really refuse their apology?”
“I can help you,” he said.
Danika cast him a strange look, as if he were a monster, and then backed away from him. “She’s your childhood sweetheart. Is it right for you to turn around and do this to her?”
“We’re just friends,” Eustace said seriously. “She’s not my childhood sweetheart.”
However, Danika didn’t seem to care.
“There’s no need to tell me, Mr. Quincey. As I said before, it has nothing to do with me.”
“Danika-*
“Eustace!” Yvonne cried, helping Steven out of the restroom. “Steven was attacked.”
Steven was sporting a bruised nose on his swollen face. The swelling of his face made him look just like a pig. Danika covered her mouth, resisting the urge to laugh aloud.
As Steven came to his senses, he pointed at Danika and roared, “It was you! You’re the one who did this to me, right?”
“What are you talking about, Mr. Dickman?” Danika asked, blinking innocently.
Yvonne turned to look at Danika, suspecting that she had done it. After all, she was the only one here who harbored hatred for Steven, so it was possible that she had planned this.
“Stop pretending! Who else would do this to me!” he yelled, rushing over to hit her.
Eustace, however, didn’t allow him to lay a finger on Danika. He stopped him and asked, “Do you have any proof she did it? If you need help clearing your mind, I don’t mind giving you a hand, Steven.”
Though Steven wasn’t afraid of Danika, he was afraid of Eustace. As soon as Eustace spoke, he retreated behind Yvonne and glared at Danika in resentment.
Swallowing her anger, Yvonne said, “Check the security cameras. The surveillance footage won’t lie.”
“Let’s no-”
“Sure, if that’s what you want.” Danika interrupted Eustace calmly. She didn’t appear in the least bit guilty. Eustace didn’t say anything else after that. He was confident that Danika dared to say such a thing because she knew she would not be discovered. He suddenly realized that he didn’t know her at all.
They approached the store manager and requested to check the surveillance footage.
The store manager dared not to refuse their request. After all, he couldn’t afford to provoke either Yvonne or Eustace.
The footage was played from the moment Steven entered the restroom. Everyone stared at the screen unblinkingly, waiting to see who the culprit was.
Danika appeared in the footage. Just as Steven was about to accuse her, he noticed Danika enter the women’s restroom-no one entered the men’s restroom until Eustace and Yvonne rushed over.
“Impossible!” Steven yelled. If no one had entered the room, did that mean he had attacked himself?
Danika grinned. “Is it right for you to still accuse me after watching the footage, Mr. Dickman?” she asked but was looking at Yvonne.
“Miss Zellweger, I hope you won’t take this to heart. Perhaps Steven lost his mind after he was attacked. That may be why he is accusing you without evidence,” Yvonne said after taking a deep breath to calm herself down.
“If there is something wrong with your brain, you should see a doctor soon before it’s too late,” Danika suggested, chuckling.
“Yvonne!” Steven was about to say more. However, Yvonne glanced at him coldly, and he shut up instantly.
Yvonne smiled at Danika and said, “Let me take my useless brother back. I’ll treat you to a meal someday. I think it’d be nice to be friends with you, but I’m not sure if you’d give me a chance, Miss Zellweger.”
“Of course! It’s my pleasure to be friends with you, Miss Dickman.” Danika smiled at her.
When the siblings were out of sight, the smile on Danika’s face disappeared. Befuddled, Eustace shook his head, asking, “You clearly don’t like her. Why did you agree to be her friend?”
“If I refused her, wouldn’t I seem petty?” Danika asked. After casting him a glance, she got up and walked out of the restaurant.
Eustace stopped asking questions and trailed behind her silently. He couldn’t figure out what was going on between the two women.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “I’ll see you off.”
“I won’t bother you, Mr. Quincey. Someone will pick me up.”
As soon as she said that, a white sports car pulled up in front of Danika. Max appeared before them, and Eustace’s expression turned ugly. He stared at him coldly.
“Did you get a new car?” Danika asked in surprise as she remembered Max driving a red sports car. “Didn’t you tell me to be less flashy? Isn’t this better?” he asked, pointing at his new car, which happened to be a limited edition sports car.
Danika was stumped. While white was certainly less flashy than red, the car was not. “Well, it’s alright, I guess,” she replied with a wry smile and dropped the topic.
Like a gentleman, Max opened the car door for her and gestured for her to enter. When she was about to get in, she turned to look at Eustace. “By the way, Mr. Quincey, although I appreciate your help in dealing with the Dickmans, I didn’t need it.”
Eustace silently watched as Danika and Max left. His brooding eyes made the people around him afraid to approach him.
As the car drove away, Danika smirked as she watched the horrid expression on Eustace’s face through the side mirror. Beating Steven up had lifted her spirits slightly, but seeing Eustace upset had restored her good mood completely.
Did he think helping her deal with the Dickmans could make up for Faye’s mistakes? Eustace was too naive if he really thought so.
“What are you thinking about?” Max could tell that she was in a good mood.
Danika looked away from the window and turned to him, asking, “What do you want from me?”
On her way to the restaurant to meet Steven, she received a call from Max asking to meet up with her, which was why she requested him to pick her up.
“Hey, I saved your ass once. Why are you being so cold?” Max asked, revealing a pained expression. In Eustace’s presence, Danika would smile at Max, but she was ruthless to him when they were alone. It made. him wonder if she was just pretending to hate Eustace.
Danika disregarded his question, saying, “Well, even if you and Eustace didn’t show up that day, I’d still be fine.”
“Well, even if that’s true, shouldn’t you be a little grateful that I came to help you immediately?” Max asked, pretending to be upset.
Danika fell silent as that made sense. She was indebted to both Max and Eustace in that sense. After a moment, she asked, “So, how do you want me to thank you?”
“Well, it’s not difficult. There’s going to be an event in a few days, and I’d like you to be my date for it,” Max answered as he pulled into the compound of Perry Residence. He watched Danika, waiting for her answer.
“What event is that?” Danika asked.
Max shook his head. With an air of mystery, he said, “It’s a secret for now. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”
Danika frowned.
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to sell you.” Seeing her hesitate, he was afraid that she would refuse him.
“Fine.”
After a while, Danika finally nodded in agreement. She thought there would be no problem repaying Max’s favor by attending an event.
Max laughed heartily, clearly in a good mood. “Good night. Sweet dreams,” he said.
Danika got out of the car and walked toward the apartment. After waving at him, she quickly disappeared from his sight. As usual, Max didn’t leave immediately. He lit a cigarette as he stared at the stars hanging in the night sky.
“There are so many stars tonight,” he sighed to himself. At that moment, he heard a car approaching in the distance, and he turned back to look at it.