Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
After Christopher left, Eustace stood there feeling at a loss. He couldn’t understand why Christopher would come to him to say those things.
As Eustace was still trying to process what had just happened, Brandon walked up to the central stage of the venue with a microphone in his hand.” Everyone, please be quiet,” he said, smiling at the audience.
As one of the Ten Elites, the Britts hosted the banquet, and everyone wanted to show their respect. The venue quickly quieted down, and Brandon continued, “Thank you all for coming to this party tonight, especially Miss Zellweger, for supporting this event.”
Danika was confused by Brandon’s words. She didn’t know him and didn’t understand why he was thanking her.
“Miss Zellweger proposed to play a piece for this party, and my family is very honored,” Brandon said with a smile, his gaze now fixed on Danika.
The spotlight shifted to her, and all eyes were on her. Danika was taken aback. When did she say she would do that? She looked at Jolene, who was smiling smugly. Did Jolene manipulate this situation? It seemed that she didn’t take what Danika had said seriously.
“Danika, what’s going on?” Graham walked up to her, rather worried.
He didn’t recall arranging a piano instructor, worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle so many things. It would be embarrassing for her if she didn’t manage to play the piano. Nonetheless, since he had come with her, no one would dare to slander her if she really couldn’t.
Danika didn’t want to tell Graham about Jolene’s scheming and instead replied with a reassuring smile, ‘It’s alright. I can handle it.”
Before Graham could say more, Brandon spoke up again, “Please, Miss Zellweger, let everyone see your talent.”
The piano was already on stage, and the audience applauded. Danika felt she had no choice but to perform. She didn’t care about pleasing the Britt family, but she didn’t want to give Jolene the satisfaction of seeing her fail.
“Want to see me make a fool of myself?” Danika thought to herself. “Sorry, I’m not going to give you the pleasure.’
Crazy
Danika walked onto the stage, where the spotlight followed her every move, and the only sound in the venue was the gentle tapping of her footsteps. Despite knowing about Danika’s divorce, the audience couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her dazzling and confident presence.
Jolene, on the other hand, seethed with anger, wondering why someone from the countryside could exude such arrogance. She believed that she was the true daughter of the Zellweger family. However, she restrained herself, knowing she would have the last laugh when Danika failed to play the piano.
Danika walked onto the stage and sat in front of the piano, but she didn’t start to play.
Jolene’s eyes lit up, gleefully reveling in the fact that she couldn’t play the piano. There was no way Danika had access to a piano since she grew up in the countryside.
As Danika sat in front of the piano without moving, Jolene signaled to her peers, who deliberately taunted Danika, asking, “Miss Zellweger, why don’t you play? Could it be that you can’t?’
“Oh, if you don’t know how to play the piano, you should have said it earlier. Why bother to go up to the stage?”
This caused the audience’s perception of Danika to change, as they now viewed her as Graham’s favorite daughter who was showing off despite her lack of skill.
“I’m sorry, everyone, my sister just returned to the Zellweger family,” Jolene started to say as if she was explaining on Danika’s behalf. However, her words only served to remind them of Danika’s origins, and she snickered secretly.
Everyone began to murmur.
“Well, I heard that she is from the countryside. She probably hasn’t been exposed to things like that.”
“Yeah, exactly. She looks like she hasn’t seen a piano before, yet she’s still trying to show off? Man, the Zellwegers must be so embarrassed.”
“She doesn’t even come close to Jolene. I doubt she’s even on par with Jolene’s little finger.”
In their opinion, although Jolene was not the best, she was the true daughter of the Zellweger family, after all. She was also proficient in many fields, such as piano, chess, and painting. On the other hand, Danika seemed like a talentless person trying to show off.
As the audience continued to ridicule Danika, Jolene felt a sense of satisfaction, knowing that her plan to make Danika look foolish had succeeded.
Jolene wondered what made Danika think that she could compete with her.
As she thought about what to say next, Jolene looked up at Danika and realized that Danika was staring back at her. Their eyes met across the crowd. Danika was smiling, and Jolene’s spine tingled at the sight of her smile. What was she laughing at? Was she crazy?
Just then, Danika’s slender fingers landed on the black piano keys, and Jolene was taken aback by the speed at which she played. Before she knew it, Danika was playing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at an astonishing pace. The audience, who were all seasoned individuals, immediately recognized the piece and were shocked by Danika’s skill.
They watched in awe as Danika played the notoriously difficult piece with grace and poise. At that moment, they all felt like clowns for doubting her ability to play the piano.
As the song came to an end, Danika got up and left the stage. She made her way over to Jolene and smiled at her. “So, did you like the song, sister?” she asked.
Jolene opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she didn’t know what to say.
Don’t Think That I’ll Accept You
Jolene was convinced that Danika had done it on purpose. She knew everything but pretended to be clueless so that Jolene would let her guard down. Jolene suspected that Danika had planned to embarrass her for a long time and had been waiting for her there. The more Jolene thought about it, the more frightened she became of Danika.
As if she had seen a ghost, Jolene stumbled back a few steps, saying,” You…you did it on purpose.”
Danika was confused.
Jolene continued, “Aren’t you happy now? Everyone knows that you’re great. You’ve been recognized by everyone, and I’ve become a joke. You must be very proud of yourself.” Jolene began to tear up as she failed to control her emotions. Seeing that, Danika stepped forward, took her into her arms, and whispered in her ear. “Think about where you are right now. Don’t embarrass yourself here.” She couldn’t care less about Jolene, but she was still a daughter of the Zellweger family. For the sake of the Zellwegers, she couldn’t allow Jolene to make a fool of herself on stage.
Jolene wanted to break free, but Danika didn’t give her a chance. She forced Jolene to walk towards Graham, who was not far away. They behaved like two normal sisters to everyone else, but only Jolene knew she was being forced.
After they arrived in front of Graham, Jolene tried her best not to show her hatred, and Danika let her go.
“Danika, I didn’t expect you to play the piano. It was excellent. You didn’t embarrass our family,” Graham said, happy that Danika had made him proud.
Danika smiled and pushed Jolene in front of Graham. “I have to thank Jolene. She suggested to Brandon that I play. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity.”
As soon as Danika said that, Graham frowned instantly. He wasn’t stupid and knew the meaning behind Danika’s words.
Just as he was about to reprimand her, Jolene spoke up. “Dad, I wanted to give her a chance to play the piano since I knew she could. Everyone should know that regardless of where we grow up, the daughters of the Zellweger family will always excel.”
Upon hearing this, Danika looked at Jolene with disbelief. Jolene seemed to have grown rapidly in just a few days, becoming much smarter than when Danika first met her. “Is that so?” Graham still seemed skeptical.
Jolene nodded emphatically.
When Graham’s gaze landed on Danika, she smiled and nodded, saying,” Perhaps so. I would like to believe that my sister has good intentions.”
Danika had to be crazy if she believed that. Nonetheless, she didn’t expose Jolene. She knew Graham wanted her and Jolene to get along well.
Although she knew Graham seemed to favor her a little more for the time being, she didn’t know how long it would last. She decided not to give him any reason to dislike her before she secured her position.
“Well, I’m glad you two can get along well,” Graham said, not pressing further.
“The party is ending, and the driver is already waiting for you at the door. If you’re bored, feel free to go back.”
“Okay.” The two nodded, and Graham returned to the crowd, indicating that the party wasn’t over for him.
Once Graham was gone, Jolene’s expression changed. “Don’t think for a second that I’ll accept you just because you didn’t expose me earlier!”
Jolene knew that Danika came to the Zellweger family to take everything away from her, and she would never accept her because they were born enemies.
Do You Think You’re That Important?
“Don’t think too much of yourself. I didn’t expose you simply because I didn’t take your scheming seriously. As for making you accept me?” Danika smiled mockingly at Jolene. “Why would it matter to me whether you accept me or not? Do you really think you’re that important?”
“Danika!” Jolene nearly roared at her. She would have hit Danika if she wasn’t worried about the people watching.
“I warned you not to mess with me, but you obviously didn’t take my words to heart.” Danika slowly approached her, giving off an ominous vibe.
Although Jolene was a little scared, she bit the bullet and stared back at her. “In that case, don’t blame me for being rude,” Jolene threatened. What Jolene cared about most was her father’s favor, and Danika was about to take away what she cared about most.
As the two were talking, someone approached them. Danika composed herself before turning to the person.
“James?” she called, a little surprised.
“Danika.” James Windsor smiled, looking at Danika affectionately.
Danika left Jolene to talk to James.
“James, what are you doing here?”
She was surprised to see him. He was one of Mr. Birkett’s students, just like her, but he was often occupied with other things during her time learning from Mr. Birkett. In fact, despite being under Mr. Birkett’s tutorship for many years, she had only seen James a few times.
Nonetheless, it didn’t affect their relationship as James was like a family member to her. Therefore, she was elated to see him.
“My family lives here,” James said, without saying much about what the Windsor family does.
However, Danika already knew. She had researched the Ten Elites of Bardoff City and knew that the Windsors was one of them.
“I didn’t expect you to be so secretive.”
She hadn’t expected James to come from such a great family. She had always assumed he was just from a rich family and learning Mr. Birkett’s craft was just his hobby. Little did she know, her assumption was so different from reality.
“Well, I must say, you outdo me at that, Danika Zellweger.” James cracked a joke.
Danika waved her hand, saying, “Hey, I just found out too.”
“Don’t worry, it’s better this way. From now on, I’ll protect you in Bardoff City, and no one will dare to bully you.”
In the past, he wanted to protect Danika, but he was the heir of the Windsor family in Bardoff City, while Danika was merely an ordinary person. Due to their different backgrounds, they didn’t have much in common. He figured things would go nowhere, even though he liked her. But things were different now as they seemed to be standing on the same ground.
Danika expressed her gratitude. “I never got a chance to thank you for your help at the Parrington auction.”
When she auctioned Mr. Birkett’s paintings, she was questioned about their authenticity. Back then, James had shown up to help her, but he was gone just as quickly as he had come, and Danika had no chance to thank him.
Finally, she had the chance to thank him. James responded, “You don’t have to thank me. There will be more opportunities in the future.”
He had a business trip in Parrington during the auction. Curious about who was auctioning off his master’s paintings, he was determined to take a look. He never expected that Danika was the one auctioning them off.
He had even formed a negative opinion of her at the time, thinking she was heartless for auctioning off the paintings due to a lack of money. Thus, he didn’t stay for long at the auction. However, fate brought them together again.
If he had known earlier, he would have stayed in Parrington for a little longer.