Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
“Yes,” Blake replied. Frowning, Danika wanted to remind her that it was business hours, but Blake said, “I’m the final patient on your list today. You don’t have to worry about the next patient.” Then, she handed Danika her queue number as proof.
Danika glanced at it and found out that Blake had gone through the routine and lined up for a medical consultation. She asked, “Are you feeling sick anywhere?”
“No. I’m here today to get answers to the case of my boyfriend, Eustace Quincey, ” Blake went straight to the point.
Danika felt bothered by Blake’s deliberate use of “boyfriend” to describe Eustace, but she hid her feelings well and answered, “I have briefed him on the surgery details. I believe he’s clear about it.”
“Yeah, he is clear about the surgery, but I’m worried,’ Blake replied, leaving Danika flabbergasted and speechless. She added, “Dr. Zellweger, are you confident about the surgery?”
Frowning, Danika explained, ‘Any surgery comes with risk. No doctor can promise a 100% success rate.”
“Well, that’s true. But Eustace is important to me-he’s my lover, and I hope to see him safe and sound.” Blake’s impassionate confession evoked complex feelings in Danika, who remained silent. She didn’t stop there. “I know his memory loss has always bothered you, and you probably think he’d still be in love with you had he not lost his memories. Is that why you’re adamant about helping him restore his memories?”
Danika finally showed hints of displeasure. “Miss Watkins, you’re overthinking it.”
“Is that so?” Blake sounded unconvinced. “The only way I’ll admit I’m overthinking is that you refuse to perform the surgery.”
Danika burst out in laughter at the absurdness of the situation. “Miss Watkins, Eustace Quincey is the patient. If you are against the surgery, please change his mind instead of lecturing me. He’s the one who wanted the surgery. As his doctor, I can’t sit back and watch his condition deteriorate.”
“That’s not what I meant. I know the surgery is necessary. I just don’t want you to be the doctor in charge of his surgery,” Blake announced, much to Danika’s dismay. She added, “After all, you had had a complicated relationship with him. I’m concerned that you might let your personal feelings interfere with the surgery, leading to a regrettable outcome.”
My Conscience Is Clear
Danika was unable to refute Blake’s seemingly reasonable and confident accusation.
In reality, such situations were plausible. If a patient was a loved one of the surgeon, the surgeon might fail to rein in his or her emotions if there was a minor slip-up during the surgery, which might affect the outcome. However, this wouldn’t apply across the board to all doctors, and Danika believed that she was better than that.
Still, she couldn’t fault Blake for voicing out a legitimate concern. After a pause, she suggested to Blake, “That is a valid concern, but you are not his legal wife yet. From a legal perspective, you cannot make decisions on his behalf. However, you can tell him about your thoughts when you get home. If he shares your concern, I can contact other doctors to step in for me.”
She offered sincere advice from her heart, but it sounded like mockery to Blake. ‘Are you mocking me for not getting married to him?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” The misinterpretation dumbfounded Danika.
“Dr. Zellweger, your divorce was ages ago. Why are you still unable to let go of it?” Blake was slightly enraged and was losing her mind.
Looking at the unreasonable woman, Danika was uninterested in engaging with her anymore. Talking to someone who was not in the right mind would be a waste of time. She pointed to the door. “Miss Watkins, let’s end the conversation here.”
“Danika Zellweger!” Blake was irritated for not getting the answer she wanted.
Danika had had enough of it. “Miss Watkins, if you want to make a decision on Eustace Quincey’s behalf, please come to me with your certificate of marriage. ” Before Blake and Eustace were married, Blake would not enjoy the right to make any medical decision on his behalf.
Blake knew the underlying meaning of Danika’s words, and her face fell.” Danika Zellweger, are you sure you want to do this? Aren’t you afraid of getting on bad terms with the Watkins?”
“My conscience is clear as his doctor. What should I be afraid of?” Danika stared into her eyes fearlessly.
Taken aback, Blake laughed and scoffed, “Wow! A clear conscience, huh?” Then, she stormed out of Danika’s office.
When Blake was gone, Danika packed her stuff to leave work, unconcerned by Blake’s threats. Even if the Watkins, in an unlikely event, went against the Zellwegers because of
Eustace Quincey’s surgery, she would not give up on performing the surgery.
When she got home, Graham was already back with an extra guest who shouldn’t have shown up. “Danika! You’re home. I made you your favorite dishes. Come over and dig in.” Rowena was busy cooking in the kitchen like a perfect wife.
Danika ignored her words and looked at Graham. Graham shook his head, indicating he couldn’t do anything about the situation. Since his divorce wasn’t yet finalized, he didn’t want to cause a scene by kicking Rowena out when she wanted to come home.
However, Rowena acted very differently from her past self. She was fussing over
Graham when he stepped foot in the house, and she busied herself in the kitchen for dinner. She seemed to be a different person.
Danika immediately saw through her tricks and exposed her. “Rowena Glass, stop wasting your time. My dad will still divorce you no matter what you do.”
What Tricks Do You Plan to Pull?
Rowena kept a smile on her face even after being confronted by Danika.” Oh, let’s drop that and eat. We can discuss it after dinner.” Meanwhile, she went into the kitchen and prepared two more dishes. Then, she took a seat at the table to eat with them.
The trio stared at the dishes on the table, but Danika and Graham didn’t touch the food out of fear that Rowena might have added something to it.
Rowena seemed to read their mind and tested all the dishes in front of them. “Go ahead. The food’s safe to eat.”
Danika and Graham exchanged glances and started eating in silence. Throughout dinner, Danika decided she would help keep Graham levelheaded against whatever
Rowena wanted to say later. She didn’t want Graham to change his mind because of Rowena’s words.
In fact, Danika had underestimated Graham’s resolve. He would have overlooked the minor tricks that Rowena pulled, but he wouldn’t forgive her for harming the Zellwegers and Danika. Therefore, Rowena’s efforts that day were destined to go down the drain.
After dinner, Danika sat in the living room and glared coldly at Rowena.” We’re done with dinner. Say whatever you want to say.” She didn’t plan to leave the living room because she wanted to keep an eye on Rowena.
Rowena, however, wanted to have a private chat with Graham. She ignored Danika’s pointed statement and said, “Danika, you must be tired after a day of busy work. Why don’t you go rest in your room?”
“Rowena Glass!” Infuriated, Danika couldn’t believe that Rowena still wanted to pull her dirty tricks.
Rowena refused to discuss further, knowing Danika would not make Graham listen to her plea if she was present. Therefore, she needed Danika gone, even if it was temporary.
“Danika, go rest.” A while later, Graham asked Danika to go to her room to end the silent confrontation.
“Dad…”
“Didn’t you always tell me that you know what to do? I’ll tell you the same now. Do you trust me?” he asked her earnestly.
Feeling touched, she nodded. “I trust you.” Without saying a word to Rowena, she got up and retired to her room.
Rowena was disturbed by Graham’s promise to Danika and had a hunch that she might return empty- handed that day.
When Danika was gone, Graham turned to Rowena. ‘You can speak now.”
She forced a smile and went around to stand behind him. “Graham, you must be tired in the past few days. I’ll massage your shoulders.” She didn’t wait for a response and immediately started massaging him.
Graham frowned but didn’t stop her. “If you want to change my mind on the divorce by flattering me. I’d suggest you not waste your time.”
She paused for a bit but bit the bullet and went on massaging him. “I know you must hate me a lot right now, but I did what I did because I had no choice. If you didn’t ignore me for years and deprived me of a sense of security, I wouldn’t have done all of that.” She even started sobbing in front of him.
“Are you saying that I was responsible for all the actions carried out by you? ” he questioned her coldly with a smirk.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” she clarified. “I have loved you for many years. You should know that better than anyone else. Now, you want a divorce, but I couldn’t give up on our relationship.”
Do You Take Me for a Fool?
Graham chuckled coldly. “You loved me? You wouldn’t have slept with another man if you loved me. Do you take me for a fool, Rowena Glass?”
Always a reticent man, he was unusually talkative that day, which surprised her. She muttered, “Graham…”
“Tell me what you want from the divorce.” He refused to waste time quarreling with her because the divorce was final.
Seeing that, Rowena knew she stood no chance and sat across from him. Staring at the familiar man, who was nothing more than a stranger now, she felt resentment rising in her. “I came here today for a final appeal. I thought you would consider our feelings for each other after years of marriage and might reconsider the divorce if I made a compromise. But I finally realized I was the only one with feelings for you-it was not mutual.”
Graham did not respond to her speech at all. She took a deep breath to keep her anger in check. “We can proceed with the divorce if you split the Zellweger family’s assets in half.” She gave an offer.
He glanced at her and said coolly, “What do you have to do with my family assets? Did you forget about the prenup?’
Wealthy families like the Zellwegers had safeguards in place to protect their familial assets in the event of a divorce. Rowena would only be entitled to Graham’s income in the years he worked for Zellweger Inc and his annual bonus. Unfortunately, he only received some bonuses from Zellweger Inc over the years instead of a steady income.
“Don’t be a jerk, Graham Zellweger!” Rowena understood the terms of the agreement but refused to accept the reality. She would go after his personal assets if she wasn’t entitled to the assets of the Zellweger family. Sadly, Graham didn’t have much under his name and would do his best to stop her from getting much.
“The best I can do is two properties in Bardoff City and 10 million dollars,” Graham offered a small sum to keep her from causing a scene, even though he would rather not give her a dime.
Unsatisfied, she looked at him astonished. “10 million dollars? Are you joking? I’m not a street beggar!”
“If that’s too little for you, you can reject the offer. I can always sue you in civil court to make sure you don’t get anything from the lawsuit.” He could make her walk away with nothing after all she had done to ruin the family.
She gritted her teeth. “Aren’t you worried that things might get out of hand… II
“Well, let it be, then! I don’t mind being a laughingstock for a few days. The public can’t do anything to me as long as I’m the head of the family.” He was mentally strong enough to withstand public mockery. His only concern was that a public fallout might affect Danika and her marriage prospect. Therefore, he would rather keep the divorce lowkey.
Rowena clenched her jaw with hatred; she was at the end of her wits in the face of his fearlessness. “10 million dollars will not cut it. I need at least 50 million dollars.”
Technically, he should have offered her hundreds of millions, even billions. Alas, Graham was too shrewd to give her a chance to demand more.
“Rowena Glass, you’re the one who did us wrong. I don’t mind if you want to kick up a fuss. But have you considered how a public fallout might affect Jo?”
He stared at her, thinking that she was foolish. Then, he went on amid her silence,
‘Jolene and James are only engaged. How would the Windsors think of her if they heard about this mess? Would they take the chance to call off the engagement? Think wisely.”
He stopped there, for there was nothing more to be said.
She Had to Keep It In
In the end, Rowena left the villa with the signed divorce papers and the offer of a countryside villa and 15 million dollars. She did not want the two apartment properties initially offered to her, which were admittedly in a better location than the villa she received, because she believed that she should live in villas, not high-rise buildings.
Ever since birth, she had been living in villas, which led to her odd insistence on receiving a villa at the time of divorce.
After negotiating with Graham, the 15 million dollars she received was the final agreement. He was speechless at her obstinance and added another 5 million dollars because he couldn’t be bothered with her. But the deal was far from ideal for her because she visited Graham with at least one billion dollars in mind, and she only left with a tenth of the amount she wanted, which was a huge difference.
However, she had her concerns. Like Graham told her, she needed to think in Jolene’s best interests. Whatever she had done to the Zellwegers could not be exposed right now, or it’d be damaging to Jolene. Hence, she had to keep it in.
Danika was informed about the outcome of Graham’s settlement with Rowena.
Although she thought that Graham shouldn’t have even offered a dime to Rowena, she understood that he did not want to die on this hill and kept her opinions to herself.
