Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
“Danika, you’re here. Come on in and have a seat,” Marigold greeted Danika with a smile. By now, she regarded Danika as her own family and was genuinely delighted to see her there.
“There’s no hurry. I’ll take a look at the baby first,” Danika said as she walked toward the side where the stroller was. The child was sleeping soundly inside.
Almost irresistibly, Danika reached out and gently touched the child’s cute little face. She felt an amazing sense of wonder. She couldn’t help but gush, “He’s so adorable! He looks just like Gilbert.”
“I know, right? I think so, too,” Gilbert said, coming over to her side and looking at the baby in the stroller with a proud smile on his face.
“Congratulations, Gilbert. You have such a lovely child,” Danika said.
Gilbert didn’t deny it. The arrival of this child had completely transformed his life.
“You and Eustace should start considering it too,” Gilbert said when Danika least expected it. She was completely caught off guard.
Danika glanced at Eustace, who was right beside her. Before she could say anything, he spoke up first, “I’m fine with anything. I’ll follow Danika’s lead.”
In response, Danika glared at him. Seeing such a cute bundle of joy, Eustace had indeed started giving having children a thought recently. Although children were adorable, Danika still wanted to wait for another two years.
‘Gilbert, Marigold, you should stand together to welcome the guests,” Danika suggested, pulling Marigold over to stand beside him.
Marigold felt awkward and explained, “It’s not his fault. I chose to stand over there myself.” She didn’t want to stand next to Gilbert in case people misunderstood their relationship.
Danika was puzzled. Didn’t she convince Marigold just a couple of days ago to actively pursue her happiness? What was going on now?
Marigold pursed her lips and said softly, ‘Although we have a child, we don’t really have any significant relationship, so it’s better to keep some distance to avoid misunderstandings.”
Danika didn’t know what had happened between them, but from Marigold’s words, she could tell she was clearly unhappy. In fact, she was probably aggrieved. Instantly, Danika deduced that Gilbert had done something to upset her.
She looked at Gilbert quizzically, who was equally confused. He shrugged helplessly and didn’t say anything.
“Whatever, I don’t really care,” he thought.
‘ Marigold, no matter what happened between you guys, it’s better for you to stand together on this kind of occasion,” Danika whispered in her ear.” You don’t wish for others to have even more things to talk bad about you behind your back, right?”
Gilbert and Marigold (20)
Even if they weren’t married, as long as they stood together, no one would dare to speculate and gossip about the nature of their relationship. By doing so, naturally, no one would make fun of Marigold’s awkward status.
At the moment, anyone could see that they were clearly not fond of each other, and people would inevitably gossip about their weird relationship behind their backs. Those gossips would then extend to their child.
With Danika’s reminder, Marigold suddenly realized she’d been careless and didn’t think things through. “I didn’t consider the matter carefully enough.”
Immediately, she stood beside Gilbert with a smile on her face. No matter how distant they were at home, when they were in public, they had to pretend that their relationship was amicable. It was just that they didn’t get married.
Seeing her come to this realization, Danika felt relieved.
Danika wanted to ask Gilbert what he thought of Marigold presently, but given the special circumstances that day and the sheer number of people present, she thought it was not the right time for her to approach him about this. She would find another time to talk to him about it.
After Danika and Eustace entered the hall and found their seats, they discovered that Zack and Janet had already arrived ahead of them.
“Danika, you’re late,” Zack said.
Danika glanced at him and teased, “Hey, Zack. Ever since you got married, I rarely see you around. Have you abandoned me, your sister, because you have a wife now?”
Janet’s cheeks turned red, and she glared at Zack in annoyance.
She had no idea Zack was purposely keeping to themselves. She’d previously mentioned inviting Danika and the others over for a meal, but Zack said it was troublesome, and their relationship was good enough that they didn’t need to keep in touch so frequently unless something big came up.
Janet didn’t understand these things, nor did she believe there was any relationship in this world that didn’t require any form of upkeeping and maintenance. So now, when she heard Danika’s words, she was unable to register the fact that Danika was just joking and took it literally.
‘I’m sorry, Danika. It’s all my fault-“
“Why are you apologizing, silly?” Zack interrupted her. “She was joking.”
‘I was joking, Janet,” Danika confirmed.
Zack comforted Janet before looking at Danika and saying, “Don’t deliberately tease her. She doesn’t handle teasing well.”
Perhaps it was due to Janet’s upbringing and the environment she grew up in, but she would get hung up on every word and reaction from others. She was afraid of offending people and worried about how others might perceive her. In general, she was very sensitive.
‘Got it, Zack. I didn’t expect you to be so doting toward your wife,” Danika remarked. Before he met Janet, she had never imagined him to be this kind of person.
“It’s what I should do, isn’t it?” he asked rhetorically, proudly pulling Janet into his embrace.
Janet lowered her head and felt too embarrassed to face anyone.
Danika chuckled lightly. “Yes, of course.”
‘Oh, stop being jealous. Don’t I dote on you excessively too?” Eustace also pulled her into his embrace jokingly. He wouldn’t let his wife lose to anyone.
Seeing him wanting her to gain the upper hand in such a trivial issue, Danika felt kind of helpless as she replied, ‘Yes, you do.”
The people at the other tables nearby were speechless when they heard the two men arguing about who doted more on their wives.
What was going on? Weren’t they there for a baby’s naming ceremony? Why were they forced to watch such blatant and unabashed displays of public affection?
‘There’s something I want to tell you,” Zack spoke again, putting on a serious expression.
Danika turned to look at him as he said, “I found my biological parents.”
The smile on Danika’s face vanished instantly, and she became solemn.’ You found them?”
‘Yeah,” Zack nodded. “They’re overseas. Actually, I’ve received information about them before, but I just wasn’t really keen on finding them. But…” He glanced at the person next to him and added, “Later on, I thought that since I already knew where they were, I should at least go and see them. Otherwise, it might be a lifelong regret for me.” After a slight pause, he continued with a sneer, “I didn’t expect I’d really found them.” He’d never expected that everything would go so smoothly.
Gilbert and Marigold (21)
Danika was stunned for a moment before snapping back to reality. She looked at Zack with conflicted emotion. ‘Are you planning to live with them?”
Now it was Zack’s turn to be stunned. “Why would I live with them? I don’t even know them.”
He had not had a lonely childhood. Besides, Gilbert and Danika were here, and he was married with a wife. He couldn’t leave anyway.
‘I thought you’d be eager to stay with them after so many years of not seeing them.” Danika smiled bitterly. On second thought, she could understand his reasoning.
They were both the same. Although they didn’t have their parents since they were young, their emotional needs were met. Hence, they didn’t hunt for their biological parents. Even in Danika’s case, Graham was the one who found her. Otherwise, she would not have gone to find him.
Zack was like her. His decision to see his parents was probably because their news couldn’t be ignored. But for now, he would probably only be paying them a short visit. He would not have other intentions.
‘If I hadn’t married yet, I might have given it a second thought. But now I’ve married and have my own family. I have no need to chummy up with someone else’s family.” Zack was satisfied with where he was in life, and he didn’t want anything to change.
Danika nodded and looked at him. “I’ll support your decision, Zack.’ She would support him whether he went back or not. She would stand behind him and shield him.
Zack smiled and patted her on the shoulder. ‘That’s my sister.”
With merry talk and laughter, the gathering ended quickly. Gilbert and Marigold stood on the stage with their child in their hands. It was a heartwarming sight.
“If only they were a real family,” Danika exclaimed.
Zack nodded. “Yeah. We’re both married now. Only Gilbert isn’t. What a worrying thought.”
Who would have thought that Gilbert, the oldest amongst them, would be the last to marry?
‘Although he’s the only one who hasn’t married yet, he’s the one who had a child first. If you think about it this way, he’s still ahead of us,” Zack said.
That seemed to be true. Danika smiled.
Onstage, after Gilbert and Marigold thanked the guests for coming, they went back to Danika’s table.
Paul was sitting there too. It was all family at the table.
“I can understand if you don’t want to stay with the Wagners. But you can’t keep staying at his place,” Paul said the moment Marigold sat down.
Marigold felt embarrassed. He shouldn’t be talking about this now. “Let’s eat. We’ll talk after the meal,” she said, attempting to ease the situation.
Paul wanted to say more, but Danika nudged Eustace. He instantly understood and looked at Paul. “Let’s drink.”
Paul’s words were lodged in his throat. He looked at Eustace and finally shut up. He would only talk after the party.
“Look at what this is!’ Danika took out a gift box and slid it toward Caleb.’ This is a gift from your aunt.” “I have a gift prepared too!’ Zack quickly took his gift box out and slid it toward the baby.
Gilbert and Marigold (22)
Seeing that both of them had gifts prepared, Marigold felt embarrassed. She waved her hands quickly. “Oh, there’s no need for those. Your presence is enough. He’s still young. He doesn’t need presents.”
‘Oh, just take it. It’s for the kid.” Danika gave it to Marigold. Caleb was indeed young, so his mother had to take it for him.
Marigold didn’t know if she should take it. She looked at Gilbert for help.
‘Just take it. It’s expected of them.” They were Caleb’s aunt and uncle.
They wouldn’t escape formalities like this.
Marigold no longer refused since Gilbert put it that way. She reached out for the gifts. “I’ll take care of them for him and give it to him when he’s older.”
After the presents, everyone continued eating.
The party was not over after everyone was done eating. Gilbert had other activities planned. He’d booked the entire restaurant, and all his guests could stay for as long as they wanted.
After the meal, Danika stayed by Marigold’s side. She loved Caleb a lot. He was soft and chubby, and Danika wanted to squeeze him.