Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
Rowena urgently instructed the bodyguard behind her, “Quickly, save her!”
As the bodyguard was about to act, Eustace tightened his grip and warned, “I suggest you don’t do that unless you want to see her dead right away.”
“No!” Rowena shouted, halting the bodyguards from rushing in, feeling helpless.
Just then, Graham emerged from the hotel with a grim expression and hurried over to them. If the bodyguards hadn’t alerted him, he wouldn’t have known that his daughter was in danger.
He glared at Eustace, demanding, “Eustace, are you insane? Release Jolene!” He knew Eustace, not because they were acquainted, but because of Danika and
Eustace’s marriage. Although he didn’t want that to happen, he hadn’t admitted that
Danika was his daughter back then, so he had no right to stop them. He could only watch as she married Eustace and later divorced him.
He didn’t like Eustace and always thought that he had failed Danika.
Eustace was indifferent and fearless as he said to Graham, “Mr. Zellweger, I’m disciplining your daughter for you. As the daughter of the Zellweger family, she doesn’t think about things from the Zellweger family’s point of view. She likes to pick on others at every turn. Don’t you feel ashamed to have such a daughter?”
Graham had no way to refute Eustace’s words because he knew that Jolene was not the best person and likely used her status to pick on others, giving
Eustace a reason to discipline her. He took a deep breath and softened his tone, saying, “I apologize to you on Jolene’s behalf. She is still young and ignorant, so please don’t take it out on her.”
Eustace chuckled and said, “Still young? I don’t think she’s much younger than Danika, right?”
At the mention of Danika, Graham said, “No matter what, Jolene is still Danika’s younger sister. Are you sure you really want to kill her?”
Despite the number of people on his side, Graham knew it was impossible to snatch Jolene away from Eustace in their current situation. But he was sure that if
Eustace killed Jolene, he would avenge his daughter himself.
Whether She’s in the Right Eustace loosened his grip on Jolene’s neck and looked at Graham. “I’ll show you some respect because you’re Danika’s father.” Holding back was Eustace’s show of respect to Graham, for he had vowed not to go easy on Jolene no matter who came to him. Graham did not need anyone’s respect. Be it in tiny Parrington or Bardoff City, he was always the one to decide who deserved his respect. He had been unhappy with Danika’s marriage to Eustace, and his dissatisfaction with Eustace only increased after Eustace divorced Danika. Now, he had the guts to be impudent in front of him.
When the bodyguards successfully took Jolene away, Graham finally spoke, “Eustace, you can only be impudent if you are capable. Look around you and understand where you are right now. You shouldn’t throw tantrums as you like,’ Expressionless, he addressed Eustace in an icy tone.
Eustace raised an eyebrow without any fear. “Mr. Zellweger, from the sound of it, you will take action on me. Is that right?” He glanced at the number of bodyguards beside Graham, which was double the number of men around Jolene. More importantly, Graham’s bodyguards were not easy to take down. “Hah, it’s not my style to win with numbers,” Graham scoffed. Eustace waited in silence for Graham to continue. “We’ll have a one-to-one fight. Jolene is my daughter, after all. As her dad, I need to seek justice for her.” “Regardless of whether she’s in the right?” Eustace chuckled.
“Yes, regardless of whether she’s in the right.” Graham nodded without hesitation and added, “I’d do the same for Danika.” Graham believed that his daughters deserved privileged treatment. He’d much rather Eustace not take things in his hands and put Jolene’s life in danger. Eustace could have told him and let him discipline Jolene for her wrongdoings. His behavior, to Graham, was more than a slight disrespect to the Zellweger Family-it was a grave insult to the patriarch.
Surprisingly, Eustace agreed with Graham’s remark about affording Danika similar privileges. It seemed he’d agree to any arrangement in Danika’s favor. He nodded at Graham, a sign for the man to start the fight. Without wasting time, Graham looked at the man beside him. “Teach him a lesson, but do not kill.’ As Graham had learned that Danika was friendly with Eustace, he wouldn’t want to upset her by hurting Eustace, given that he had only recently repaired their father daughter relationship. The middle-aged man nodded at Graham while Eustace smiled and thought,” Where did he get the confidence to win against me? I have never lost to anyone.” The two were embroiled in a fight. There were a lot of onlookers who thought the fight interesting, but all were watching the action in hidden corners. One of them was Christopher, who had been around ever since Jolene started giving Eustace trouble. When he saw Eustace in a fight with Graham’s man, he secretly felt glad for making the trip and took out his phone to snap some photos. After that, he scrolled to Danika’s contact in his phone, but he hesitated when he was about to send her the photos. He thought the photos could wait and planned to send them after the fight ended. He wouldn’t want Danika to show up in the middle of the fight and end the show. Deep down, he wanted to see Eustace beaten up-Eustace was asking for it. At first, the middle-aged man and Eustace were throwing punches at each other for a few rounds, much to Graham’s surprise. The man served Graham for many years and was almost invincible, except when he was fighting against opponents trained by the other elite families. Graham started believing that Eustace was cocky for a good reason. Still, he was no match for the middle-aged man in the end.
Lie Low to Live Longer
Ten minutes of fighting later, Eustace started feeling worn out as he noticed that he was no match for his opponent. He was gripped by shock and frustration for not being stronger.
Eustace stumbled backward from the impact of another punch that landed on his cheek. The middle-aged man didn’t give Eustace time to recover-he charged at Eustace and punched him violently. Had he not strictly followed Graham’s orders to teach Eustace a lesson, Eustace would have been dead by now.
Soon, Eustace was face-down on the ground.
“You may leave,” Graham said to the middle-aged man. Then, he strode up to Eustace and stood towering over the defeated man on the ground with a regal air.
“Eustace Quincey, I get that you’re quite capable, but your ability is still lacking for Bardoff City standards. Had you met another opponent instead of me, you would have died here today. Here’s a warning-lay low before you are strong enough so you can live longer.” With that, Graham turned around to leave. He suddenly stopped and said, ‘Danika is the daughter of the Zellweger family. She’s out of your league now. I hope you get the note and stop pestering her-you’re not from the same world.”
After Graham left, Eustace got up from the ground, dusted his sleeves, and left in his car. He was not upset about the loss, for he could always win in the future. He was young, and it was a matter of time before he beat the middle -aged man.
What upset him was Graham’s statement. “Am I not from the same world as Danika? Bullshit! Danika is mine, now and forever. Graham Zellweger might be her dad, but he didn’t have the right to make decisions on her behalf,” he fumed silently.
He drove himself home, body aching from head to toe from the heavy beating that night. He sat on the sofa and was about to take off his shirt to check his injuries when he heard the sound of the doorbell. Frowning, he wondered who the late-night visitor was.
He walked up and opened the door. To his surprise, Danika was standing there.
“Why are you here?” he blurted out. She didn’t answer, but her eyes were fixed on his face. There was a jarring bruise beneath his eyes, an injury he could not hide even if he insisted he was fine. “I accidentally tripped.”
She was speechless at his explanation. “Do you take me as a fool?” He stood there quietly as she walked into his place. “Come in. I’ll take a look at your injuries.” As a doctor, she was capable of checking the severity of his injuries. She wondered if he had also sustained injuries at other parts of his body. She received Christopher’s video, in which Eustace was terribly beaten up to the point that he could not stand.
He hummed and followed her into the living room, sitting on the sofa. She ordered, “Take off your shirt.”
“I…’ He suddenly felt shy under her gaze.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Now! Quit acting like you’re embarrassed.” She knew him too well-he was not easily embarrassed.
He coughed to break the awkwardness and took off his shirt to show his injuries from the fight. Judging from the huge swaths of bruises on his chest and back, he was beaten up badly. There wasn’t an area that was free from bruising.
Thankfully, he had no open wounds, or he might suffer from excessive blood loss.
Danika took out some ointment and massaged his body as she gave him a look in defeat. She asked softly, “Does it hurt?’
Deal With Them Yourself
Danika thought he’d complain about the pain, but Eustace shook his head and said.
“No, it doesn’t hurt.”
He was speaking the truth and was especially enjoying the moment when Danika applied the ointment to his injuries.
Hearing that, she couldn’t resist pinching his bruised skin hard. He promptly yelped in pain. “Danika, what are you doing?” He was puzzled and wondered if he had said something wrong.
“How about now?” she asked.
Eustace learned his lesson and nodded. ‘It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
She snickered and said in dissatisfaction, “Good that it hurts. Learn your lesson.
You shouldn’t think you’re still in Parrington. Aren’t you scared of dying?”
“How did you know?” Eustace was curious, knowing that Graham would not tell Danika about the fight.
She avoided his question and said, “I know you’re used to walking around like you own the place, but now that you’re in Bardoff City, you need to toe the line. Luck is not always on your side.”
“Great. Even you’re scolding me now.” He felt helpless. He didn’t think he was being impudent-his actions stemmed from his confidence in his capabilities. However, Danika wouldn’t believe him if he said so. Therefore, he let her nag at him since it was a show of concern.
“I’m not scolding you. I am telling you this in your best interest.” Defeated, she wondered why Eustace showed no intent to behave. He nodded. “I get it. Don’t worry. I won’t give you trouble.”
Her motions instantly came to a stop. She looked at him with a grave expression. “Eustace Quincey, did you think I visited you because I was worried that you’d give me trouble?”
“Danika, that wasn’t what I meant. I…”
“Whatever. Perhaps I’m just being nosy. Do whatever you want-1 won’t stop you since there’s nothing between us anyway.” She planned to leave, regretting her decision to visit him. “Sure, he’s not dead now. But it is none of my business even if he was beaten to death,” she thought.
Seeing that, he hurriedly got up and grabbed her wrist. “Danika, don’t be angry. I really didn’t mean it. I just didn’t want to worry you. I know my limits, and I’m not as reckless as you thought.”
She couldn’t leave with Eustace holding onto her wrist. Turning around, she sighed.
“You have offended the Zellwegers, and the Glasses probably wouldn’t let you off the hook too. You have made enemies out of two elites among the ten in Bardoff City.”
Even the thought of the tough life ahead worried her. “Why don’t you head back to Parrington? It’s your territory, at the very least. It’d be harder for them to attack you there.”
“Danika, I’m not as weak as you thought. I might not have the ability to retaliate, but it’s not easy for them to kill me off.’ His years of experience wouldn’t go to waste.
She was powerless in the face of his determination. “Are you sure you want to move the headquarters of the Quincey Group to Bardoff City?”
“Yeah, there are better opportunities here.” More importantly, he needed to be in Bardoff City because Danika was there.
“Alright. Suit yourself.” She didn’t object to his decision and added, “I’ll think of a way to stop the Zellwegers from making a move on you. As for the Glasses, you can deal with them yourself.”
If the Zellwegers didn’t avenge Jolene, Rowena would definitely turn to her family for help. Danika could tell from Randy Glass’ character that the Glasses were vile, and they would likely attack Eustace. The thought worried her
Let’s Not Talk About Romance
Eustace nodded, looking calmer than Danika. Carefree as always, he’d only take on the problem when it surfaced. He believed that there would always be a solution to any problem.
He led her to the sofa, sat her down, and handed her the ointment. “You should at least finish what you started.”
She didn’t object to that and continued applying the ointment to his body. The living room fell into silence when they stopped talking.
Soon, she was done and ready to leave. “Have a good rest. It’s best if you could rest at home for a few days.”
“Are you leaving?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s late. I need to get home.” She knew Graham didn’t like that she was in touch with Eustace, and she worried she might fuel Graham’s dislike of Eustace if she got home late.
“Danika,” Eustace called out, his deep gaze fixated on her face. “The truth is, you still care about me. Don’t you?” As expected, she was silent. He added, “I’m not strong enough yet. Can you wait for me?”
“Wait for you?” She was puzzled by his words.
“Wait for me until I have built my strength. Right now, I’m not qualified to be with you.” He flashed a bitter smile at her. As much as he’d love to date Danika rightnow, he understood that it was a difficult ask. Therefore, he hoped that she could give him some time.
She chuckled at his remark, looking a little disheartened. “Eustace, you’ve known me long enough. Is that what you think of me?” She wasn’t the type of woman who’d care about his qualifications.
“I know you wouldn’t care about that. But I don’t want you to be mistreated, and I don’t want the others to gossip.” He would hate to see others gossip about Danika behind her back because of him, and he’d be more upset if he could not protect her.
His sincerity earned her trust. Still…
A long silence later, she replied, “I don’t care about your family background. If I love someone, I will keep loving him regardless of status.”
“Do you love me, then?” He took the chance to ask, but she rolled her eyes at him while dodging the question. ‘That’s not in my consideration right now because I’m yet to establish myself in Bardoff City. Everything’s in flux now, and I have lots of work waiting for me.”
“I understand.” He knew where she was coming from, for he felt the same.
“Let’s not talk about romance now and focus on reaching success. When we have established ourselves here, we can bring up that discussion. What do you think?” she asked for his opinion. She’d be fooling herself if she claimed she didn’t love Eustace, but she was rather scared of dating him again after their shortlived relationship. Moreover, she believed getting into a relationship would slow down her career growth. Before she built her career here, she would rather not think about romance.