Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
Danika sighed again, and just then, the maid came over to inform them that breakfast was ready. Danika took the opportunity to end the conversation.” Let’s have breakfast first. After breakfast, I have something important to talk to you about.”
“Okay.” Seeing that Danika didn’t mention anything about wanting him to give up, Evan’s mood improved slightly.
They walked toward the dining table. Danika handed Evan the contract she and Luke drafted the day before regarding the collaboration between Zellweger Inc and Quincey Group. “This is a collaborative initiative brought to me by Luke. I’ve read it over, and it seems good. Please take a look,” she said.
Evan took the contract and casually scanned through it. “Looks decent,” he said.
“Well then, since that’s the case, you’ll be in charge of this from now on. I won’t be involved in it anymore,” Danika said. As long as the collaboration benefited Zellweger Inc, Danika wouldn’t refuse-even if it was proposed by Luke, whom she didn’t like.
Evan nodded. He was fine with this arrangement as it would prevent further contact between Danika and Luke. “Okay, I’ll handle it, but I’ll need time to do some due diligence for this collaboration. We may not sign the official contract so quickly.”
He knew the collaboration was destined to fail, as Luke’s father would pass away soon. When that happened, not only would this contract not benefit Zellweger Inc, but it would also bring a lot of trouble. So, for now, he could only buy time by dragging it out.
Ask Him Yourself
Danika didn’t understand why, but she didn’t oppose what he said. “Alright, you handle it. I trust your abilities.” “Okay.” Evan smiled and asked her, “So, Luke approached you to talk about this collaboration? Why is he suddenly being kind?”
“Whatever his purpose is, as long as we can get tangible benefits, it doesn’t matter even if he has ulterior motives.” Danika didn’t care; in fact, she could guess what Luke was up to.
Hearing her words, Evan knew that Danika wasn’t interested in Luke. Even so, he would still help Eustace get rid of Xavier, as he wasn’t exactly thrilled to see Luke constantly pestering Danika.
After breakfast, Evan suggested taking Danika to meet Gilbert, and they could have a meal together.
Danika didn’t refuse. She hadn’t seen much of Gilbert since he came back some time ago. They were all busy, and Danika didn’t know if it was her imagination or something else, but she felt that Gilbert had become more distant after he returned. It was unlike when they were in Parrington, where they used to contact each other almost every day.
On the way to meet Gilbert, Evan suddenly remembered something. “Do you know about Gilbert’s situation?”
“Huh? What situation?” Danika was a little confused, not quite understanding the meaning behind Evan’s words.
Evan thought Danika already knew. After all, Gilbert’s matter had caused quite a stir, and based on their relationship, she shouldn’t be unaware.
Right then, Evan had no idea about what happened between Gilbert and Danika, so naturally, he wouldn’t know why Gilbert went abroad. He had always thought that Gilbert went abroad to develop his business.
He hesitated for a moment but didn’t tell her about it ultimately. “You can ask him yourself later.”
Since Gilbert didn’t tell Danika, he probably didn’t want her to know. If Evan were to tell her, it would probably make Gilbert unhappy.
“Oh.” Danika found it strange that Evan was being so secretive. Was there something that they were purposely hiding? Filled with doubt, she asked Gilbert about it right away the moment they saw each other.
Gilbert immediately glanced at Evan, and his eyes seemed like they could kill. Evan rubbed his nose and looked away; he didn’t know Gilbert hadn’t told Danika about that matter.
“Gilbert?” Danika found it odd that Gilbert wasn’t speaking, but staring at Evan instead.
It made her feel even more puzzled.
When he turned his head and looked at Danika, there wasn’t a trace of the killing intent earlier in his eyes. They had already returned to normal. “Don’t listen to his nonsense.
Nothing is going on. I’m just having some trouble dealing with a difficult client.”
“A difficult client? How so?” Danika was skeptical. If it was just a difficult client, Evan shouldn’t know about it.
Gilbert remained silent, appearing to be deep in thought from Danika’s perspective, but Evan knew that he was trying to come up with a lie.
Sure enough, not long after, Gilbert spoke up, “It’s just that I didn’t want to work with that customer, so he found someone to go after me behind my back. I got injured, but it was nothing serious.”
Upon hearing the word “injured,” Danika immediately became anxious.” Where did you get hurt? Is it serious?”
“I’m fine now. It wasn’t serious,” Gilbert replied.
“How can you not tell me about something so huge?” Danika was angry, but after her anger subsided, she blamed herself. If it wasn’t because of her, Gilbert wouldn’t have gone abroad. She felt guilty and apologized, “I’m sorry, Gilbert. It’s all my fault…”
“What does it have to do with you? This is part and parcel of doing business. You’re bound to encounter people willing to do anything to get their way. It’s nothing strange. Don’t think too much into it,” Gilbert reassured Danika, and he felt relieved that she believed him. Lying to Danika took a lot of courage on his part.
Can’t Force It
After the trio of them were done with their conversation, they stood up and went to the parking lot. Gilbert asked Danika to wait in place while he took Evan to get the car.
On the way there, Gilbert looked somewhat displeased with Evan. ‘I brought you back so you could pursue Danika and make her happy, not say things you shouldn’t say in front of her.’
Evan looked innocent as he shrugged and said helplessly, “How was I supposed to know that you never told her? With all the commotion, I thought Danika already knew.”
“I didn’t want her to know,” Gilbert said.
“Okay, I promise I won’t say anything in front of her, alright?” Evan didn’t think too much about it. It was indeed embarrassing, and it was understandable that Gilbert didn’t want Danika to know.
Seeing that Evan didn’t mean any harm, Gilbert didn’t say anything more but asked,
“How’s it going? Why do I feel like Danika is still indifferent toward you?”
“Oh, you’re pretty spot on with that.” Evan didn’t see the need to deceive Gilbert. It was true that he hadn’t successfully won Danika over, and he wasn’t as confident as before.
His words angered Gilbert. “What do you mean by that?”
“Danika has rejected me. She said she only sees me as a brother,” Evan explained, feeling a little dismayed. If he hadn’t rejected Danika’s confession, they might have been married by now. He was too young to know how to cherish what had been his. Gilbert stared at him blankly, not knowing how Evan could say that so calmly. “So?
You’re just giving up like this?”
“Of course not, but I can only take it slow. You know Danika. If I push too hard, she’ll only resist me harder.”
That was something they both understood. Gilbert felt annoyed and even began to doubt if bringing Evan back was the right decision. If Danika didn’t like him, then what was the point of him coming back?
Sensing what Gilbert was thinking, Evan patted his shoulder. “Things like this are ultimately up to fate. We can’t force it.”
Besides, this was Danika they were talking about. Even if they wanted to force it, they wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Fate?” Gilbert murmured, then sighed bitterly.
“Don’t think too much about it. I brought Danika with me today to see you. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed with me for so long. So, you should understand your role, right?” Evan asked.
Gilbert gave him a disdainful look and scolded, “Do I have to help you with pursuing Danika now? Can’t you come up with better ideas?”
“I want to, but I really can’t find any.”
If it were any other woman, he could either be forceful or use money. But Danika was different. He couldn’t do that with her. More importantly, would Danika accept him if he used his usual ways on her?
Obviously, she wouldn’t.
Gilbert felt a headache coming on and rubbed his temples. Ultimately, he decided not to say anything anymore and took Evan to his car. Danika was still waiting at the original spot, and when she saw the two of them driving over, she didn’t think too much and just hopped on.
“Gilbert, have you been busy with your company lately? How are things?” They hadn’t been in touch much these days, so Danika didn’t know much about Gilbert’s recent situation. She was concerned and wanted to know more when she finally saw him. Gilbert nodded as he drove. “It’s been good, and everything is on track. I’ve contacted Zack, and he should be coming to Bardoff City soon.”
Although Zack’s company was thriving in Parrington, both Gilbert and Danika were in
Bardoff City, so there was no reason for him to continue to stay in Parrington.
Moreover, Bardoff City had relatively better development opportunities. As long as Zack had bigger aspirations, he would definitely come to Bardoff City. It was better for him to come over so that they could watch each other’s backs.
Someone’s Watching Us
“Is Zack coming to Bardoff City too? That’s awesome!” It had been a long time since the three of them hung out together. Danika missed those days very much.
Seeing how happy she was, Gilbert asked, “Why won’t you let him come here since you want him in Bardoff City so much? He’d happily oblige if you just said the word.”
“You and Zack are good to me. I know you would agree to my requests, but I can’t influence you for my own sake.” Danika would be happy if they came to Bardoff City to further expand their companies. However, if they came here purely for her sake, it would be different. Danika didn’t want to be such a selfish person.
Gilbert looked at her, a mixture of emotions swirling in his chest. “It’s okay to be selfish once in a while, Danika. You don’t have to be so understanding.”
One’s heart would ache seeing someone be too considerate. Gilbert felt that Danika had the right to make outlandish requests. She didn’t have to consider their feelings so much.
“It’s not about being selfish. I think it goes both ways. You guys are so good to me. I’d want to be good to you, too,” Danika said.
Evan sat behind them, his heart aching when he heard their conversation.
Although Danika had promised to treat him like she treated Gilbert, Evan knew that they were different. He would never be as close to Danika as Gilbert was. Thus, if he wanted Danika to stay by his side forever, his only choice would be to make her his lover. Otherwise, they were certain to drift apart.
Not long after, the car stopped at the largest mall in Bardoff City. They walked in.
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve taken you shopping, Danika. You can splurge however you please. I’ll pay for everything,” Gilbert said boldly.
Danika smiled. “Well, don’t mind me.”
She was delighted. She thought that she and Gilbert had gone back to how they once used to be. They were family again.
They walked into the mall. Gilbert brought Danika around the entire place. They shopped at nearly every store, making a bunch of purchases and then getting the employees to deliver them straight to their homes. Meanwhile, they went to the restaurants on the top floor.
They discussed restaurant options as they walked. But not long after, Danika paused in her tracks and looked over her shoulder. However, she saw nothing.
Her instincts were sharp. This was the result of years of training.
“What’s wrong?” Gilbert and Evan both asked.
“It’s nothing. I just feel like something is watching us.” She hadn’t seen anyone behind them, but her intuition was usually right.
At those words, Gilbert and Evan looked back, their expressions matching the other. But there was no one suspicious behind them. Only shoppers.
Danika patted them on their shoulders. “Let’s go eat. I might be wrong.”
It was a good day. She didn’t want to ruin it.
