Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
She reached the door while everyone in the room was momentarily stunned by the attack. Still, she underestimated the capability of the men running the club. She opened the door to find two bodyguards staring frostily at her.
“I’m going all out!” Zack growled as he locked the man in his arms and went for the door.
The man, boiling in rage, raised the dagger and plunged it into Zack’s abdomen. “All out? I’ll kill you.”
Stop It!
“Ahhh-” Janet’s scream pierced through the air. She ran toward Zack like a madwoman when she saw him get stabbed. Before she could go nearer, she was kicked aside by the man. She lost consciousness right after, but before she blacked out, she seemed to see Zack smiling at her as though he was trying to assuage her. She wanted to tell him how upset she was, but in the end, she didn’t have the opportunity to do so.
Meanwhile, Danika woke up groggily at the Old Mansion in Parrington when her phone rang. She was confused when she saw the caller’s name. Why would Gilbert call her at this time of night?
“Gilbert?” she answered the call. “Why are you calling at this hour?”
It was just after 1 am, and she was fast asleep until she was awoken by Gilbert’s call, which puzzled her.
“What?” She was instantly awake after hearing what Gilbert had to say, and she sat up straight in the bed. “Zack’s hurt?”
“Calm down. He’s fine. He’s at the hospital,” Gilbert hurriedly explained to stop her from worrying. He added, “I didn’t want to call you, but I worried you would blame me for not keeping you in the loop. So, here I am, telling you about it. I’m not here to make you worried.” He knew her well. She’d be upset for not getting the news right away, so he decided to call in the wee hours of the night.
She had gotten out of bed and started dressing. “Of course you have to tell me right away! You’re at Bardoff Hospital, right? I’m coming over right now. Let’s talk when I’m there.”
“Stop!” he scolded. “Don’t you ever check the time? You’re in Parrington! How on earth are you supposed to travel here?”
She snapped back to reality. Right, she was in Parrington, and there were no flights to Bardoff City at that time.
“Get a good rest and come to Bardoff City tomorrow. He’s fine. He only suffered from some bruises.”
She pursed her lips, thinking that Zack’s condition was not as simple as Gilbert had presented. “Who hurt him?”
“I’ve gotten that guy under control. It’s quite complicated. Let’s talk when you’re back.” Next, he hung up on her, refusing to take more questions.
She stared at her phone helplessly. She badly wanted to fly to Bardoff City. Too bad she was not a bird. When she turned around, she found Eustace awake. He must have woken up because of her. Feeling embarrassed, she said, “Sorry. I woke you up.”
“Has something happened to Zack?” Eustace asked. He observed the panic on Danika’s face.
She nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Gilbert said Zack suffered some bruises, but I think he’s doing worse than that. Gilbert wouldn’t have called me at this hour otherwise.” She guessed that Zack must have been unconscious, for he would have stopped Gilbert from making the call, but he wasn’t there to physically stop him.
“Are you very worried?” He looked at her.
She nodded. Of course she was worried about her brother.
He glanced at his phone and told her, “If we start the drive, we can reach Bardoff City around 10 am.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” She was caught off guard.
“If you’re worried, we can drive to Bardoff City,’ he suggested, knowing that Danika would lose sleep if she could not ascertain Zack’s condition with her own eyes. Instead of waiting for the next morning, he thought they should move immediately.
But He’s Not the One for You
Danika was taken aback by his proposal. Eyes wide in disbelief, she stared at him. “Drive to Bardoff City?”
“Yeah.” He nodded, thinking it was not a big deal as long as she was down for it.
A long silence later, she shook her head. Although she was worried about Zack and wanted to be back in Bardoff City, driving late at night was taxing and posed a risk of an accident. She wouldn’t put them through it. “Let’s sleep. We can book the earliest flight tomorrow morning.” She went back to bed, but it was destined to be a sleepless night.
At a general ward in Bardoff Hospital, Janet finally opened her eyes. She was temporarily disoriented when she saw the unfamiliar environment. Soon, she recalled the events before losing consciousness, and tears welled up in her eyes. She stumbled out of the room and realized she was in a hospital. That gave her a sliver of hope. If she was in the hospital, did that mean she and Zack were saved?
She hurriedly stopped a nurse and asked if another patient had been sent to the hospital with her. She finally beamed when she heard that a patient had been sent in at the same time. However, the color drained from her face when she learned the patient was in the emergency room.
She found her way to the emergency room entrance with great difficulty. nov毛xo Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably when she saw the lit-up sign.
That was when Gilbert noticed her presence. He didn’t like the woman at all, especially after learning that she had a role in the incident. Thankfully, he found Zack right when the man attempted to stab him for the second time.
Gilbert had wanted to leave Janet behind, disregarding her welfare, but he acted against it out of consideration for Zack. However, nv毛lx.o that didn’t mean he would show her kindness.
He turned his gaze to the emergency room, his brow furrowed. Zack suffered from one stab wound, but it was critical. The doctor had discussed it with Gilbert and made him sign the notice of critical condition, but he didn’t utter a word to Danika.
“Gilbert.” Janet noticed him standing at the entrance. n.ov毛x.o She hung her head low and went up to him. He glanced at her without a word. She knew that he never took a liking to her. In the past, she would have felt unfairly treated, but she knew she didn’t deserve to think so at this moment. Zack wouldn’t have been injured if not for her.
“Zack…he’ll be okay, right?” she asked with a shaky voice.
He snickered, “Shouldn’t you know best?”
“Sorry. I have no idea…”
“Leave your apology for Zack,” he cut her off emotionlessly even as he faced her tears.
She bit her lips and shut up. Indeed, she needed to apologize to Zack.
“How did this happen?” Gilbert asked. n.ov毛x.o He didn’t have the time to interrogate the men he had arrested.
Her expression fell, but she told him everything without leaving behind any detail. When she was done, she peered at his face. As expected, n.ove.lx.o there was a display of resentment and disgust on it on top of the usual dislike.
“Zack loves you a lot, but he’s not the one for you. n.ove.lx.o If you care about him, you shouldn’t be with him.”
“Do you know how much trouble you’d cause him with that family of yours? Even if he survives this time, we wouldn’t know about the next. Could you promise me that he’ll survive each attack?” Gilbert questioned.
Janet was quiet, and there was a ghastly look on her face.
A Long Night
When the lights of the emergency room sign went out, Gilbert shifted his gaze away from Janet, relieving her from the pressure, even if it was for a while. She followed behind him, listening to him asking the doctor about Zack’s condition.
“He’s not in critical condition, but we’ll have to see how he fares in the next 24 hours,” the doctor answered. Gilbert thanked him and watched the nurse wheel Zack into the ICU. Since he and Janet couldn’t enter the ICU, they lingered at the entrance, not intending to leave.
Feeling guilty, she offered, “Gilbert, you should head home to rest. I can watch over him.” She made the considerate suggestion because she worried that Gilbert would overexert himself.
However, he gave her a hard look. “Zack is my brother. I will watch over him.”
He implied that she would remain an outsider as long as she wasn’t married to Zack.
She went silent, not knowing what to say in the situation. The air between them froze. They sat at each end of the bench, an entire world separating the two like they were total strangers. It was going to be a long night.
Danika woke up and started packing early in the morning, while Eustace informed Old Mr. Quincey about their departure. When she went to the first floor, she ran into Old Mr. Quincey, who was up to date on the situation. He comforted her, “Danika, don’t worry. He’s a lucky guy, and he’ll be fine.”
She forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’m okay.” She was worried but not to the point of losing her mind. She and Eustace had breakfast with Old Mr. Quincey but didn’t stay for long. They had to leave after breakfast because they had booked the earliest flight out of Parrington.
Before she boarded the plane, she called Gilbert to check on the situation. He assured her Zack was fine, leaving her with no choice but to see that for herself. She hung up and boarded the flight with Eustace. The plane took off soon and vanished from sight as it ascended to the skies above Parrington.
At Bardoff Hospital, Gilbert tucked away his phone and sighed as he stared at Zack, who was still in the ICU despite surviving the crucial 24-hour period. Janet was still around. She washed up at the restroom and returned to stand guard at the ICU entrance.
“We don’t need you to stay. Go home.” Gilbert rarely interacted with her, but his first conversation was asking her to leave.
She shook her head. “It’s alright. I’m not tired. I’ll wait until he wakes up.”
She was bogged down by guilt toward Zack. Waiting for him to wake up was the least she could do as a girlfriend.
“Zack cares a lot about you. If you fall sick when you wait for him, he’ll have to worry about you when he wakes up,” Gilbert said. She pursed her lips and thought of replying, but he was ahead of her. “We’ll have someone looking after him. I need to rest at home too. I’ll come over in the afternoon.”
Danika and Eustace would arrive by noon, and Gilbert thought they could brainstorm the next steps together. Janet ran out of excuses to stay, especially after Gilbert said that to her. Still, she didn’t wander far. She booked a room at the hotel across from the hospital, where she washed up and lay on the bed. Instead of dozing off, she waited for time to pass.
When noon came around, she’d immediately head to the hospital.
Why Don’t You Deal With the Mess That Is Your Family?
At noon, Janet was back at the hospital on an empty stomach. When Gilbert returned, he found her standing at the entrance to the ICU. He ignored her and called Danika. He didn’t say much after learning that she and Eustace had alighted and were on their way to the hospital.
“Is Danika coming?” Janet cast a nervous glance at Gilbert. Although he had never done anything threatening to her, she was fearful of him. In the past, she was fine with Gilbert’s aversion as long as Zack loved her. After the incident, she seemed to have lost some of her confidence.
Gilbert glanced at her and grunted without offering more details. Since he refused to engage, Janet knew her place and quietly sat by the ICU.
Half an hour later, Danika and Eustace showed up at the hospital and hurried to the ICU. There, she saw Gilbert, which angered her. “Didn’t you say he suffered minor injuries? Why is he warded here, then?”
As a doctor, she knew too well the patient’s condition that warranted a stay at the ICU. She realized that Gilbert had been lying to her over the phone. Seeing her agitation, he hurriedly calmed her down. “He’s fine. He wont die.”
“Gilbert!” She sounded cross, but he felt the same.
He hissed, “He acted stupid by putting himself in danger for someone else. He had no one to blame but himself.”
That remark took her by surprise, for she still had no idea what had occurred. She gave him a puzzled look before shifting her gaze to the silent Janet. When Gilbert realized that Janet was not going to open up, he told Danika everything. But in his narration, Janet was to be blamed, and Zack was merely being stupid. Janet didn’t fight back because she agreed it was her fault too.
Danika felt a headache creeping on after hearing the sequence of events. She waved her hand. “Let’s put that aside. I’ll check with the doctor. We’ll talk about everything else when Zack’s awake.”
“Sure.” Gilbert didn’t stop her, knowing she’d only feel assured after asking the doctor questions. Eustace went with her, and soon, only Janet and Gilbert were by the ICU. When he realized that she had no intention of leaving, he looked rather annoyed. “Danika and I will stay. You don’t have to be here.”
“Gilbert, I’m Zack’s girlfriend-“
“You’re his girlfriend, not his spouse,” he dismissed her with disdain, hoping that Janet wouldn’t be in contact with Zack anymore.
She bit her lips. He went on, “Rather than wasting your time here, why don’t you deal with the mess that is your family?”
That question seemed to have done the job. She said no more and was ready to leave. “Got it.”
Indeed, it was high time she sort out the mess. At least she needed to confront her parents about their treatment of her. Had they never seen her as their daughter?
When Danika returned, Janet was gone. “Where is she?”
“She left,” Gilbert said curtly, sounding quite irritated as though he refused to mention Janet.