Filed to story: The Regretful Billionaire: An Unpredicted Reunion
Meanwhile, Gilbert was stunned when he received the phone call. His child was born, but the child’s mother was critically ill, and he’d become the child’s sole legal guardian. He looked at the suitcase in front of him and fell into deep thought.
He’d already started packing his bags, preparing to leave early tomorrow morning. But now, this news came like a bolt out of the blue. Despite feeling utterly bewildered, Gilbert immediately made his way to the hospital.
When he arrived there, he saw his own child. Perhaps it was due to their blood connection, as the child, who’d been crying all this while, suddenly stopped crying upon Gilbert’s arrival.
Eustace appeared behind him in the next second. “I’ll take a few strands of your hair for the paternity test.”
Just as he reached his hand out, Gilbert stopped him. “There’s no need. He’s my child.”
Those eyes and that little face simply resembled his too much. Even without a paternity test, Gilbert was certain that the child was his.
Hearing that, Eustace didn’t insist. As long as Gilbert acknowledged it, then all was good.
Eustace explained Marigold’s current condition to Gilbert and stated, “You’ll have to take care of the child for the time being. If you’re inexperienced in this, I think it’s best to hire a nanny.”
“Of course I’m inexperienced!” Gilbert exclaimed internally. He looked at the tiny infant and had no idea where to start or what to do. Therefore, he followed Eustace’s advice and found a nanny for the child. He also bought a whole bunch of baby supplies.
Gilbert thought he would despise this child because of how it was conceived. But upon laying eyes on the little one, an inexplicable feeling of joy took over his heart.
Gilbert and Marigold (2)
In the evening, under the nanny’s guidance, Gilbert managed to put his child to sleep on his shoulder. At the same time, Marigold’s surgery also ended.
Danika had changed out of her surgeon clothes and was about to go in to see the child when Eustace stopped her. He carefully opened the door to let Danika peek in through a small gap. “Well, look at that. I guess someone is able to tie him down, after all.”
Eustace was right. Gilbert was completely enthralled by the child. He was so smitten to the point that he’d completely forgotten he was supposed to go to Mount Wallington.
“How did the surgery go?” Eustace asked.
‘I think it was a success, but she needs to focus on recovery after the surgery. I don’t think she should take care of the child,” Danika answered.
Eustace smiled, thinking that it wouldn’t be a problem. “Isn’t Gilbert doing well taking care of the baby? Maybe he can take care of the baby’s mother too.”
“Are you suggesting…” Danika dragged out the last word suggestively and laughed.
Gilbert was clueless about their plan. Hence, it came as no surprise that he was confuddled when Danika brought not only his child but also Marigold, who was just discharged from the hospital, and put them under his care.
“Danika, what’s the meaning of this?” Taking care of a child was already exhausting enough. Now, he was tasked with taking care of a patient as well.
Waving her hand, Danika motioned for him to keep calm as she replied,” Marigold is the child’s mother, after all. We can’t just leave her alone in her current condition, right?”
“But what about the Wagners-‘
“She wasn’t exactly having a good time while staying with the Wagners, to begin with. On top of that, Paul won’t be able to cope with taking care of her every day,” Danika interrupted. As Gilbert’s frown deepened, Danika prattled on, “You know, she fought so hard to give birth to the child. I think she’ll want to see him every day and be close to him. Letting her stay at your place is the best choice. If you’re really at your limit, you can hire some help.’
This put Gilbert in a spot. Seeing him silent, Danika smirked, for her plan had succeeded.
After Danika was done ‘negotiating” with Gilbert, she went to talk to Marigold and give her a few words of advice. “Take good care of yourself here. Don’t hesitate to call me if anything crops up. Gilbert might seem all macho and tough, but deep down, he cares about you.”
“Danika, I don’t think this is necessary…”
“Do you want the child to grow up without a father?” Danika asked her.
Marigold had no words to reply to that. Of course, she didn’t want that for her child.
“If you don’t want that, then listen to me. After spending more time together, Gilbert will gradually treat you and your child as family. Just be patient and wait.’
Danika was in a good mood now. As long as Gilbert wasn’t going to Mount Wallington, she was happy enough. On the other hand, Marigold didn’t say anything more. She didn’t care how Gilbert would treat her. The only thing she cared about was her child.
Previously, she believed that she could raise the child alone. But she was now a patient herself, and coupled with the fact that she didn’t want the child to grow up without a father, she was tempted by Danika’s proposal due to all those factors.
Danika patted her on the shoulder. “You’re doing this for the sake of your child. You need to hold on.”
“Yeah, I understand.’ In the end, Marigold agreed. Her motherly love of wanting the best for her child outweighed everything else.
After making sure that Marigold would be able to settle in, Danika left Gilbert’s villa, giving the two of them some alone time.
When Gilbert came downstairs, Marigold was still in the living room. She was currently undergoing chemotherapy and needed to go to the hospital regularly. Seeing Gilbert, she felt a bit guilty about putting him through this.” I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for-“
“Don’t think too much into it. Stay here and focus on recuperating. Let me know when you need to go for your hospital appointments, and I’ll take you there,” Gilbert said to Marigold considerately, seemingly having figured out that he shouldn’t be too harsh to her.
Marigold was stunned, finding the whole situation surreal and unbelievable. “You…”
“For your child, you should live well, too,” Gilbert said again.
Marigold’s eyes reddened with tears, and she nodded fervently. “You’re right. I must definitely live well.’ ‘For the sake of the child and for you too,” Marigold promised solemnly in her heart.
Gilbert and Marigold (3)
At first, Marigold only wanted to live better for the sake of her child. However, the more she stayed at Gilbert’s villa, she couldn’t help but start to have some other thoughts.
“Since he agreed to let me stay here, does it mean he didn’t despise me as much as he did before?” Marigold wondered hopefully.
With that thought in mind, Marigold became eager to receive treatment; it could even be said that she was enthusiastic. She wanted to stay alive until her child grew up and live until she and Gilbert grew old together.
Gilbert noticed how she’d changed but kept it to himself. He didn’t think much about it. He agreed to let Marigold stay with him partly because of the child and partly because of Danika’s intervention. How he regarded Marigold, however, remained mostly unchanged.
Apart from occasionally checking on the child from time to time, he didn’t really interact much with Marigold. Most of the time, life remained the same for him. He was busy as ever and wholeheartedly poured all his energy and effort into work.
At 10 pm, Gilbert finished work and returned to the villa. Getting off work at this hour was considered early for a workaholic like him. Upon returning to his villa, he went straight to the child’s room. The child was already soundly asleep. He took a peek and quietly left the room.
As he was about to make his way downstairs. Marigold walked out of the adjacent room. “Oh, you’re back.”
“Yeah,” Gilbert replied, “why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I’ve been asleep for a while but woke up.” She woke up due to the sound of Gilbert’s car engine, so she didn’t get up and take a look.
“Rest early,” he said and proceeded to go downstairs.
“Have you had dinner?’ Marigold followed him, clearly not intending to return to her room to rest. With that brief exchange of words, they’d already reached the first floor. “Shall I cook you something?”
“No, you should go and rest now. If there’s really a need to cook, I should be the one to do it,” he replied. Actually, he didn’t feel like cooking; he’d rather go hungry.
Marigold felt a bit embarrassed as she spoke up tentatively, “Well, I’m actually a little hungry.”
Gilbert was momentarily lost for words.
“Alright, you wait in the living room. I’ll cook some pasta,” he said, then went into the kitchen.
Marigold didn’t do as she was told. Instead, she followed him into the kitchen, wanting to help with the cooking. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance to do so. She could only stand at one side and wait, watching Gilbert work away efficiently in the kitchen. Seeing him in this kind of setting warmed her heart.
“Gilbert, have you given up on the idea of going to Mount Wallington?” Marigold asked cautiously. In fact, when Danika told her about his plans, she was quite shocked.
She couldn’t believe that Gilbert would go to such an extreme. Wasn’t he living a good life now? Why would he even consider resorting to that?
Right then, Gilbert was washing some vegetables. He wasn’t angered by Marigold’s question. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to go there for now.”
Besides Danika adamantly opposing his idea, he also had a child upstairs. He didn’t have it in him to just up and leave in such a situation.
Marigold felt relieved when she heard his answer. “Ah, that’s good.”
Gilbert turned to look at her scrutinizingly and asked, “What’s good?”
“I…just think it’s good that you’re putting that on hold for now and not doing something so extreme.” Marigold blushed, not daring to meet Gilbert’s gaze.
She couldn’t let it slip or give out any indication that she liked Gilbert. If he noticed her feelings, he might feel disgusted and decide to drive her out. Marigold thought if she could stay by his side like this for the rest of her life, she would be contented.
Gilbert and Marigold (4)
Gilbert didn’t know what her true thoughts were. He couldn’t help but chuckle a little in response to her words. “Why do you consider that extreme? Couldn’t going there mean I’ve decided to let go of the past and begin a new chapter?”
“Um…’ Marigold opened her mouth, looking for the right words. But in the end, she closed her mouth. She realized she didn’t have much to say to that. She thought Gilbert was right; why would that be considered an extreme act?
Seeing her dazed expression, Gilbert retracted his gaze that was on her and focused on his cooking. “Alright, go wait in the living room.”
This time, Marigold finally did as she was told. Without a word, she turned and went back to the living room, silently sitting down and looking in the direction of the kitchen. From there, she could see Gilbert’s figure faintly.
“Actually, who’s the one still holding on to the past?” Marigold wondered. She didn’t have an answer to that. The only thing she got was a headache trying to figure it all out.
Soon, Gilbert came out with two plates of pasta. “Eat up. I don’t often cook, so they might not taste that great.”
Marigold put a forkful into her mouth, and her eyes immediately lit up. ‘It’s delicious! I’ve never tasted pasta as good as this.”
Gilbert glanced at her but remained silent. Lowering his head and eating his food quietly, he was obviously not keen to converse with her any more than necessary.
Marigold cleared her throat awkwardly and elaborated, “I’m not purposely flattering you. It’s just that I rarely come across pasta that suits my taste.”
“Eat up,” Gilbert said monotonously, making it hard to discern his emotions. It was even harder to gauge if he believed Marigold’s explanation.
“Okay,” Marigold muttered softly and continued to eat her pasta without another word. She felt like everything she said at the moment would just end up sounding like she was buttering him up.
The two of them ate their pasta in silence, and the atmosphere became somewhat icy.
After a while, Marigold couldn’t bear the oppressive mood and decided to speak again, “The baby will be a month old soon, and we haven’t given him a name yet.”
If she and Gilbert were a normal couple, they would probably host a grand celebration for the baby’s naming. However…
Holding a naming ceremony was definitely off the table in their case. But at the very least, they should come up with a name as parents.