Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 10

The distance between them suddenly closed, and Eileen felt a cold sweat trickle down her back. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

"Hey, are you deaf or something?" Eileen suddenly shouted into Egbert's ear.

The man frowned, straightened up, touched his ear with his other hand, and said, "I thought men were supposed to take care of ladies?"

"I don't need your care," Eileen replied. "Can you back off a bit? You're too close."

Egbert sighed, looking a bit helpless, and finally backed off a bit.

Just then, Hubery finally managed to squeeze through the crowd. He saw Eileen and was about to speak when he noticed Egbert in front of her. He closed his mouth, then noticed the distance between Egbert and Eileen. They were standing too close.

Given that Eileen was his fiancée, Hubery was not pleased. He didn't think Egbert was intentionally getting close to Eileen, instead, he felt Eileen was taking advantage of the crowded situation to get close to Egbert.

He was pissed and seeing no cameramen nearby, he called out to Eileen, "Come here."

Eileen looked at Hubery, seemingly surprised, then she pointed at her nose and asked, "Me?"

Hubery scowled, "Who else, come here!"

Egbert suddenly turned his head, his eyes flashing coldly as he looked at Hubery.

Hubery continued to shout at Eileen, "Are you coming or not?"

Eileen raised her head to look at Egbert, "Is it me who's dreaming, or him?"

"What are you talking about?" Hubery was confused.

Eileen looked sad, "He's lost it. He actually thinks I'd listen to him. Just thinking about spending the next few days with this dumbass, I feel so screwed. Egbert, do you think we should inform the production team and ask them for a new guest?"

"Eileen!"

Egbert suddenly laughed, "We could give it a shot."

Hubery was stunned, he looked at Egbert, visibly surprised.

Eileen paused as well, she was just talking off the cuff and didn't expect Egbert to agree with her. She turned to Hubery, "Stop hovering around me, I really can't stand you."

"Fine! You're so great, Eileen, good job!" Hubery huffed and stormed off.

Eileen watched his retreating figure, then turned back to Egbert. Why was he helping her?

After a while, the crowd in the carriage started to thin out. Eventually, they got off and once outside the station, Phyllis shivered in the cold. Looking at the deserted streets, she asked cautiously, "Are you sure there's a hotel here?"

Eileen led the way, pulling her suitcase, not turning back. They walked for about ten minutes before stopping in front of a shabby-looking guesthouse.

The guesthouse sign creaked ominously, and Phyllis looked scared, "Are we really staying here?"

The door creaked open and an elderly woman with white hair came out. She looked frail but had a warm smile, she asked in perfect French, "Ms. Lopez?"

"That's me," Eileen stepped forward to speak to her.

Soon, a man came out from the guesthouse to help them with their luggage.

Despite its exterior, the guesthouse was very clean on the inside. The hosts had prepared dinner for them, and seeing the food, Phyllis's stomach growled.

After everyone had settled their luggage, they gathered around the dining table. The guesthouse was run by the old woman and her son, who only talked to Eileen. Once the old woman left, Bblythe asked nervously, "Eileen, we won't be charged extra for this meal, will we?"

Eileen picked up her cutlery and replied calmly, "Eat up, the lodging fee includes three meals."

"How much is the lodging fee?"

"It's free."

"Free again?" Phyllis cut into her steak in surprise, "How do you manage to get free accommodation everywhere? I remember giving you twenty-five euros this morning and until now, we've only spent four euros."

Eileen just glanced at her.

Phyllis continued, "We've only spent four euros today, we're a group of six, and last night's dinner alone cost twenty-five..." She stopped abruptly and sneaked a glance at Hubery.

Hubery looked uncomfortable but he knew among them, Phyllis was the only one who still bore him goodwill. He forced a smile, "It's okay, it's my fault for not managing the budget well. Last night's dinner was indeed a bit pricey. But, Ms. Lopez, why is this guesthouse free? The production team made it clear that we couldn't take advantage of locals. If found out, we'd have to compensate double the accommodation fee and our travel budget for the next episode would be deducted."

Everyone immediately turned to look at Eileen nervously. Only Egbert continued to eat leisurely, not worried like everyone else.

Eileen popped a piece of steak into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed before looking at everyone, her face expressionless, "Someone died here."

Everyone fell silent.

As if to punctuate the moment, there was a sudden "pop" and the room went dark.

"Ahhh!" Phyllis screamed.

"Quiet!" Eileen was annoyed by the noise.

After a while, the lights came back on, the old woman's son came out to apologize, saying that the circuit had tripped. Eileen said it was fine. Once the woman's son left, she continued, "This guesthouse, in the past ten years, has had five deaths, all suicides due to the remote location. Because of this, business has been declining, plus the poor conditions often result in power and water outages. Therefore, this guesthouse has very low ratings on travel apps and a poor reputation."

Phyllis was near tears, "Why would you bring us here then?"

"'Cause it's free." Eileen answered casually. "The B&B itself isn't expensive, only five euros a night. I called the owner to see if we could get a discount, and the old lady said the place was closing down in a few days. If we didn't mind, we could stay for free."

"Closing down..." Phyllis sounded disappointed hearing this news.

She then turned to Eileen. "Five euros a night, including meals, and you still bargained? And how could you not pay her anything? She works so hard, and you can't even spare five euros. Have you no conscience?"

Eileen put down her cutlery and responded calmly, "One room is five euros, two rooms are ten. We're staying two nights, that's twenty euros. We only have twenty-one euros in total. If we pay, we'll only have one euro left. How will we get around for the next two days? By bus or subway? Or do you plan to walk to all the attractions?"

Phyllis was left speechless, not daring to respond.

At this point, Egbert picked up his glass, looking at Eileen while holding the glass with his clean, slender fingers, "Let the owner know, she doesn't need to close the B&B."

Eileen glanced at him, nodded, and went back to eating.

Josiah and Bblythe exchanged a look and both laughed. Only Phyllis was confused, "What does that mean? Why doesn't she need to close?"

Bblythe gently tapped her head, "Silly."

They were live streaming their stay at the B&B, essentially giving it free advertising. Among them, Egbert had the most influence. If their viewers saw that the B&B wasn't as bad as its reputation, they might choose to stay here on their next trip to Paris, bringing in more business and saving it from closure.

Bblythe looked at Eileen. She must have thought of this too, which was why she accepted the free accommodation. Thinking about it this way, they didn't take advantage of the situation; instead, they gave the guesthouse owner a generous gift.

After dinner, everyone retreated to their rooms.

That night, Phyllis suddenly proposed, "There's a projector here. How about we watch a horror movie together? I've always wanted to watch one, but I'm too scared to do it alone."

Eileen, who was tidying up her things, paused.

Bblythe grinned, "I'm down. Watching a movie together will bring us closer. What about you, Eileen?"

Eileen swallowed, paused, and managed to mumble, "Sure, whatever."

"Great, I'll go get the guys!"

Phyllis excitedly went to fetch the others.

Once everyone had gathered, Phyllis selected a Japanese horror film and turned off the lights.

"It's starting, it's starting."

They all squeezed onto the large couch. The three girls sat on the large sofa, Hubery and Josiah on the smaller one, and Egbert on the only single seater in the room.

As the movie started, a chilling sound effect filled the room.

Eileen, sitting on the edge of the couch, had Egbert on the single seater next to her. She clutched a pillow tightly. At first, she managed to watch, but when a ghost covered in blood appeared on screen, she couldn't take it anymore. She buried her face in the pillow, gripping the armrest tightly.

Egbert turned to glance at her, noticing the veins on her hand, and raised an eyebrow.

Phyllis, sitting in the middle, was also frightened and clung to Bblythe, who comforted her before asking Eileen, "Eileen, are you okay?"

Eileen quickly put down her pillow, trying to keep her expression normal, "Yeah, the plot is kinda boring. I'm almost falling asleep."

A comment popped up.

-[Haha, falling asleep? I dare you to say that while looking at the screen.]

Eileen put on a brave face, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the screen again. Even if she didn't look, the creepy sound effects were inescapable. As she was considering whether to bury her face in the pillow again, Egbert suddenly stood up.

Any small movement could startle Eileen at this point. She looked anxiously at Egbert, who glanced down at her and explained, "I'm going to the bathroom."

Right, the bathroom! Eileen immediately stood up too.

The others watched them, confused.

"I'm also going to the bathroom." Eileen said.

Egbert looked at her retreating figure and followed her out.