Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 31

- [Oh my God, Eileen has totally lost her marbles.]

- [LOL, I'm dying. Egbert is like the internet's darling, adored worldwide! Why on earth would he be jealous of you?]

- [Am I the only one wondering if Eileen has actually fallen for those online trolls? I'm rolling on the floor!]

- [I can't take it anymore. I don't care what the haters say. I'm declaring myself a fan of this wicked woman!]

The live stream was cut off abruptly as everyone was about to set off.

The crew sent everyone to the airport, and on the plane, Eileen conked out. When the plane landed, while everyone else was still dilly-dallying, she was already bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Back home, it was already two in the morning.

The airport was hushed, but the cars that picked up people were already there. No one came for Eileen. She grabbed her luggage only to find everyone else had already left.

Donning a face mask, she went to wait for a cab.

A minute later, with no taxi in sight, a sleek black BMW pulled up in front of her.

Eileen was dumbfounded, staring at the BMW. The back window slid down, and Egbert, cool as a cucumber, appeared in her line of sight. "Get in."

Eileen glanced at Egbert in the car and politely waved him off. "No need, I can hail a cab."

Egbert furrowed his brows, "I need to talk to you."

"You need to talk to me?" Eileen was puzzled, what could they possibly have to discuss in private?

Egbert was serious. "Get in."

Eileen finally got in Egbert's car, but she had no idea what Egbert's "talk" was about.

Holding a beautifully wrapped square gift box in her hand, she opened the lid and was stunned by the pyramid-shaped clock inside.

"This clock..."

Before Eileen could finish her sentence, the assistant in the driver's seat proudly said, "Ms. Lopez, Mr. Reed saw that you liked this and immediately texted me to buy it. Do you like it?"

Egbert shot a glance at the assistant, and mildly rebuked, "Hold your tongue."

The assistant immediately clammed up.

Eileen, holding the clock, turned to look at Egbert. His good-looking eyes were particularly bright in the dim car. He was casually leaning against the leather seat, his expression indifferent, looking at Eileen as if waiting for her response.

Eileen finally said, "I'll pay you back." As she spoke, she began to rummage through her wallet.

The man frowned. "No need."

"I need to pay you." Eileen opened her wallet. "This clock is 300 dollars, right? Let me check my balance..." When she saw that she only had 50 dollars left in her wallet, Eileen was instantly startled.

After a while, she looked up, cautiously asking, "Can I pay in installments?"

Egbert looked at her silently, his face slightly displeased. "I don't need your money."

"How can I not pay you? I must pay you back, I'm not the kind of person who takes advantage of others. How about this, I'll pay you in three installments, no, six, no, twelve installments, and give you the money back. I'll give you the first installment, here is 25 dollars."

Eileen insisted on paying back. Egbert watched her thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly took out his phone.

Eileen asked, "What's up?"

Egbert lowered his head and opened his WhatsApp.

Eileen quickly said, "What are you trying to do?"

Egbert casually said, "I need to save your contact. It will be easier to get in touch with you if I need anything."

After thinking it through, Eileen agreed that it made sense, as she still had to pay him back.

Actually, when Eileen said she would pay in twelve installments, she didn't really mean to pay him back over a year. It was just that she only had so much money at the moment. She planned to pay him the rest in one go once she got her salary.

Since she had to meet him again to pay him back, Eileen didn't think too much about it and just gave Egbert her contact information. After giving Egbert 25 dollars, Egbert looked up at Eileen, who was on the verge of tears.

He frowned. "...What's wrong now?"

Eileen looked at the little money left in her wallet, tears of bitterness rolling down her cheeks. She was too poor. The money Ophelia gave her was hardly enough.

An hour later, the assistant drove to the entrance of Eileen's community.

The assistant couldn't help but say, "Ms. Lopez, you live here too? Mr. Reed also has a house in this community. What a coincidence." Of course, Mr. Reed's house was on the other side, not where Eileen lived. Her side of town had a mixed population and was on the lower end. He didn't mention this part. After all, they were in the same community, and they could be considered as neighbors.

Eileen was surprised, she looked at Egbert. "You live here too?"

The assistant said again, "No, no, Mr. Reed just has a house here. He doesn't live here."

Eileen responded indifferently.

Egbert spoke up at this moment, "I occasionally stay here."

The assistant was stunned. He had been Mr. Reed's assistant for nearly three years, and he had never seen him stay here. He knew Mr. Reed had a house here because once, Mr. Reed lent the house to Gilbert's relatives for a few days.

But the assistant didn't say anything more, and just took Eileen's luggage out of the trunk.

Eileen, holding the gift box in one hand and dragging her suitcase in the other, said her goodbyes and walked towards the entrance.

It wasn't until she stepped inside the community that she heard the engine start behind her. She looked back only to see the black BMW leaving.

"He's quite a gentleman." Eileen didn't say anything else.

The black BMW had long been on its way. After replying to a WhatsApp message, Egbert exited the chat and found Eileen's Facebook account.

He stared at Eileen's profile picture, a photo of an owl clock. He fell silent for a moment before asking his assistant in the front seat, "Does Eileen have a thing for wall clocks, or is she into pyramids?"

The assistant blinked, stumped. "I'd guess pyramids?" After all, it wasn't often you'd find a young lady particularly fond of clocks. Nice watches, sure, but clocks? Not so much.

Egbert frowned in thought, then saved the photo of the owl clock and sent it to his assistant, "See if you can find this clock on sale."

The assistant glanced at the photo and nodded. "Sure thing, I'll look it up." As for Egbert wanting to gift Eileen something she liked, the assistant didn't find it odd.

Egbert had nearly met his end in an elevator due to accidentally drinking alcohol, if it weren't for Eileen saving him. In the assistant's eyes, that incident made it perfectly reasonable for Egbert to give her a gift. Plus, Egbert had been exceptionally nice to Eileen during the livestream, likely out of gratitude. So, giving her a ride home after they landed seemed like the least he could do.

Wasn't that the least one could do for their lifesaver?