Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen



For a moment, Egbert fell silent. Then, with a gentle light in his eyes, Egbert reached out and firmly grasped both sides of Eileen's waist. Footsteps echoed from outside; it must be Burton returning.

Eileen quickly pulled away, but Egbert's grip didn't loosen. Furrowing her brow, Eileen warned, "Don't push your luck."

In a calm voice, Egbert replied, "Easier said than done."

Eileen could only mutter in response as the footsteps grew closer. She tried to wriggle free again.

Finally, Egbert looked at her and released his hold.

Eileen stepped back immediately.

Burton walked in with a glass of water and cheerfully offered, "Eileen, here's some water."

Eileen took the glass, casting another sharp glance at Egbert before setting it down. "You all carry on, and I'm heading downstairs."

As she moved to leave, Egbert suddenly caught her hand again.

Watching the scene between Egbert and Eileen, Burton was utterly confused.

Egbert gave Burton a cool glance, causing him to startle and quickly avert his gaze, claiming, "I didn't see anything."

Egbert then turned to Eileen and said, "You heard him, and he saw nothing. Now, give me another kiss to make it clear to him."

With a swift tug, Eileen retrieved her hand and strode towards the door.

Listening to Eileen's fading footsteps, Burton finally turned back to Egbert with a cautious look.

Egbert picked up a book from the table, opened it to a chapter, and asked, "You got this one?"

Burton glanced at the textbook and then at Egbert, fearful that knowing too much could spell trouble, he hastily assured, "Egbert, I won't breathe a word of this."

Egbert casually responded, "No worries. I'd hate for it to be a secret."

Later that day, Eileen and Egbert stayed at the Lopez residence until after dinner. When it came time to eat, Derek finally joined them.

Lifting his glass, Derek announced with a smile, "At last, our family is all together."

Eileen curiously asked, "But what about the other two brothers?"

Opting for a different approach, Derek simply toasted, "Cheers."

Everyone clinked glasses, and Eileen took a sip of the orange juice in her glass before glancing at Egbert, who was drinking mineral water from a corner of the room. Satisfied, she turned her attention back to her meal.

Dinner stretched until 8:30 PM. After the meal, Rosalind, not ready to let Eileen go, pulled Eileen to the couch for fruit.

Somehow, Egbert managed to snag a spot right next to Eileen.

When the Lopez family noticed Egbert seated cozily beside Eileen, it was too late to object. They could only look on with displeasure.

At that moment, Flossie nudged Isabel to go and stir up some trouble.

Isabel scurried over and wedged herself between Egbert and Eileen.

Egbert glanced at her and took a slice of fruit, taking a bite.

Curious, Isabel asked, "Egbert, is the orange sweet?"

Egbert replied, "Too sweet to share."

Isabel, crafty as ever, snatched the fruit right off Egbert's fork and popped it into her mouth, only to screw up her face in sour agony. "So sour," she exclaimed.

Eileen turned at the noise to see Isabel and Egbert's exchange.

Egbert then picked up a fresh orange slice, held it up to Eileen, and offered it to her.

The air suddenly tensed as all eyes turned to watch.

After a moment's hesitation, Eileen took the fruit with her hand and tasted it.

"It's not sour at all. Quite sweet, actually," she confirmed.

Isabel pouted on the spot, "Why was mine so sour?"

Egbert speared another piece of orange, tasted it, and said with unshakable calm, "Didn't I tell you? Too sweet for you."

Despite Rosalind's reluctance, the time came to let Eileen leave.

Egbert drove them home, and by the time they arrived, it was nearly 10 PM.

Exhausted from the day, Eileen headed upstairs to shower.

When she came back down, she found the housekeeper holding the family cat, Rolls-Royce, on the couch, busy with some needlework. Rolls-Royce seemed agitated, meowing madly at Egbert, who sat at the dining table.

Puzzled, Eileen asked, "What's going on here?"

The housekeeper immediately complained, "I bought Rolls-Royce a new shark toy, which he loved, but Egbert scared him with it for some reason. Now, every time Rolls-Royce sees the shark's mouth, he gets frightened, so I had to sew it shut."

As she spoke, the housekeeper held up the mouthless shark toy and shot Egbert a glare, adding, "Rolls-Royce gets angry just seeing Egbert now. He would've bitten him if I hadn't held him back."

Eileen turned to Egbert and inquired, "Why are you picking on the cat again?"

Egbert looked up from his tablet and said simply, "Just playing with it."

"But you usually don't even like him. Why the sudden interest?" Eileen asked, baffled.

Egbert replied, "I'm in a good mood today."

"And why's that? Didn't you have a rough day?" Eileen pressed.

Frowning, Egbert retorted, "You kissed me twice today. Can't I be a little happy about it?"

Eileen quickly turned to the housekeeper, hurriedly explaining, "It's not what you think..."

The housekeeper glanced at Egbert and then at Eileen, before muttering to herself, "The crystal ball of love from that home shoppingwork actually work? I'll order a whole case."

Eileen just stood there, speechless.

After resting at home for a couple of days, Eileen's phone buzzed with a call from her agent, Ophelia. She had news that Director Carrol's new film "Feathers of Fate" was about to start shooting.

Eileen was taken aback, "Already?"

Ophelia explained, "I thought we had more time too, but one of the actresses announced her pregnancy, and the director doesn't want to recast. We're bumping up the schedule to shoot her scenes first. Since you've got plenty of scenes with her, you need to be on set early."

Eileen nodded, getting the picture, and then inquired, "When do I need to be there?"

"Next Wednesday," Ophelia replied. Come Tuesday, it was time for Eileen to head to the airport. Egbert was the one driving her. Once they arrived, Eileen said, "That's fine, you don't need to come in. The airport's packed."

Egbert, who was just about to get out of the car, frowned at her words.

Trying to appease him, Eileen comforted, "Come on, don't make a scene. We can't let people snap pictures of us together."

Egbert gave Eileen a long look before reluctantly agreeing, "Alright."

Eileen got out, her face half-hidden by a mask and a cap, and walked into the terminal. Inside, she spotted her assistant, Janice, waiting for her.

As Janice took Eileen's suitcase and was about to speak, she suddenly stuttered, pointing behind Eileen.

Eileen turned in confusion and her heart skipped a beat.

Egbert had followed her inside. Though he had also taken precautions to disguise himself, Janice, being a fan, recognized him instantly.

Eileen hurried over to Egbert, her voice low, wanting to ask what he was doing.

But Egbert, as if he hadn't seen her at all, brushed past her silently and headed straight to a ticket kiosk. Moments later, he had a boarding pass in

hand.

Eileen was puzzled.

She quickly jogged over and peered at the ticket. To her astonishment, Egbert was on the same flight as her, and their seats were together.

Eileen was flabbergasted.novelbin

Egbert pocketed his boarding pass then turned to Eileen, echoing her earlier words with a calm demeanor, "Come on, don't stick too close. We can't let people catch on that we're together."