Chapter 21 I Can Let Bygones Be Bygones
Back at her newly relocated apartment, Daisy took a hot shower, washing away all her exhaustion.
She'd felt pretty sleepy on the way home, but after the shower she felt much more alert. Now lying in bed, she couldn't fall asleep.
After thinking for a moment, she sat up again, grabbed her laptop and started dealing with some emails. Her eyes fell on a date circled on the calendar—Luna's birthday was just a few days away.
She had promised her daughter.
After some thought, she picked up her phone, found Vincent's number, and sent him a text message.
[Mr. Black, I mailed the divorce agreement back to your company last week. When is the convenient time for us to go to the courthouse and finalize the paperwork?]
The message went out and disappeared without a trace.
Daisy didn't mind. She knew Vincent might not reply right away even if he saw it, or might not take it seriously at all.
Sure enough, it wasn't until the next afternoon that she received Vincent's response.
What surprised her was that it wasn't a text message, but a phone call.
When she answered, Vincent's voice came through with its usual cold and impatient tone. "Daisy, what game are you playing now?"
Daisy didn't understand. "What game?"
"I never received your divorce agreement." Vincent let out a mocking laugh. "What's the matter, are you too scared to sign so you're making up excuses? Or are you trying to get my attention this way?"
Daisy nearly rolled her eyes. "I mailed it to your company a week ago, from my lab. Maybe you have too much mail and it got buried at the bottom. Look for it, or you can send me another copy."
Vincent snorted. "My assistant sorts through my mail every day. Important documents never get missed. Daisy, this childish trick is enough once."
What was going on? Had the courier lost it?
"I'll check with the delivery service."
"Whatever." Vincent was too lazy to dwell on this issue. Then he changed the subject. "Luna's birthday is coming up. She's been looking forward to it for a long time."
"As long as you properly organize the birthday party and make her happy, I can let bygones be bygones about what happened before."
This patronizing tone actually stunned Daisy.
Let bygones be bygones?
Did he think she was deliberately stalling, planning to put on a good show at the birthday party to make him change his mind about the divorce?
Ridiculous!
She didn't want to waste any more breath on him. Taking a deep breath. "I promised Luna I'd do her birthday right."
"But that has nothing to do with what's between you and me. I'll mail another copy of the divorce agreement, or have my lawyer contact you directly."
"Daisy!" Vincent's voice darkened. "Don't push your luck! I'll say it again—I haven't received any agreement! What you need to do now is be a good mother to Luna and throw her a beautiful birthday party! Everything else can wait until after the birthday!"
With that, without waiting for Daisy's response, he hung up.
Daisy listened to the busy tone on her phone and couldn't help but laugh in frustration.
Meanwhile, at the Black Group headquarters, in the CEO's office.
Vincent put down his phone, thought for a moment, and pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Assistant Tyler, come in for a moment."
Soon, a young man walked in. "Mr. Black, you wanted to see me?"
"Last week, did you receive any package or letter from..." Vincent paused. He didn't really remember the exact name of Daisy's lab. After a brief pause, he said. "From my wife? With some important documents inside?"
Assistant Tyler's heart jumped, though he tried to maintain a calm expression.
Of course he remembered!
The key issue was that Mr. Black had long ago instructed that any personal correspondence unrelated to company business didn't need to be reported.
Everyone knew how Mr. Black treated his wife—he'd thrown out every lunch she'd sent him, so a letter meant even less. Tyler figured it was just another pathetic attempt to win him over.
He'd received it and fed it straight into the shredder!
Now Mr. Black was saying there were very important documents inside!
Assistant Tyler's back was immediately soaked with cold sweat.
He absolutely couldn't admit he'd thrown important documents in the trash—he'd lose his job!
He cleared his throat. "Mr. Black, I carefully check all your mail and packages every day. Important documents never get missed."
"Last week... nothing came from your wife."
Vincent looked at him. Assistant Tyler had worked for him for several years and had always been reliable.
If he said nothing came, then Daisy was probably lying.
"Got it, you can go." Vincent waved his hand.
Tyler felt like he'd been pardoned, quickly retreating and only daring to breathe heavily after closing the door, his heart still racing with fear.
Vincent leaned back in his wide leather chair, his fingers tapping the desk intermittently.
What was Daisy trying to achieve with this stunt? Was this a retreat to advance, threatening him with divorce to make him value her more? Or was she really...
He shook his head, pushing away this absurd thought.
How could that be? Daisy had schemed so hard to marry him. With Luna and her status as Mrs. Black, how could she be willing to actually divorce?
She was just throwing a tantrum, wanting him to pay more attention to her.
Whatever.
He rubbed his temples.
As long as she organized Luna's birthday well and made their daughter happy, he wasn't unwilling to give her a way out.
-
The birthday party was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Daisy personally selected the venue.
It was the largest hotel in the city center. She'd booked the entire top floor, and the decoration plan had been sent to the hotel manager days ago.
The hotel manager had just sent her a message saying everything was set up and asking her to come take a look.
Daisy happened to be free, so she drove over.
The entire ballroom was decorated like a princess's castle. The main color was Luna's favorite pink, paired with lots of crystal decorations. It was beautiful like a dream.
Invitations had been sent out one after another. The cake and food were being prepared. If anything went wrong, she had backup options ready.
Everything was prepared. Daisy thought about it—she still didn't have a suitable dress.
For this kind of occasion, as the hostess—at least the hostess in name—she couldn't dress too casually.
But she really wasn't flush with cash. Vincent had long stopped giving her living expenses. Every penny from the lab had to be carefully budgeted. Buying a haute couture dress to wear just once was clearly unrealistic.
After thinking it over, she decided to rent one.
Of course, even renting a high-end dress would cost quite a bit, but for her daughter's sake, spending more money was worth it.
At the dress shop, a sales assistant warmly approached. "Hello, miss, what style of dress are you looking for? What kind of occasion is it for?"
"A child's birthday party. It needs to be somewhat formal, but not too over the top." As Daisy spoke, her eyes were browsing the dresses hanging in the window display.