Chapter 106 Her Refusal
Daisy looked at Vincent, then at Luna's bright, sparkling eyes. It felt as if two people were fighting inside her head.
One said, go ahead, it's just dinner, no big deal.
The other said, you're already divorced, don't go looking for more trouble.
As the two little voices battled it out, a sound suddenly came from her phone, "Daisy? Are you listening? Do you have other plans tonight?"
She took a deep breath and said into the phone, "No, I'll come over tonight."
With that, she hung up.
Luna’s smile gradually froze, and in the end, she pouted. "Mommy, aren't you having dinner with us?"
Daisy crouched down to meet her daughter's eyes and reached out to smooth her wind-tousled hair.
"Something came up at work. I'll spend time with you next time, okay?"
Luna pouted and turned her head away. She didn't cry or make a fuss, just gave a small response and stopped talking.
She pressed her face into Vincent’s leg, her little hand gripping his pants as she avoided Daisy’s gaze.
Daisy watched her like this, her heart tightened with a sharp pang, but she didn't soften.
Vincent stood nearby, looking at Daisy with no particular expression on his face, his tone casual, "Who asked you out? That Felix from last time?"
He had once believed that, after the divorce, Daisy would end up with Ethan, but after what happened at the Zhao family gathering last time, Vincent realized that Ethan didn't have those kinds of feelings for Daisy—he just valued her highly.
But Felix was different—dancing at the birthday party wasn't enough, they had to sit in a corner whispering to each other too.
Vincent couldn't quite describe what he felt when he saw that scene, but it definitely made him uncomfortable.
Daisy cast him a glance, her voice flat and unyielding. "That’s my business, and it has nothing to do with you."
Vincent got nowhere with that and didn't ask again.
He bent down and picked up Luna. She lay against his shoulder, her little arms around his neck, staying quiet and sullen.
After the three of them finished taking photos, Daisy went to gather her things and grabbed her coat. Luna poked her head out from Vincent's shoulder and waved at Daisy, "Bye, Mommy."
Her voice was small, carrying a hint of grievance.
Daisy smiled at her, "Bye."
What a coincidence—just as she walked out of the school gate, she saw Felix standing there with Sophie and Nick.
Sophie was holding a rainbow cotton candy, her face covered in it, with pink sugar floss stuck to the tip of her nose, making her look like a little kitten.
Nick was also holding one, but he ate it neatly, with just a tiny bit of sugar at the corner of his mouth.
"Aunt Daisy!" Sophie spotted Daisy right away and ran over with big steps, saying with a grin, "We just won first place! Felix was amazing!"
Daisy crouched down, pulled out a wet wipe from her bag, and carefully wiped the sugar off her face.
"Really! Then you guys were amazing too."
Nick also came over, tilting his little face up and saying, "Aunt Daisy, let's go eat! Uncle Zhao said he'd take us to eat something good!"
Felix walked over, hands in his pockets, smiling at Daisy, "Why didn't you bring your daughter? Let's all have dinner together."
Daisy shook her head, "There's a department dinner tonight, I can't make it."
She glanced at Sophie and Nick, then quickly added, "Oh, and thank you for helping me watch the kids today. You really did me a huge favor."
Felix waved his hand, "No need to thank me, it was nothing. I happened to be free anyway. You go do your thing, I'll take these two to dinner."
Daisy looked at the two children, feeling a bit guilty.
Sophie was her friend's niece, and Nick was her own nephew. She'd dumped both kids on Felix while she, the aunt, got off easy.
"I’ll treat you to dinner another day to return your kindness."
Felix smiled, his eyes brightening, "Sounds great, I'll remember that. Don't forget."
Daisy smiled too, "I won't."
Felix waved at her, took Sophie's hand with one of his, called to Nick with the other, and walked off with the two children.
For a moment, Daisy’s gaze followed their departing forms before she turned to hail a cab.
On the way to the restaurant, she got a call from Richard.
She looked at "Grandpa Richard" on the screen, hesitated for a moment, then answered.
"Daisy." Richard's voice came through the phone, old and carrying a hint of weariness, "I know about everything between you and Vince."
Daisy was silent for a moment, her throat tightening.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry."
"What's there to be sorry about?" Richard sighed, "In all honesty, the fault lies partly with me. I kept the two of you from moving forward. You’re a good girl, and you’ve been treated unfairly all these years."
A sharp sting filled Daisy’s eyes, yet her voice stayed calm and unaltered.
"Grandpa, don't say that."
Richard was silent for a while. All that came through the phone was the sound of his heavy breathing.
"I've had someone prepare some things for you. Come get them whenever you have time. Consider it my compensation to you."
Daisy opened her mouth, "Grandpa, I really don't need it. Vince has already given me a lot."
"Listen to me." Richard interrupted her, "Even though you and Vince are divorced, I've seen everything you've done for this family all these years."
"Really, it was me who insisted on pushing you two together back then. You're a good girl. After you got married, you devoted yourself wholeheartedly to this family. Vince is the one who wronged you. What he gave you is what he should have given. This is from me, my own gesture. Take it, and let me feel a bit better about all this."
Daisy was silent for a few seconds. Outside the window, streetlights passed by one after another, light and shadow flickering across her face.
Finally, she could only say softly, "Okay, thank you, Grandpa."
Richard sighed again, "Alright, I won't keep you. Go on with what you need to do."
The call ended.
Daisy held her phone, a feeling she couldn't quite describe washing over her.
Before Richard knew, she had been able to pretend there was still a last, fragile thread connecting her to that marriage. Now, even that last thread was broken.
She let out a heavy breath, unwilling to think about it further. She put her phone back in her bag and looked at the restaurant sign becoming clearer ahead.
When she arrived at the restaurant, her colleagues had already started gathering.
Amy waved at her, "Ms. Hart, over here!"
Daisy walked over and sat down next to her.
A few appetizers were already on the table, but the main courses hadn't arrived yet. Everyone was chatting in small groups.
Ethan sat at the head of the table with Ms. Metz beside him. The two were talking about something, and when Ms. Metz saw Daisy arrive, her eyes lit up.
"Consultant Daisy is here? Come, sit, sit."
Ms. Metz said with a smile, patting the seat next to her, "We were just talking about you. Are you satisfied with this proposal? Going forward, I hope you'll continue to help us with our collaboration."
Daisy smiled and sat down beside her.
"Ms. Metz, you're too kind. I just hope you don't think I was too blunt."
"Not at all." Ms. Metz raised her glass and clinked it with Daisy's, tilted her head back for a sip, then set down her glass and looked at Daisy with a smile.
Daisy also took a sip, then remembered something. She hesitated for a moment but decided to speak up.
"Ms. Metz, there's something I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind?"
Ms. Metz looked at her, "Go ahead."
Daisy thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully.
"Last time we worked together, why did you bring Vanessa? Did she approach you, or did you reach out to her?"