Chapter 86 Curiosity Killed the Cat
It seemed the woman knew Quinley would definitely go to Gilded Gobbler to check the surveillance footage.
The image wasn't very clear, but her smugness was obvious. She was challenging Quinley.
"Time's up." The middle-aged woman opened the door and urged her out.
"Thank you." Quinley quickly left the storage room, but her heart was churning like boiling porridge. What exactly was that woman trying to do? Did she want to rekindle things with Zachary? Or was she simply seeking revenge against Quinley?
Quinley couldn't figure it out. She sent Detective Wilson a message: [Any news about Susan?]
After a long while, Detective Wilson replied: [Wait.]
But waiting was the most agonizing part. Quinley's patience was wearing thin. That woman was infiltrating every aspect of her life, starting fires everywhere. She could barely keep up.
"Quinny, everything's packed. When are you coming over?" Marlee called to hurry her along after finishing the packing.
"Right away." Quinley didn't have the energy to think about anything else and rushed back to the hospital.
But when she arrived, Colin and Marlee had already left. The nurse told her that David had picked them up.
It was rush hour, and traffic was completely jammed. By the time Quinley got back to the Elikin family home, it was already dark.
Marlee was busy in the kitchen, and the air was filled with the aroma of cooking. In the living room, Colin sat in his wheelchair playing chess with David.
"Quinny, what took you so long? If Dr. Brown hadn't helped, your dad and I would still be waiting. Go wash your hands and help me in the kitchen." Marlee complained while urging her along.
"Quinny, you're back!" David stood up, his face beaming with smiles.
"Thank you, Dr. Brown." Quinley awkwardly greeted him and quickly escaped into the kitchen.
"Quinny, Dr. Brown cares about you so much—don't take it for granted. Your dad and I both really like him. You can tell he's someone worth depending on. Since you're having a baby, you two should hurry up and discuss marriage. You can delay, but your belly can't!"
Marlee seized the moment to push for marriage. Quinley was cutting potatoes when the knife slipped and cut her finger.
"Oh my, you're more trouble than help! You can't even cut vegetables carefully. Look, you've cut your finger." Marlee turned off the stove and hurried to find a bandage for Quinley.
Hearing the commotion, David rushed over. "What happened? Did you cut yourself?" He grabbed Quinley's hand—her finger was bleeding.
"It's nothing." Quinley tried to pull her hand back, but David held on tight.
Marlee brought over a bandage, which David naturally took and applied to Quinley's finger himself.
"Go sit with your dad for a while. I'll help out here." David pushed Quinley toward Colin and happily entered the kitchen.
Colin leaned back in his chair, his approving gaze fixed on David. "Marry him," he suddenly said.
Quinley didn't respond, but she understood Colin's feelings. After his serious illness, he'd seen how difficult things were for Quinley on her own. He wanted someone to take over from him and take good care of his daughter.
"Dad, let me make you some coffee." Quinley got up to make Colin coffee.
Laughter kept coming from the kitchen. David was charming and quickly won Marlee over.
At the dinner table, Marlee kept serving David food. Anyone could see she was very pleased with this potential son-in-law.
Quinley ate with her head down, but David wouldn't leave her alone. Right after Marlee served him food, he immediately served Quinley.
"Quinny, you've gotten thinner lately. Eat more." He acted completely at home.
His behavior only made Marlee and Colin more satisfied.
"Dr. Brown, when are you planning to get married?" Marlee was anxious and started probing David's intentions.
Quinley kept giving Marlee warning looks, but she ignored them.
"I'll follow Quinny's lead." David looked at Quinley with complete adoration.
Marlee immediately urged, "Get married soon. I can help take care of the baby when it's born."
Quinley couldn't take it anymore and quickly interrupted Marlee. "Mr. Brown, have some vegetables." She served him a large portion of greens, which David hated most.
But because Quinley had served them, David ate them enthusiastically.
The meal was nerve-wracking. Several more times, Marlee tried to return to the topic, but Quinley intercepted each attempt.
After dinner, Marlee went to clean up in the kitchen while David played chess with Colin again.
Quinley glanced at the time and said, "Mr. Brown, would you like to take a walk with me?"
She found an excuse to get David out of there.
"Sure thing." David followed Quinley outside.
But as soon as they got downstairs, Quinley tried to ditch him and walk away alone.
"Dr. Brown, thank you for picking up my parents today. It's getting late—you should head home early."
"Quinny, burning bridges already? Aren't you afraid your mom will scold you if you go back up now?" David grabbed Quinley's wrist.
He was right. If Quinley went back up now, Marlee would definitely scold her. But she really didn't want to spend another minute with David.
"Dr. Brown, I've already made some things clear to you. Please don't misunderstand. The person last night really wasn't me." Quinley shook off David's hand and emphasized again.
"But if it wasn't you, then who could it have been? I was drunk, not suffering from amnesia. Quinny, what's wrong with you? You clearly have feelings for me—why do you keep pushing me away?"
This misunderstanding was too deep for Quinley to clear up. She could only tell the truth.
"It was Susan. She's back." Quinley said quietly.
David was slightly stunned but quickly recovered. "Susan? Which Susan?"
"Zachary's ex-girlfriend."
"Impossible," David said decisively.
That night, David had actually been quite strange, but Quinley had been too absorbed in her own world to notice.
"Quinley, you can refuse to admit that person was you last night. You can say it was just a moment of impulse—we're all adults, and I could understand that. But to reject me, you're making up such a pathetic excuse? Do you think I'd believe that?"
He was getting angry and emotional.
"Why couldn't it be her? She looks almost exactly like me, and you said yourself that I'm just her substitute." Quinley was too eager to know the truth. She was certain David knew something.
She thought that by bringing this up, David would reveal something. But Quinley was disappointed—David refused to say anything.
He saw through Quinley's intentions, let out a cold laugh, and backed away.
"Quinley, curiosity killed the cat. If you want to know the story between her and Zachary, have the guts to ask Zachary yourself. I won't tell you a single word!"