Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 235

The door closed again.

Eileen leaned against the door, listening to the fading footsteps of Egbert outside.

She only moved away when the sound of another door closing signaled that Egbert had retired to his room. Slowly, Eileen moved back into her room and perched on the edge of her bed, which was littered with documents.

Her laptop screen flickered with the rise and fall of data on a stock exchange page.

Eileen hoisted the laptop onto her knees and, with a swift exit from the current page, she was once again greeted with the words "Bidding Successful."

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

The truth was, her earlier outburst hadn't been about her grandfather's inheritance.

Rather, it was because, just five minutes prior, she had sealed a deal with a foreign company, successfully securing a partnership bid.

Closing her laptop, Eileen reached for a document sitting nearby.

Emblazoned on the top of the document were the words “Apex Synergy Group.”

It was the latest price data and project summary for Apex Synergy Group.

After a brief chuckle, Eileen neatly packed away her documents and hauled her backpack closer, preparing to pack everything in.

As she did so, she caught sight of the white envelope in her backpack. It was a letter from her grandfather.

Licking her lips, Eileen took out the letter, holding it by its edges, but ultimately not daring to open it again. Maybe she shouldn't read it...

She hadn't finished the letter that afternoon. She'd only gotten two lines in before breaking down in tears. Her fingers pinched the envelope tightly. After taking a deep breath, she gathered the courage to open the letter once more.

The first part of the letter was just as she'd seen that afternoon.

It was her grandfather's kind greeting.

— Eileen, how are you doing?

A tear splashed onto the center of the paper.

Quickly, Eileen raised her head and grabbed for a tissue, cleaning her tears.

After drying her tears, she took a breath and continued reading.

— When you read this letter, you should be twenty years old, right? I wish Eileen a happy birthday. Also, I have a wedding gift for our Eileen.

The tissue was quickly soaked through. Hurriedly, Eileen grabbed another two tissues and pressed them against her eyelids.

"Grandpa..." she murmured, biting her lip as she forced herself to continue reading.

— Shh, don't tell your grandma, okay? This money is my secret stash. And your grandma doesn't know about it. Speaking of which, how's your grandma doing? She's so engrossed in her research, her mind filled with numbers and mathematics, often forgetting to eat due to her work. Have you been reminding her to eat her meals?

Eileen turned her face away as tears streamed down her cheeks.

When her grandfather had hidden this inheritance, he probably couldn't have imagined that he and grandma would both die in the same car accident.

— And your dad, how's he doing? Is he still as he was before, working himself to death? Sigh, at this rate, he's bound to die on the front lines.

Indeed, at that time, even her dad hadn't died in the line of duty.

— Lately, I have been getting a lot of calls from old friends. Some I haven't seen in over a decade, and when we meet again, it's at a funeral. So, I thought I'd write a will. Just in case, if I suddenly passes away, at least I'd have left you something.

— I wonder how long your grandpa can live? I hope I can live a bit longer, that way, I can spend more time with you grandma, spend more time with you, watch you grow up, watch you get married.

— But, Eileen, if you really do love mathematics, I will support you. No matter what our Eileen does, I will support you.

Tears welled up in Eileen's eyes again, and she quickly grabbed another two tissues to clean her face.

— Eileen, I don't really know what else to say to you, because right now you're actually right outside the study door, peeking through the crack to see what I am writing.

— Oh, right, there's one more thing. I really didn't steal your music box again. I was just the courier for the music box. You'll see it again someday, as long as you can solve the puzzle I left. But our Eileen is so smart, you can definitely solve it, right?

Eileen felt heartbroken. She whispered, "Grandpa, I'm not smart at all. I'm really stupid. I didn't discover anything in my past life. I went to the ancestral house, but still didn't discover anything. I'm so, so stupid!"

"Eileen, sweetheart, if I really leave you, don't you dare let it get you down. The cycle of life and death, it's just how things are. I’m lived a full life, and I will get my rest up in heaven. When you grow old and join me, I'll be an old hand, ready to show you around. I’ll show you the angels, the Milky Way - you love those fairy tales, don't you? All those magical beings from your stories, they're up there, and I’m joined them now."

That's a lie!

"Well, that does sound like I'm trying to pull one over on you, doesn't it? Honestly, though, I can't picture what our Eileen will look like at twenty. To me, you'll always be my little girl, so clever and peculiar, innocent and radiant, so kind, and so mature. Eileen, I don't have many wishes left, but I do hope that you'll always be happy, always be healthy, and never shed a tear, alright?"

With love, your Grampa.

The date at the bottom of the letter was fifteen years ago.

Back then, Eileen was only five. She was still blissfully happy. Her world hadn't crumbled yet...

She carefully folded the letter and put it back in its envelope.

After tidying up her bed, Eileen slipped under the covers, ready for sleep. But after tossing and turning for half an hour, she realized sleep was a no-show.

With a sniffle, Eileen sat up, pulled out the letter, and tucked it under her pillow.

Finally, she fell asleep.