Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen



The air in the room took on a sudden stillness.

At that moment, Egbert put down the task card, turning his gaze to the boom camera before him and said, "Getting my family involved might be a bit tricky."

Many celebrities prefer to keep their family out of the limelight. The show producers hadn't consulted the guests about this "family-involved" task beforehand, recognizing their right to decline it.

No sooner had Egbert finished speaking than the room's landline rang.

The phone, set up by the show's team to maintain contact with the guests, was quickly picked up by Egbert, who listened to the show's director explain the situation.

After a while, he hung up and said to Eileen, "They don't want to disturb our families, so they suggested we could invite friends instead."

Eileen let out a sigh of relief and nodded, "Inviting friends is manageable."

Who doesn't have a few friends in the entertainment industry, after all?

Egbert added, "The director also asked if we could give him a joint autographed photo of us."

Eileen looked puzzled, "Autographed photo? Why?"

Egbert shrugged the question off and picked up his phone, "Let me check with our mutual friends first." Saying this, he opened his WhatsApp group chat.

Eileen watched him type, her eyes occasionally drifting to the task card on the table.noveldrama

After a while, Egbert looked up, "They're all free."

Phyllis and Josiah could make it over tonight. Blythe was out of town filming, but she insisted she'd make it by tomorrow no matter what!

They were all excited about the supposed "house warming party."

Who would have thought that Egbert and Eileen had secretly gotten married behind their backs!

After hanging up, Egbert continued to cut an apple, feeding pieces to Eileen.

After finishing the apple, Eileen suggested, "Maybe ask Bartley if he's free as well."

Egbert paused. After a moment, he chuckled, "Should I ask?"

Eileen mumbled, "Why not?"

Bartley was both family and friend, and she admitted she was being a little selfish in wanting him there.

Egbert didn't make it difficult for her. He knew that for her to even suggest this was a big step.

He called Simon Lopez. A moment later, he hung up and said, "He'll be here soon."

Eileen nodded, pretending not to care too much.

With friends coming over, food had to be prepared.

In the end, Eileen decided to prepare meatloaf. It was the easiest and most convenient choice when having a lot of people over.

So, at three in the afternoon, the two of them headed out to do some grocery shopping.

By five in the evening, Eileen was preparing the food when the doorbell rang.

"They're here."

Eileen quickly put down what she was holding and scampered to open the door.

As the door swung open, the first thing Eileen saw was a wheelchair.

Eileen looked puzzled.

Her gaze then traveled upwards to see a man sitting in the wheelchair, his leg wrapped in a cast.

Eileen stared, taken aback, at Jarvis, then moved her gaze towards Simon, who was pushing Jarvis's wheelchair, a grim expression on his face. Simon looked like he was about to cry, "I was at the hospital when you called. He heard and insisted on coming with me. He said if I didn't bring him, he wouldn't let me leave!"

Eileen didn't know what to say. Now that they were here, she couldn't exactly tell Mr. Dave to leave, could she?

So, all she could do was invite them in.

A little while later, Egbert came downstairs from tidying the guest room to see two additional guests in the living room.

Jarvis and Simon.

Egbert paused for a moment when he saw Jarvis.

However, Jarvis, seemingly in high spirits, greeted, "Mr. Reed, we meet again."

Egbert walked over and casually asked, "Given your condition, why did you decide to come?"

Jarvis laughed, "I was getting bored in the hospital. When I heard that Simon was coming over, I thought I might as well join. I haven't seen you guys in a while. I hope I'm not causing trouble."

Egbert glanced at Simon, who was sitting on the couch looking as if he was about to explode, and said calmly, "Not at all."

He turned back to Simon, "Take good care of Mr. Dave." Simon grumbled in acknowledgment.

Egbert then went into the kitchen to help Eileen with the food preparation.

Jarvis, on the other hand, took a tour of the house in his wheelchair, eventually stopping outside the half-open kitchen window to chat with Egbert and Eileen.

Simon, left alone, was just about to lose his cool when his phone rang.

He picked up the call and after a brief conversation, his temper flared, "No! I said it's not possible! Who told you guys? Harriet? How did Harriet find out? What group? Why are Harriet and Jarvis's agents in the same group? I knew I shouldn't have brought Jarvis along! No, mom, stop. It's really not possible!"

It took him over ten minutes to finish the call.

When he returned, the look he gave Jarvis were full of annoyance and hatred.

Not long after, Josiah and Phyllis arrived. As fellow industry insiders, Phyllis, Jarvis, and Simon had all worked together on the Haunted Chronicles, and they quickly struck up a conversation.

Josiah, noticing that there was still a lot of work left to do in the kitchen, offered to help with the food preparation.

His wife was a nutritionist, so he had become quite adept at chopping vegetables.

Eileen, watching him work, couldn't help but express her envy, "Mrs. Morgan is really something. She's trained you well. Egbert is hopeless. Every time I try to teach him how to chop, he manages to give me high blood pressure!"

Egbert was listening to the conversation, a sudden laugh escaping his lips.

Eileen immediately glared at him, "Was that funny?"

Egbert, always the calm one, replied, "Your teaching method is flawed."

Eileen frowned, "What's wrong with it?"

Egbert suggested, "If I do it right, you should reward me with a kiss. I'd learn much quicker that way."

Josiah, looking shocked, asked, "Isn't this a pretend marriage? Do pretend marriages also involve kissing?"

Eileen didn't know what to say.

Egbert chuckled again, nodding in agreement, "Yes, there must be kissing."

"Here!" Eileen thrust a dishcloth into Egbert's arms and sent him off to wipe down the table, wanting him out of her sight.

Half an hour later, dinner was ready. Eileen called out, "Dinner's ready!"

Everyone came to help serve the food.

As Simon passed by his aunt, he kept his gaze down, not daring to meet her eyes.

Once all the food was on the table and everyone was preparing to eat, Simon hesitantly raised his hand and mumbled, "Um, can we wait a little longer... someone else is coming."

Eileen looked at Simon in surprise, "Someone else is coming?"

Simon scratched his head, responding vaguely, "Yeah... yes..."

Eileen glanced at Jarvis, who wasn't originally on the guest list, and thought to herself, one uninvited guest is already here, what's one more?

So she said, "Alright, we can wait a bit longer. I'll get another set of dishes."

She was about to go to the kitchen when Simon stopped her, "I'll get it, I'll get it."

With that, he quickly ran into the kitchen.

Two minutes later, Simon came out with a stack of empty plates and a handful of forks.

Eileen was dumbfounded. She asked, "How many more people are coming?"

Simon, looking guilty, slowly moved towards the dining room, mumbling, "Let's see, my dad, my mom, my brother, Chad, my aunt, my cousin, my grandma, oh, and a family friend's grandma... so, eight or nine, I guess..."