Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 409

Eileen’s mind froze; her head turned toward Commander Dirk, stiff and mechanical, as if she’d been turned to stone.

She stared at Commander Dirk. Just stared. And kept staring.

Huh?

Huh huh??

Huh huh huh huh huh?????

With a sudden clatter, Ophelia slammed the soup tureen down on the table.

She’d used so much force that some of the broth actually splashed out!

Eileen’s entire body tensed up in an instant.

Commander Dirk cradled his bowl, practically burying his face in the rice to avoid meeting anyone’s eyes.

Then, with a scrape of wood against tile, Ophelia yanked a chair out.

She sat down heavily, her face stormy. “If you don’t want to eat, then don’t!”

Eileen gulped, her fear nearly choking her.

Her mind raced desperately for a solution.

Things had reached the point where choosing between survival and certain death didn’t seem so different anymore.

She weighed her options—brave the consequences and speak up, or keep her head down and hope to survive.

In the end, her fiery, reckless spirit as a soldier won out.

She was no longer afraid to die. She’d risk it all!

Eileen straightened her neck and declared loudly, “I just think—it wouldn’t hurt if we ate out tonight!”

As soon as she finished, an uncomfortable silence settled over the room.

In that awkward pause, Eileen saw Commander Dirk glance her way with what could only be described as admiration and awe. For a moment, she wondered if he might actually be impressed.

Three minutes later.

Eileen, clutching a bowl of plain white rice, was banished to the hallway by Ophelia.

“If you like eating out so much, then go eat out there!” Ophelia growled, glowering as she shut the door in Eileen’s face.

Eileen: “…”

So, in the end, she stood by the doorway and finished her dinner—a single bowl of rice.

Through the crack in the door, she could see what was happening inside.

Ophelia, apparently pleased by Commander Dirk’s attempts to be polite, kept piling food onto his plate.

Commander Dirk didn’t refuse a single bite; he accepted everything she served, and, as if he’d lost all sense of taste, forced it all down.

Eileen watched, horrified, nearly trembling in sympathy for his suffering.

When the meal finally ended, Commander Dirk grabbed Eileen and brought her back to campus.

He’d driven over, so now she found herself sulking in the battered old minivan’s passenger seat. Her arms were folded, and she resolutely turned her back to him, refusing to say a word.

Commander Dirk drove with one hand on the wheel and the other pressed gingerly to his stomach, his face pale. “Is there a public restroom around here?”

Eileen shot him a look of pure malice. “Wouldn’t you like to know! I’m not telling you!”

He glanced at her, wincing. “I don’t really know Miss Ophelia well. She went to all that trouble, so I couldn’t exactly tell her the food was terrible. That would have been rude.”

Eileen exploded, “Oh, so betraying me isn’t rude, huh?!”

He grimaced, “Seriously, is there a bathroom nearby?”

Eileen bared her teeth, “How should I know? This is my first time here too!”

Left with no choice, Commander Dirk ended up pulling over at a supermarket to ask for the restroom.

Eileen stayed in the car, waiting.

Half an hour later, Commander Dirk finally emerged, looking utterly defeated. He was usually such a tall, imposing figure, but now he seemed to have shrunk, his shoulders hunched.

Eileen couldn’t hold back a gleeful, “Serves you right!”

Commander Dirk turned the wheel, glancing at her. “Is there anything you do know?”

Eileen arched an eyebrow and announced smugly, “I do know that you’ve got your eye on Ophelia! You want to chase after her!”

Commander Dirk pressed his lips together but didn’t deny it.

Eileen went on, “But you messed with me! You’re doomed! I’m definitely not helping you. In fact, I’ll sabotage you! Ha! Good luck with that!”

Commander Dirk: “…”

A red light up ahead forced him to stop the car. He said slowly, “When we get back to campus, we’ll head to the nurse’s office for a checkup. If it turns out you’re not sick, you’ll be marked as late for curfew and lose five points for breaking the rules.”

Eileen: “………………”

No doubt about it. The old fox is always the craftiest…

In the end, rather than face the nurse, Eileen caved. She swallowed her pride and called Janice to dig up the dirt on Ophelia’s relationship status.

After the call, Eileen relayed the news to Commander Dirk. “You heard her—Ophelia doesn’t want to get married, but her boyfriend did, so they broke up.”

Commander Dirk was quiet for a moment, then corrected her, “Ex-boyfriend.”

Eileen scoffed, still glaring at him. She had zero faith in Commander Dirk’s chances.

At long last, they pulled up in front of the school.

Eileen jumped out of the car, ready to head straight for her dorm.

But Commander Dirk called after her.

“Wait.”

She turned around.

He hesitated, then finally said, “If you don’t mind, could you pass a message to Miss Ophelia for me?”

Eileen crossed her arms, striking a pose of exaggerated confidence. “What do you want me to say?”

Commander Dirk replied, “The gun’s been laid down. Ready for love. I’ll answer her messages in a heartbeat—and I can be very clingy.”