Defying Fate: The Unstoppable Eileen novel Chapter 298

The three ladies were ushered into the grand hall of the event venue.

At the front was the yet-to-be-opened stage of a theater, with tiered rows of audience seats stretching out behind it.

The seats were already filled with “old people” sporting makeup much like theirs, resembling a gathering of the elderly.

The staff directed each guest to different seats.

“Try to act the part of the wise old folk, please,” they instructed. “Later, your better halves will come looking for you.”

Eileen settled into her allocated seat, her gaze falling upon her hands.

Makeup had been applied to make her fingers look thin, gnarled, and wrinkled with age.

A murmuring started to fill the air from behind her.

Eileen heard Hobson's voice amidst the chatter.

“How are we supposed to find them amongst all these grannies?” Hobson lamented.

Calvert chimed in, “Only five minutes? And if we don't find them it's game over?”

Eileen didn’t look back. She wondered, with close to a hundred people in the room, could Egbert really find her in five minutes?

As she pondered, someone tapped her shoulder. Startled, Eileen flinched.

Meanwhile, Hobson’s voice rose again, “Mr. Reed, stop tapping randomly! That's definitely not Ms. Lopez, and if you get it wrong, you don't get another shot!”

Eileen hesitated before turning around slowly. In an instant, she saw him—a tall figure with a light jacket, silver hair, familiar features but an aged face.

Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of Egbert, who had aged so dramatically.

Egbert, seemingly unsurprised to find her, sat down beside her, gently took her hand, and intertwined their fingers, whispering, “Sorry I’m late.”

“Did you really pick right?” Hobson squeezed through to join them, his eyes fixed on Eileen. It took him a moment to recognize her beneath the disguise, and he couldn’t hide his astonishment, “You can’t tell at all from behind! Mr. Reed, how did you recognize Ms. Lopez just by her silhouette?”

Egbert, lips pressed into a thin line, gripped Eileen's fingers tighter, his voice low, “I’d recognize her, no matter what she looks like.”

Eileen paused, turning to look at Egbert.

Hobson, impressed, exclaimed, “Incredible.” Then he remembered he was still searching for Sylvia and quickly resumed his hunt.

With Hobson gone and the others absent, Eileen tried to withdraw her hand, but Egbert, departing from his usual gentleness, held on firmly.

Eileen frowned, “You…” But before she could finish, her gaze met Egbert's eyes.

He, too, wore colored contacts, and his usually sharp gaze was now obscured.

Special makeup highlighted crow's feet around his eyes, his eyebrows turned salt-and-pepper, and age spots dotted his face.

Staring at him, Eileen felt a lump in her throat, “You’ve grown old, and not handsome at all.”

Egbert chuckled, “But you’re still beautiful.”

Eileen turned her head away, her thoughts drifting to her grandparents.

She remembered a year when her grandmother, already retired, was called back as a consultant and spent three months away before returning, travel-weary.

That was a Saturday, Eileen had accompanied her grandfather to his university. After his lecture, as they left the classroom, her grandfather unexpectedly called out to a woman in the corridor, “Honey!”

Eileen was stunned at the time. It wasn’t until the woman turned around that she realized it was indeed her grandmother. The afternoon sun streamed in from the corridor, warming the breeze that gently stirred her grandmother's hair as she removed her hat, smiling joyfully.

Her grandfather gazed at her, his own smile matching hers. And Eileen, delighted at the prospect of not having to eat her grandfather's cooking that night, was the happiest of all.

The memories seemed to dance before her eyes.

Egbert beside her spoke up, “If we both grow old, will you still hit me?”