Novel Full Chapter 150: Drenched in Sweat
Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Drenched in Sweat
Arabella Donovan felt her mother was exaggerating.
"Mr. Kerr and his company saw my second brother’s potential in fashion. It has little to do with me."
Mrs. Donovan gave her an indulgent glance, her smile deepening, as if to say: ’Alright, whatever you say.’
"Serena, is she..." The fifth aunt-in-law had wanted to ask if Arabella Donovan knew Mr. Kerr from the Aethel Jade Group, but the words caught in her throat as she realized her mistake, and she stopped herself abruptly.
"Does Serena know people from the Aethel Jade Group?"
"We’ve crossed paths a few times. I was fortunate enough to do a divination reading for Ms. Kerr of the Aethel Jade Group—for her son."
Mrs. Donovan chimed in with a smile, "And because of that, Mr. Kerr specifically sent both sisters a set of expensive jewelry as a thank-you gift."
"Wow, I had no idea! Serena is incredible!"
Arabella Donovan chuckled. "It was all just a stroke of luck."
’But since my cousin-in-law works at the Aethel Jade Group, this makes things much easier. I’ll call Mr. Kerr in a bit and ask him what kind of monster this supervisor of hers is. If worst comes to worst, I’ll just have him move her to another department to save her from that woman’s torment. Mmm, I’ll just owe him a favor. At worst, I can pay him back by doing a few more readings for his love life and career.’
Her cousin-in-law was truly touched. This was their first time meeting, and all told, they had only exchanged a handful of sentences. Yet, the other woman was treating her with such sincerity, looking out for her at every turn, and was even willing to go into debt—owing a favor—on her behalf.
She was a hundred times better than certain friends and relatives of several decades, who claimed to have your best interests at heart but were secretly terrified you’d have a better life than them.
In that short time, her cousin-in-law now fully understood why, after the birthday banquet, her parents-in-law had been praising this newly returned little cousin nonstop, bringing her up every single day.
But... hadn’t they come to give a gift and express their thanks? How had they ended up owing another favor?
Her cousin-in-law subconsciously turned to her husband, only to find he was already drenched in sweat.
The second cousin suddenly realized that he couldn’t continue being such a slacker. Otherwise, with the meager accomplishments he and his cousin Beatrice had, they could forget about helping their little cousin Arabella or protecting her—they’d be lucky not to be the ones asking for her help and dragging her down!
"Um, why don’t you two have a seat for a moment? I’m going to make a call." Arabella Donovan was a woman of action. No sooner said than done, she stood up and went to call Kieran Kerr.
It happened to be the weekend, and Kieran Kerr had gone out with a few friends on a luxury yacht for a party and some sea fishing.
When Arabella Donovan’s call came through, Kieran Kerr’s fishing rod twitched. A fish was just about to take the bait when the ringing startled him, making his hand jerk and the fish get away.
"Whose phone was that? It scared my damn fish away! You owe me!"
"A bad fisherman blames his rod. Give it a rest. It was your own phone ringing. You’re lucky we’re not asking *you* to pay up."
Only then did Kieran Kerr realize it was the phone in the pocket of his jacket, which he’d tossed aside, that was ringing. He frowned at the caller ID, his expression instantly freezing. With a WHOOSH, he shot up and ran to the side to answer the call.
"Hello, Master Donovan. My apologies, I was tied up for a moment. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting. Is there a reason you’re calling?"
The friends who had come with Kieran Kerr had never seen him look so excited and fawning before. As soon as he walked away, they huddled together and started whispering.
"What’s the deal? Who’s calling Mr. Kerr? To make him that nervous... could it be his family’s Empress Dowager?"
"What Empress Dowager? I just heard him. The person’s surname is Donovan, and he called them some kind of ’Master’..."
"A master named Donovan? I haven’t heard of any famous master by that name in Jarden lately. There is a Miss Donovan, though... I think it’s the second daughter the Lynch family just took back."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s gaze swiveled in unison to Gregory Sherwood, who was spacing out in the corner.
"Gregory, you and that Second Miss Lynch..."
Kieran Kerr’s "Master Donovan" had already made Gregory Sherwood think of past events and a certain someone. Hearing his name called, he snapped out of his daze as if waking from a dream.
"Just friends."
"Really... ’just friends’?"
The few people sitting closest to Gregory Sherwood were on good terms with him. They exchanged glances, their faces full of teasing.
These men were closer to Gregory Sherwood and knew more about the affairs between the Sherwood and Lynch families.
Considering how much Gregory Sherwood used to care for Cassandra Lynch, it was out of character for him to simply ignore her now, even after it was exposed that she wasn’t a true Lynch. Befriending the newly returned second daughter instead was even more telling.
It seemed there was more to the story that outsiders didn’t know.
They were all old foxes, so Gregory Sherwood had no intention of playing games with them. He simply offered a word of advice out of goodwill: "Stay away from that woman, Cassandra Lynch. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not warning you when you get eaten alive with nothing left but bones."
"HAHAHA, we know, we know. We’re not like that idiot from the Chamberlain family, believing whatever anyone tells him and making such a huge fool of himself. If I were his parents, I’d have died of frustration."
Thanks to Melanie Yates’s vigorous rumor-mongering, the whole of Jarden knew the story. Everyone knew that the young master of the Chamberlain family had been played for a complete fool—"sold and still counting the money for the seller," as the saying goes. Goaded by just a few words from Cassandra Lynch, he had rushed to Stroven City, to the home of the real Miss Lynch’s adoptive parents. There, in front of all the guests at the two Miss Donovans’ birthday party, he blew the lid on the baby-swapping incident, making a colossal fool of himself.
After returning home, Mr. Chamberlain became a shut-in for the better part of a month. He then emerged as Cassandra Lynch’s newest top fan-turned-hater. He’d get triggered by the mere mention of Cassandra Lynch’s name, wishing he could completely erase her from his life.
This incident, along with the Lynch family welcoming back their true second daughter and doting on her endlessly, became the favorite topic of gossip among Jarden’s upper-class elite. They discussed it with relish, and the chatter has yet to fully die down even now.
Hearing this, Gregory Sherwood’s face couldn’t help but twitch, feeling as though he’d been hit by a stray bullet.
After all, he too had once blindly believed Cassandra Lynch’s side of the story. If it weren’t for Arabella Donovan’s incredible words, followed by one bloody truth after another laid bare before him, he might still be in the dark right now.
Although, even if he had been deceived, he certainly wouldn’t have been as impulsive as that Mr. Chamberlain, who, after a few words of instigation, showed up on someone’s doorstep and launched a full-frontal attack on the hosts. It was boundlessly stupid.
"As for the one from the Lynch family, I suggest you don’t go looking for trouble with her. Even if you don’t get on her good side, don’t get on her bad side. Otherwise..."
If Gregory Sherwood hadn’t said anything, it would have been fine. But his words had piqued everyone’s curiosity.
"Otherwise, what will happen?"
"Otherwise, her brothers and sisters are not to be trifled with." Gregory Sherwood once again recalled the scene of his first meeting with the two sisters and their attitude toward him outside the Lynch family’s courtyard that day.
He took a sip of his red wine with a wry smile and said meaningfully, "Did you see Mr. Kerr’s reaction just now? Don’t wait until you’re begging for her help, only for her to not even give you the time of day."