Chapter 374: Truly Black-Bellied or Naturally So?

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: Truly Black-Bellied or Naturally So?

And so, Caspian Rhodes, who had been standing right by Arabella Donovan, was suddenly squeezed over toward the Lynch family by the ever-vigilant Donovans.

Enduring the Donovan family’s hostile glares, Caspian Rhodes cleared his throat and took the initiative to speak to Sean Ellison. "So you’re the passerby who saved Melody all those years ago. Melody has been searching for you all this time. She never forgot about you, even after she went abroad."

Caspian Rhodes’ words were deliberately ambiguous. Hearing them, Melody Lynch felt so embarrassed her face turned red, and she shot him an angry glare.

’Melody’s blushing, she’s blushing! So after all this time, it turns out she wasn’t into hot guys or pretty girls because she hadn’t found the right person! Now that he’s been found and the misunderstanding is cleared up, with Melody’s impulsive personality, does this mean I’ll be drinking at their wedding soon?’

’...’ ’Oh, for the love of—stop it with those thoughts!’

Melody suspected that if she let Arabella’s imagination run any wilder, she and Sean would be married off in her head, consummating their marriage and living out their entire lives together. ’Thank god she can’t hear my thoughts, or I’d have to pack my bags and flee the planet tonight!’

She looked up to meet Sean Ellison’s curious gaze and suddenly felt emboldened. "You can’t blame me. Who would’ve thought you’d change so much in five or six years...?"

As soon as Melody said this, everyone’s attention shifted, their eyes fixing in unison on Sean Ellison’s physique.

"Melody’s right. When she barely escaped with her life, she clearly said her savior was a portly, chubby kid. You’re..."

"A few years before I met you, I unfortunately came down with a minor illness. The medication I took contained hormones, and taking a lot of it can lead to side effects like obesity. That’s why I was a bit overweight back when we met."

’A bit overweight?’ Melody thought. ’You were a lot overweight. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have failed to recognize you after meeting you several times, only figuring it out after someone pointed it out.’

"So, you now... you’ve recovered?"

"By the time I met you, I was already cured and off the medication. It just took some time to fully recover. I’d say I was completely back to normal by the time I met your brother."

Sean’s words served as a reminder, and Zane Lynch’s expression suddenly darkened. "So you’re saying you knew I was Melody’s brother all along? Did you approach me on purpose?"

"Not at all. I only found out you were her brother after we started working together."

Sean was telling the truth. Aside from the reasons he’d just mentioned, the main reason he hadn’t revealed his identity to Melody Lynch at first was because his business partnership with Zane Lynch was at a critical juncture. Casually bringing up the past would have felt like he was trying to leverage a good deed for personal gain.

Sean was a man of strong principles. He believed in keeping business and personal matters separate and didn’t like to mix the two. That’s why he’d chosen to keep his lips sealed and wait for Melody to figure it out on her own.

Zane Lynch’s expression softened when he heard this, but the thought of what Arabella Donovan had said earlier still made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

To put it bluntly, he just couldn’t quite stomach the idea of his good buddy becoming his potential brother-in-law.

Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, naturally, noticed his discomfort. They exchanged a glance and stepped forward with faint smiles to smooth things over. "In any case, you saved Melody back then, which means you are a benefactor to the Lynch family. If you ever need our help with anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask. Zane, you should also take extra care of Mr. Ellison."

’...’ ’Take extra care of him? How? This pig is about to run off with my prize cabbage!’

With that thought, Zane shot Sean another resentful glare. Sean’s smile didn’t waver, as he was more concerned with how Melody had recognized him.

"We’ve met a few times before, and you didn’t recognize me at all. Did something happen? Why the sudden recognition?"

The Lynch and Donovan families were surprised by Sean’s perceptiveness and glanced at Melody with a hint of concern.

Fortunately, Melody had completely calmed down by now and took the opportunity to explain. "It was nothing, really. It’s just... related to the car accident a couple of days ago..."

"A car accident? What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with it. The reason Serena and I got into that car accident was because someone deliberately orchestrated it."

"Deliberately orchestrated?" Sean’s expression darkened at Melody’s words. "So your car accident wasn’t an accident?"

"...No." Melody gave Sean a knowing look and told him the truth. "A... former relative of our family has been causing some trouble for us lately. She knew that you were the one who saved me..."

"She didn’t just ’know’ about it. She was the one who secretly orchestrated that incident in the first place."

Arabella Donovan, who had been watching silently from the sidelines, unexpectedly chose this moment to interject.

"I’m sure you’re not aware of this, Mr. Ellison. Because Melody couldn’t find you for all these years, some despicable people got the idea to falsely claim your identity as her savior. They wanted to get close to her to get their revenge. If Melody hadn’t been so lucky, she would have been deceived by now."

As soon as Arabella said this, everyone turned to look at her in astonishment.

Why bring this up all of a sudden? Could it be...

Sensing something, the group turned their gazes to Sean Ellison. And just as they expected, they saw a chilling expression on his face.

"Miss Donovan, are you talking about the person who caused your car accident?"

"Yes. Mr. Ellison, I assume you’ve heard about the child-swapping incident between the Donovan and Lynch families."

"I have indeed heard something about it."

"The one who was originally switched into the Lynch family is... devious. She did many wicked things during her years with them."

"That’s been causing quite a stir lately. I’ve heard about it."

Now it was Arabella’s turn to be stunned. Still, since he was already aware of the situation, it saved her the trouble of wasting her breath on further explanations.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lynch, as well as Zane and Melody, were all deceived by her act before this and never suspected what she was doing. After they learned the truth, they kicked her out and cut off all ties. As a result, she came to resent the entire Lynch family."

"So you’re saying she was the one pulling the strings, having someone impersonate me to get close to Miss Lynch, all to get revenge on the Lynch family."

"You’re a quick study, Mr. Ellison. Perhaps even Heaven couldn’t stand by and watch those people commit such wicked deeds for their own selfish gain. It allowed Melody and me to stumble upon the truth at the hospital. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

’So, you see, sometimes you really can’t be so concerned with saving face. You have to speak up when it’s necessary; your mouth isn’t just for decoration. Otherwise, when something really goes wrong, it’ll be too late for regrets. Look at this—someone has already stolen your identity, run amok, and tried to harm my cousin. Shouldn’t you... you know... do something about it?’

Sensing Arabella’s purpose, the group fell silent. ’...Is she a genuine mastermind or just naturally manipulative?!’