Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Haphazard Matchmaking
Green... on top?
For a man, that description was somewhat... inauspicious.
Eloise Donovan couldn’t help it. Her sympathetic gaze drifted to the top of his head, only to meet Gregory Sherwood’s eyes.
Caught off guard by Eloise Donovan’s stare, Gregory Sherwood was taken aback for a moment. He then gave her a polite smile and continued walking toward Zane Lynch and Caspian Rhodes.
"Solara, Mr. Rhodes."
"Gregory, what brings you to the company today?"
Gregory Sherwood smiled faintly. "I ran into Cassandra yesterday. She said you seemed to be in some trouble recently, so I came to check on you. I didn’t expect to hear from the staff as soon as I walked in that you and Mr. Rhodes had found a master to check the feng shui. I got curious and came to find you."
At the mention of Cassandra Lynch, both Zane Lynch’s and Caspian Rhodes’s expressions turned a bit strange, but not wanting to tip him off, they quickly composed themselves.
Zane Lynch took the opportunity to steer the conversation toward Arabella Donovan. "This is Master Donovan. Don’t be fooled by her youth; her readings are extremely accurate. Master Donovan, this is my good buddy, Gregory Sherwood. He’s also a shareholder in the company but doesn’t come by often. It must be fate that you two met today."
A flash of understanding crossed Arabella Donovan’s eyes. She greeted him with a faint smile, but a barrage of thoughts was already flooding her mind.
’Gregory Sherwood? So *he’s* Cassandra Lynch’s fiancé from that childhood betrothal. No wonder he’s practically glowing green! One moment, your sweet little fiancée is crying on your shoulder, after having driven Melanie Yates’s brother into such a rage that he went out, got wasted, and crashed his car, leaving him in a vegetative state. The next moment, she’s taking the allowance money you gave her to go on shopping dates with the male protagonist. What a textbook wallet-on-legs. *Hiss*... He’s being played for such a fool... I almost feel sorry for him.’
Eloise Donovan’s expression shifted. Perhaps because she already knew all the things Cassandra Lynch had done, her take on the situation was completely different from Arabella Donovan’s. By extension, her impression of Gregory Sherwood soured as well.
’Anyone who could fall for someone like Cassandra Lynch is either an idiot or blind. He doesn’t deserve any sympathy.’
Caspian Rhodes, however, knew a bit more than she did. The Sherwood and Lynch families were old family friends. Gregory Sherwood’s mother and Zane Lynch’s second aunt—who was also Eloise Donovan’s birth mother—had been best friends for many years.
That was why the two families had jokingly arranged the marriage verbally while Eloise Donovan’s birth mother was still alive.
After the unfortunate death of Eloise Donovan’s parents, the most grief-stricken person, aside from the Lynch Family, was this very Mrs. Sherwood.
Because of this, she had spent all these years doting on Cassandra Lynch as if she were her own daughter, even pushing her own son, Gregory Sherwood, to the side.
What a pity. All that sincere affection had been given to the wrong person. In the process, the childhood betrothal was also usurped—a destiny that should have belonged to Eloise Donovan.
At that moment, Gregory Sherwood was still unaware that his very green head had captured Arabella Donovan’s attention. He smiled faintly and said, "It’s rare to see you praise someone so highly, Solara. Miss Donovan must truly have some extraordinary skills."
Zane Lynch’s eyes darted around as a mischievous idea suddenly struck him.
"Isn’t that the truth? Just the other day, Master Donovan accurately predicted that a male actor on a film set would get into a financial dispute that would escalate into a physical fight and injury. The guy is still lying in a hospital bed right now. And just now, Master Donovan took one tour around the office and immediately saw that an employee had recently suffered an accident, leading to a financial loss. Her skills are simply divine."
"That’s quite impressive."
It was clear that although Gregory Sherwood was politely agreeing with Zane Lynch, he didn’t actually hold these tales of Mystical Skill in high regard.
But Zane Lynch wasn’t about to let him off the hook. "Well, since you’re here anyway, why not have Master Donovan give you a reading too? Don’t worry, I’ll cover the cost with my payment in a bit. It won’t cost you a dime."
Gregory Sherwood chuckled, a mix of helplessness and amusement in his voice. "It’s not about the money. I just don’t have anything I want a reading on."
"How could you have nothing you want to know? Academics, family, career, relationships—I don’t believe everything in your life is going smoothly and perfectly. You must have some worries."
Zane Lynch had just been trying to drag Gregory Sherwood into the fun, but he had unintentionally hit a bullseye, striking upon Gregory’s secret worries.
Gregory Sherwood pressed his lips together and looked down, silent.
Seeing that his words had gotten to him, Zane Lynch quickly struck while the iron was hot. "Master Donovan, hurry up and give him a reading. Let’s see if he’s really as carefree as he always seems when he’s laughing and joking with us."
"I think you just want to see me make a fool of myself." Gregory Sherwood was so amused by Zane Lynch’s troublemaking attitude that he laughed, but he still indulged him. "Fine, go ahead and do a reading."
Outwardly, Arabella Donovan maintained a calm and inscrutable demeanor, but inwardly, she was already rubbing her hands together, eager to begin.
’Ooh, you walked right into this one. Don’t blame me!’
Eloise and Caspian recalled Arabella Donovan’s repeated comments about a "glowing green head." They wanted to laugh but had to suppress it, and holding it in was becoming difficult.
"May I ask what Mr. Sherwood would like me to read?"
Gregory Sherwood stared fixedly at a point somewhere in front of him for a long moment before suddenly speaking. "I want a reading on my marriage prospects."
The moment he said it, not only were Caspian Rhodes and the others stunned, but even Zane Lynch, the instigator behind it all, was shocked.
Although he had deliberately asked Gregory Sherwood to get a reading with the intention of steering things in this direction, he was still somewhat surprised that Gregory had taken the bait so readily, saving him a lot of effort.
Arabella Donovan’s eyes lit up slightly. Just as she was about to speak, her expression changed.
’Huh? This person’s line of marital fate is...’
Caspian Rhodes and Eloise Donovan pricked up their ears, eager to hear the rest, but Arabella Donovan unexpectedly swallowed the second half of her sentence.
Gregory Sherwood didn’t miss the change in Arabella Donovan’s expression. A trace of impatience flashed in his eyes. He figured that charlatans these days all followed the same script: first, make some sensational, terrifying pronouncements to scare the client, and then, once the person is in a panic, offer a so-called solution to swindle them out of their money.
And in his eyes, Arabella Donovan’s suddenly solemn expression was the telltale sign that she was about to start her scam.
Though that’s what he thought, Gregory Sherwood still feigned confusion and asked, "Is there a problem with my marriage prospects?"
’A big one! Your line of marital fate almost got tied to the wrong person! In an opera, they’d call that "messing up the mandarin duck registry." How could that *not* be a big problem?’
’The line of marital fate can be tied to the wrong person?’ Eloise Donovan’s brow furrowed slightly.
’What does that mean? Could it be that because Cassandra Lynch loves someone else, their engagement is doomed to fail?’
’Although she felt that would be a good thing, the person involved might not think so.’
Caspian Rhodes seemed to have faintly guessed something. His gaze swept over Eloise Donovan and Gregory Sherwood, and a new hint of interest, one that hadn’t been there before, appeared in his eyes.
Arabella Donovan didn’t notice the small interlude behind her. She cleared her throat, her expression serious.
"Judging from your features, Mr. Sherwood, you should already have a fiancée. This fiancée grew up with you; you could be considered childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates. The two of you have a very good relationship, and to outsiders, you seem like a talented man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match in terms of social status—a union made in heaven. But, if you’ll forgive my bluntness, this fiancée of yours, I’m afraid... is not your true destined partner."
