Chapter 59: Chapter 59: The Broken Her
Zane Lynch stiffly turned his head to look at Eloise Donovan, trying to save his buddy’s precarious arranged marriage.
"It’s not what you think. It’s just... it’s just that Miss Sherwood really likes Cassandra. No, that’s not it either. It’s not that she likes Cassandra..."
For the first time, Zane Lynch realized how clumsy he was with words. He was clearly trying to say something good on Gregory Sherwood’s behalf, but the more he explained, the worse he made it sound...
Of course, what he didn’t know at that moment was that someone was secretly undermining his efforts.
’Mhm, mhm, mhm, you can tell that Miss Sherwood really, *really* likes Cassandra Lynch. She was all gooey-eyed looking at Cassandra. That’s totally the look you give your future daughter-in-law.’
Eloise Donovan thought about the descriptions in the investigation file, which said Mrs. Sherwood and Rona Sullivan were as close as sisters. She pressed her lips together and said nothing.
’Speaking of which, it’s one thing if Mrs. Sherwood doesn’t know, but how could Mr. Sherwood still be... Sigh. Looks like it’s true that good advice is wasted on a stubborn fool. The female lead’s halo is too powerful, so he has no choice but to wear this green hat securely.’
Eloise Donovan’s expression instantly turned cold. She recalled Rachel Chandler’s assessment of him at the hospital—it seemed she hadn’t wronged him one bit.
"You don’t need to explain any of this to me. I’m just an ordinary guest, and I’m not interested in the host family’s romantic scandals."
After speaking, Eloise Donovan turned to Arabella Donovan and said gently, "You must be hungry, right? We were in such a rush that you didn’t get to eat much. Let’s go downstairs, find a place to sit, and I’ll get you something to eat."
Arabella Donovan was indeed a little hungry, and she didn’t want to stay here watching Cassandra Lynch act all cute and clever in front of the elders anyway, so she nodded eagerly.
When Zane Lynch saw Eloise Donovan’s attitude, his heart skipped a beat.
Realizing he hadn’t even had the chance to make a good impression on this future matriarch, he didn’t dare try to speak up for Gregory Sherwood anymore.
’Better you than me, bro. You’re the one who’s useless, so don’t blame me for not helping you. I really did my best!’
Eloise Donovan and her sister wanted to go downstairs, and Zane Lynch couldn’t stop them, so he could only personally escort them down.
Unfortunately, the banquet was hosted by the Lynch Family, and as a member of the host family, he was the center of attention wherever he went.
This was clearly not what the two of them wanted for the evening, so it was no surprise that the moment they got downstairs, the two sisters shooed him away.
Zane Lynch: "..." ’Sniffle... This is so unfair!!!’
This was Arabella Donovan’s first time attending an evening banquet, so Eloise Donovan kept a close eye on her the entire time, worried she might feel uncomfortable.
After going downstairs and settling Arabella Donovan comfortably in a corner, she turned to get her some small snacks to tide her over.
Arabella Donovan was quite bored all by herself, so she rested her chin on one hand and started counting the little flowers on the tablecloth. Halfway through, her thoughts drifted back to the scene she had just witnessed upstairs...
’One green hat, two green hats, three green hats...’
The three members of the Donovan Family who had just slipped through the Lynch Family’s main gate, along with Caspian Rhodes, who had arrived late due to work: Pfft...
The person who came in with Caspian Rhodes saw him suddenly burst into such a ridiculous laugh and looked at him as if they’d seen a ghost.
"Mr. Rhodes, are you...?"
"I saw an acquaintance. Excuse me for a moment."
Arabella Donovan, still unaware that someone was about to arrive on the battlefield, counted flowers for a while longer before growing idle again. Just as she was thinking about whether to go look for her fourth sister, a quarrel suddenly broke out nearby.
"Didn’t I tell you not to come out? Dressed in this sorry state and fooling around everywhere. People who don’t know any better would think our Gallagher Family is raising some shabby beggar who can’t afford food or clothes. It’s so embarrassing."
’The Gallagher Family? The one where any man of a certain age tries to take advantage of people and makes them call him Gallagher?’
The members of the Donovan Family, who were stealthily closing in on Arabella’s position: "..." ’Take advantage of people? Absolutely not! We won’t stand for it!’
Caspian Rhodes, who was only a few steps away from Arabella Donovan: "..." ’Am I too old? Sometimes I really can’t keep up with the way young people think.’
Hearing the man’s nasty words, Arabella Donovan had assumed the person being yelled at must be dressed sloppily. But when she peeked her head out for a look, she saw that the girl being berated was just dressed a bit plainly.
A white shirt, a black jacket, and a matching black miniskirt. She also had on just a little light makeup. She didn’t look like she was attending a banquet, but more like she had come from work.
But to say she looked like a beggar...
Arabella Donovan glanced down at her own outfit and felt personally attacked.
The person being insulted didn’t get angry. She pushed up the slightly clunky, black-framed glasses on her nose. "Mom told me to keep an eye on you."
But Howard Gallagher wasn’t buying it. "Trying to use Mom to boss me around? Mom told you to keep an eye on me, but did Mom tell you to come to a banquet dressed like that?"
"The banquet isn’t important. I just got off work and didn’t have time to change."
Arabella Donovan was completely amazed when she heard that.
’She really did come straight here in her work clothes. Badass! But they have the same mom, so they’re brother and sister? Who has such an infuriating little brother? In my family, he’d be beaten to death for that!’
The Donovan Family: "..." ’It wouldn’t go that far, it wouldn’t go that far.’
"Then just piss off and go home. I get annoyed just looking at you."
Howard Gallagher’s tone was filled with undisguised disgust and impatience, but the person being cursed to her face didn’t seem to care at all, mechanically repeating what she’d said before.
"Mom told me to keep an eye on you."
Howard Gallagher’s posse of degenerate friends also started to jeer. "Hahahaha, Howard, you’re so old, and your mom still has someone keeping tabs on you. Is she afraid you’ll get into trouble outside?"
"Yeah, yeah! Anyone who didn’t know better would think you haven’t been weaned yet, hahahaha..."
Their mockery made Howard Gallagher fly into a rage, and his words became even nastier.
"If Mom told you to go die, why don’t you? I’m an adult, do I need you watching my every move? Who the hell do you think you are? You really think getting into the company means you’re an acknowledged member of the Gallagher Family? No matter how high you climb or how well you do, you’re nothing but a dog of our family. What right does a dog like you have to control me?"
"Because I’m your sister."
"Genevieve Gallagher!"
Arabella Donovan froze at that explosive shout, and the way she looked at the pair in the distance changed.
’Genevieve Gallagher? So this is the Gallagher Family that raises their children like they’re raising venomous insects in a jar. Which means this foul-mouthed kid must be that useless freeloader who coasted into the final round on his sister’s coattails, Cassandra Lynch’s stan number three, Howard Gallagher?’
The Donovan Family members, who had already reached Arabella’s vicinity and were carefully hiding, also perked up. This was... gossip!
Speaking of the Gallagher Family, they were a real oddity among the elite families of Jarden. Master Gallagher, the paternal grandfather of Howard and the others, had married nine wives and fathered forty-nine children in total—a shocking number that included both legitimate and illegitimate offspring.
Arabella Donovan cast a sympathetic glance at Genevieve Gallagher, who stood in the distance, isolated and helpless yet seemingly in a world of her own.
This sister’s family situation could be summed up in a single sentence.
’A weak-willed father, a crazy mother, a spoiled little brother, and the broken her.’
The Donovan Family: Pfft???
Caspian Rhodes had actually heard some rumors about the Gallagher Family, and now hearing Arabella Donovan’s summary, he subconsciously glanced at the still-squabbling siblings in the corner, his brow deeply furrowed.
