Chapter 230: Getting Shot While Lying Down
Everyone froze the moment Arabella Donovan spoke.
Madam Foster was the first to react, her voice trembling with excitement. "Serena, are you telling the truth?"
"Of course it’s true. When have I ever lied to you?"
"No, no, if it comes from you, it must be true. Raphael, did you hear that? None of those things that happened before had anything to do with you. You just had bad luck and happened to be there. It wasn’t your fault."
By the end, Madam Foster’s eyes had reddened, brimming with tears.
Because of his background, Raphael Foster had faced no shortage of gossip since childhood. When he first came to the Foster family, he was only a few years old, yet he was already sullen, taciturn, and quiet.
While other children his age were lively and playful, he seemed as if he had already weathered countless storms, showing no interest in anything.
Back then, she and her husband worried the boy was trapped in his own head, afraid he would be stuck that way forever.
It was her eldest son who, for over a decade, consistently guided him and accompanied him, using sincerity and patience to melt away the shell he had built up from the hurt of rumors and gossip.
He taught him how to be happy, how to be sad, how to be angry, how to be mischievous, how to be willful—bringing him back to the world of the living.
But just when he was at his happiest, everything took a sharp downturn.
He lost his long-awaited nephew, his gentle and kind sister-in-law, and most devastatingly, his older brother who had been a father figure to him, the one who pulled him out of that muddy swamp!
Everything seemed to have returned to square one. The nightmare from years ago made a comeback, proclaiming his incompatibility with the world.
From then on, he seemed unchanged on the surface, but Madam Foster knew there was a thorn stuck in his heart—a thorn that could pierce and shred it completely.
Over the years, besides the two elders and the apprentices and staff at the shop, Raphael Foster had no close friends, let alone a wife and children.
The two old folks knew in their hearts that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he didn’t dare.
He was afraid of reminding them of the past, and on one hand, he feared the outside gossip that he, an adopted son, was plotting for the Foster family’s assets.
But most importantly, he was worried that his future wife and children would also suddenly pass away one day, just like his parents, his older brother, his sister-in-law, and his nephew... jinxed to death by him.
Raphael Foster stood frozen in place, silent. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard Madam Foster, nor that he didn’t believe Arabella Donovan. Rather, after decades of being called a hard-fated jinx, he had given up and come to believe he truly was a curse that brought great harm to others.
But now, someone was telling him that none of it had anything to do with him; he just had bad luck and encountered people who were already destined for misfortune, and he had indirectly taken the blame for it all.
After a long daze, Raphael Foster finally seemed to find his voice. He asked hoarsely, "Will nothing bad really happen again?"
Of course, "nothing bad" didn’t refer to himself, but to the people around him—the people he loved and cared about.
The tall, forty-something man was filled with apprehension and uncertainty as he spoke, making the two elders’ hearts ache again.
Fortunately, Arabella Donovan did not disappoint. She smiled faintly and said, "Of course. I said it before, back when Mr. Foster hadn’t been found yet, didn’t I? His astrological chart and fortune are very compatible with your family’s. Your family’s luck was already on the rise, and now that he’s back, his presence creates a synergistic effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Your family will only do better and better from now on."
"Yes, yes, yes, you’re right. Everything you say is right. Grandma believes you, everyone believes you." Madam Foster gripped Arabella Donovan’s hand tightly, liking her more and more the longer she looked at her.
The old woman had suffered for most of her life, so in her old age, she loved hearing such pleasant words. Besides, what Arabella Donovan said wasn’t wrong. If a family had no younger generation, it was one thing, but once they did, the whole family’s atmosphere and fortune became inextricably linked with them.
The two of them were already old. In the future, the Foster Family would only have Raphael Foster and Samuel Foster left. As long as the two of them were well and could support and care for each other after their elders were gone, then their family would be fine.
"Speaking of which, Serena, you’re an adult now, right? Do you have any plans to study in Brynn? It’s fine if you don’t. You can just travel around. There are still quite a few scenic spots and historical sites in Brynn worth visiting."
As Madam Foster spoke, she suddenly tugged on her precious, newly-found grandson. Her intention was self-evident.
"As it happens, Samuel isn’t busy lately. If there’s anywhere you want to go, just contact him anytime. Let him be your driver, your companion. Don’t be a stranger."
Samuel Foster: ’...’ ’Grandma, could you be any more obvious? A driver and a companion... You didn’t say tour guide because you know I just got back and don’t know Brynn at all, right? And you’re telling her to call me anytime? Are you trying to set her up for a fall, or me? Besides, I’m not free! I’m not free at all! I have to catch a flight back to the film set later!’
Arabella Donovan: ’???’ ’Help me, what is happening! How did a perfectly normal conversation take such a sharp turn? I’m still young! I don’t want to be pushed into a marriage by an elder, even if it’s indirect!’
Beatrice Donovan and Caspian Rhodes also hadn’t expected things to develop this way. Seeing Arabella Donovan stiffen up, her expression growing awkward as her entire being silently screamed for help, Caspian Rhodes was the first to step forward and pull her aside.
"Didn’t you say your grand-uncle needed to see you about something? That you had to go right back after eating."
Arabella Donovan froze for a second, then nodded excitedly. "Right, right, right! I totally forgot until you mentioned it! Grandpa Foster, Wyatt, and Mr. Fulton, Mr. Foster... my grandpa told me before I left that he had something to discuss with me this afternoon and that I should head back early after lunch. If there’s nothing else, we’ll get going. We’ll come back for a meal when we have time, and I’ll bring my grandparents with me."
Raphael Foster also seemed a bit taken aback by his mother’s impulsive and wild maneuver. To prevent her from saying anything else shocking, he quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, of course. Just remember to let me know in advance when you’re coming. I’ll personally prepare my specialty dishes to treat you."
"That sounds wonderful. But you can’t give me the meal for free next time. If I keep getting free meals here, I’ll be too embarrassed to come back."
In the end, Arabella Donovan couldn’t win against the Fosters and let Raphael Foster treat her to today’s meal.
But if she really let them treat her every single time, she knew she wasn’t that thick-skinned.
Arabella Donovan followed Caspian Rhodes out as if her pants were on fire, not noticing Madam Foster’s gaze lingering between her and Caspian.
’So that’s how it is.’
Thinking she was still up to no good, Samuel Foster hastily advised, "Grandma, please stop playing matchmaker. Miss Donovan is young. You’ll scare her."
The words had barely left his mouth when Foster’s disdainful glare shot his way.
’This boy doesn’t even know how to make a move before someone else does. I’m afraid he’s just like his uncle, destined to be an old bachelor. Why are both of them so useless!’
Thinking this, Foster shot a harsh glare at the uncle and nephew duo.
Samuel Foster: "???"
Raphael Foster: "..." ’I’m catching stray bullets even when I’m just standing here!’