Chapter 193: Talk About a Boomerang
There’s no denying it: where there are people, there’s drama. Where there’s drama, there’s gossip. And at their core, humans are a bunch of gossips.
Upon learning that the legendary devoted lover, Master Donovan, had finally found the love of his life after half a century apart and would soon be holding a grand wedding with her, the curiosity of some out-of-towners who had never interacted with him was piqued. They grew even more curious about this "Miss Donovan’s" true identity and her relationship with the Ninth Master.
"I heard the old madam was found near Brynn and had been living there for a long time. This Miss Donovan couldn’t be her descendant, could she? And the Ninth Master is just fond of her by extension..."
"But she clearly said her surname was Donovan just now."
"What’s so difficult about that? It’s just a name change. When a woman with children from a previous marriage remarries, don’t the kids often have to take the new surname?"
"That makes sense."
Arabella Donovan, who was now supposedly being forced to change her name, was speechless. ’...Seriously? Could you not gossip about the person in question so loudly? I can hear you!’
However...
’After all this time, the best they can come up with is branding me as some kind of tagalong kid? Is that the extent of their schemes? This is just child’s play.’
Brandon Jennings: Pfft...
’No wonder you people couldn’t squeeze a single dime out of my grand-uncle after all this time, only to get wiped out by him in one fell swoop. I feel like Grand-uncle only keeps you pests around because he’s bored—something to entertain him when he has nothing else to do. Otherwise, he would have crushed you all with a flick of his wrist ages ago. It must be so lonely at the top!’
Caspian Rhodes, who heard this monologue the moment he stepped into the exhibition hall, was at a loss for words. ’Is this girl humblebragging again?’
"Ah, so you’re the young lady from our Second Grand-uncle’s side. We haven’t met before. I was a bit forward earlier, my apologies."
Timothy Donovan’s words undoubtedly served as further proof that Arabella Donovan was not truly part of the Donovan family—or at least, not from a branch closely related by blood to Desmond Donovan.
Arabella blinked, feigning confusion. "Second Grand-uncle? Are you related to my grandfather?"
Though she directed the question, Arabella’s gaze wasn’t on Timothy Donovan, but on Herman, who stood less than three steps behind her.
Herman immediately took a step forward. "The Ninth Master did indeed have an older brother, who had one son and one daughter. However..."
"However?"
"However, I heard that the son married a young lady from the Vaughn Family of Brynn and had one son and two daughters. I saw that father and son once when I accompanied the Ninth Master to a banquet, and I don’t believe it was this gentleman here."
"Oh, is that so?" Arabella crossed her arms and watched Timothy Donovan with keen interest. She said nothing more, but it was obvious to everyone that she was waiting for his explanation.
The expression on Timothy Donovan’s face stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal. He smiled faintly. "I’m my father’s... adopted son. My father took pity on me after my parents passed away, leaving me in tragic circumstances. He brought me home, adopted me, gave me his name, and raised me as his own."
"Oh, I see. So we didn’t originally have the same surname."
Timothy Donovan’s face fell. Brandon Jennings had to bite back a laugh.
’Hahahaha! The boomerang effect! That was a direct hit, and he didn’t even know what to say.’
"Well, we can’t be too sure about that," Arabella said with a gentle smile. As if that wasn’t enough, she casually dropped another bombshell. "After all, this ’adopted son’ of yours could just be an illegitimate one, right?"
Brandon Jennings and Caspian Rhodes: "???"
The gossiping onlookers: "???"
Timothy Donovan never expected Arabella Donovan to say something like that. His face was a mask of utter disbelief.
’The fact that he was his father’s illegitimate son was a secret known only to three people: his father, his birth mother, and himself. How could she possibly know?’
’But that wasn’t the most important part. The most important part was that he had come here today with his father and older brother...’
Timothy Donovan turned his head and saw the two men approaching in the distance. A jolt went through him, and he instinctively shouted in protest, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Arabella feigned shock, covering her mouth with her hands. With a look of pure innocence, she said, "Oh, was I not supposed to say that? I guess that makes sense. An ’adopted son’ has some official standing, whereas an ’illegitimate son’ has none, and it’s all rather shameful. My apologies. If you don’t want anyone else to know, I’ll keep quiet."
"You... you... you..." Timothy Donovan pointed at Arabella, sputtering for several seconds. Seeing his father and brother getting closer and closer, he finally buckled under the psychological pressure, turned, and fled.
Watching his retreating back, Arabella felt a tinge of regret.
’He’s running away already? His mental fortitude is seriously lacking! No wonder his brother’s lackeys could secretly prod him into becoming the patsy to test me. With a disposition like that, he wants to play mind games and fight for the inheritance? He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t get sold down the river.’
Brandon Jennings was speechless. ’It’s true. While my little cousin’s offensive power is a bit intense, scaring someone off with just two sentences felt like using a cannon to swat a fly. What a waste.’
’Wait, she said his brother encouraged him to come and cause trouble for her. Does that mean his brother is the real mastermind? In that case...’
Before Brandon Jennings could dwell on it, a middle-aged man, accompanied by a young man who looked slightly older than Timothy Donovan, approached and took the initiative to greet Herman.
"Well, if it isn’t Herman. Why aren’t you with Second Uncle today?"
Victor Donovan’s intention was to put Arabella Donovan in her place, using Herman’s deference to him to flaunt his status as a blood relative of Desmond Donovan.
But he had clearly forgotten that Desmond Donovan had already severed most ties with these so-called blood relatives. The people in his inner circle were certainly not going to treat them with the respect due to actual family.
As a result, his inquiry—which he considered a gracious gesture—was met with complete silence from Herman.
The atmosphere turned frigid and awkward. A muscle in Victor Donovan’s cheek twitched at the painfully awkward silence.
"You must be the young lady from our Second Grand-uncle’s family, correct? I heard Second Grand-uncle was worried that our future Second Grand-aunt wouldn’t acclimate to life in Brynn, so he specially arranged for a young cousin from a distant branch to come and keep her company. That would be you, I presume? Since this is your first time in Brynn, little sister, feel free to reach out to me if you need anything. I grew up here, so I’m very familiar with the entire city."
Arabella glanced at the father and son, finding them strangely amusing.
’Oho, already marking his territory, are we? "Grew up here"... Is he talking about Brynn, or my grand-uncle’s courtyard home? And what are you, a dog? You even know how to run around marking your territory. Do you really think pissing on a place you once lived in makes it yours?’
Brandon Jennings was initially getting angry about the eldest Donovan son’s backhanded comments, which painted his little cousin as an outsider brought in on a whim, riding the coattails of the old madam. But the moment Arabella’s ’Are you a dog?’ thought popped up, he nearly lost it.
You had to hand it to her; his little cousin’s roasts were as sharp as ever.
Facts aside, how could they possibly be blameless?
He and his sister had come to this auction in good spirits, only to be picked on and insulted. These people were pulling rank, spreading rumors, and trying to assert their own status to put them down.
And if you didn’t set the facts aside, it was still entirely their fault. His little cousin had done nothing wrong!