Chapter 271: He’s No Brother, He’s an Enemy
It wasn’t that they were scared by the future Arabella Donovan described. They simply didn’t believe a word of it. In fact, they felt they must be crazy to be wasting time on this, playing house with a ten-year-old girl instead of attending to proper business.
"Elder Donovan, your granddaughter certainly has a sense of humor. She must know we old-timers live such rigid lives and wanted to show us something new."
"Indeed. The youngsters these days have all sorts of trendy, endless ideas. We can’t even begin to keep up. We’re getting old, truly old."
"To be honest, the idea is quite novel, just not realistic. It’s more suited for imaginative young people like her. As for us... we’re too old to keep up with their trends."
"Hmph. A child should be reading more books, not watching all this nonsensical, unrealistic stuff. It’s gotten to the point where she can’t even tell reality from fiction."
"..."
How could Arabella Donovan not hear the veiled criticism and sarcasm in their words? If not for Dennis Donovan’s presence, they would have likely pointed at her and accused her of spouting bewitching nonsense and making things up.
Although she had anticipated this outcome, Arabella still felt a pang of frustration now that it was happening.
’Just as I thought. No matter how much evidence I present, most people will instinctively avoid and doubt the unknown.’
Feeling helpless and wronged, Arabella decided to stop playing nice.
"You are fifty-six years old, from a small mountain village in Hexton, Solara. You and your wife fell in love at first sight. The very first time you met, you acted like a complete blockhead and proposed to her, scaring her so much she called the police and called you a creep."
Arabella was talking about Mr. Hughes, the one who had questioned her the most. He froze, his eyes widening in astonishment as he stared at her.
This was a "sweet memory" between him and his wife. After many years of marriage, they still brought it up occasionally to tease each other.
But aside from chatting about it with his wife at home, he had never told this story to anyone else. How on earth did this little girl know? ’It’s like I’m seeing a ghost!’
Seeing his reaction, the others knew exactly what it meant. They were secretly stunned.
’Could it be? This little girl actually... has some real ability?’
"Even after it was cleared up as a misunderstanding, your wife’s first impression of you was still terrible. But that didn’t stop your one-sided infatuation. After discovering she lived on the same street, you put your thick skin to good use and pursued her passionately. You brought her meals, flowers, and love letters every single day, like clockwork. Finally, after seven years, you won her over, and you two finally got together."
The moment Arabella finished, a few of his old colleagues, who had been enjoying the show, couldn’t help but start heckling. "Not bad, Hughes! We all knew you and your wife were close, but we never imagined you chased her for that long!"
"HAHAHAHA! It’s true what they say, even the toughest woman can’t resist a persistent man. After such a disastrous start, the fact you still managed to get a wife... she must be a truly forgiving woman."
"Forgiving or not, you have to admire Hughes’s confidence and determination in chasing his wife. That was seven years, not seven days or seven months. Seriously, with that kind of perseverance, there’s nothing you can’t do!"
Mr. Hughes was so mortified by his colleagues’ teasing that he wished he could dig a hole and crawl into it. But Arabella wasn’t done dropping bombshells.
"After you got married, you had a daughter. She’s twenty-eight this year, unmarried, and the absolute apple of your eye. Ever since she was little, you’ve doted on her, treating her like she’s made of glass. Every time you think about her being whisked away by some punk someday, your heart aches, and you go crying to your wife. Oh, and I mean real crying. The bawling-your-eyes-out, tears-streaming-down-like-a-fountain kind."
"HAHAHAHA..."
As soon as Arabella finished, the study erupted in earth-shattering laughter.
"Hughes, oh, Hughes, you’ve really opened our eyes! HAHAHAHA..."
Before this, no one would have ever imagined that such a rough-and-tumble man was, in private, a man who doted on his wife and daughter. The thought of his daughter dating was enough to make him cry? The contrast was just too much!
Mr. Hughes was dying of shame and indignation. His dark, square face was as red as a portrait of General Crimson.
"Should I keep going?"
Mr. Hughes jumped, wishing he could rush over and clamp a hand over Arabella’s mouth. He was terrified she’d say something even more shocking and cause his social death right then and there.
"Don’t say anymore, please! For goodness’ sake, I believe you! I believe you, alright?!"
Arabella crossed her arms, lifted her chin slightly, and let out a cold snort.
’Heh, you little rascal. You really think I can’t handle you? But since you told me to stop, I won’t tell you that your daughter already has a boyfriend. She’ll probably bring him home to meet you this New Year. Better to spare you the waterworks.’
Dennis Donovan almost burst out laughing. This little one was really something else...
Mr. Hughes’s surrender was like a signal. Arabella suddenly turned her head, a sweet smile gracing her lips as she looked at the others.
The other men instantly felt a chill run down their spines. A vague, ominous premonition crept over them.
And just as they feared...
"You originally had a younger brother. You were separated during the chaos of war. The next time you met, he had already become your brother-in-law."
Mr. Wyatt, who had gone from enjoying the drama to being the star of it: "?!?!" ’My brother-in-law is my actual brother?!’
"Oh, by the way, go back and tell your brother he’s been lucky in love lately, but he’s also attracting schemers. He should cut back on the social events and go home more often, lest he gets set up. Being forced to clean up someone else’s mess is one thing, but if his family falls apart and his health is ruined, that would be a true disaster."
Mr. Wyatt: "..." ’Is that something I can even say? My wife and my sister-in-law would tear me apart! And have you even met my brother—I mean, my brother-in-law? How can you know so much? This is terrifying!’
"Your original surname was Liu. But because your parents divorced, and you despised your biological father for wronging you and your mom while pretending to be a devoted husband—which made many people misunderstand your mother, thinking she was ungrateful for her good fortune and causing her immense suffering—you angrily took your mother’s surname instead."
"You and your wife were childhood friends. You’d been secretly in love with her since you were kids, but your so-called ’good friend’ stole her away. If that was all, it might have been fine, but that damn scumbag didn’t even cherish your Lover after winning her over. He two-timed her. It left your little sweetheart heartbroken and dejected. Seeing her in so much pain, you couldn’t hold back your years of feelings anymore and confessed to her. She was surprised and at a loss. Not long after, you two got together."
"You thought you’d finally gotten your happy ending, but then your scumbag friend pulled a reversal. He accused you two of having a secret affair all along and cuckolding him. His reason? He’d known for a long time that you were in love with his little sweetheart."
Seeing this, even Arabella had a look of utter bafflement.
’You knew your friend was in love with his little sweetheart, yet you deliberately seduced her. And after you got her, you didn’t even cherish her; you two-timed and hurt her. You’re not a friend, you’re an enemy!’