Chapter 260: Don’t Be So Absolute
Dennis Donovan was also taken aback by Arabella Donovan’s summary, but when he recalled the back-and-forth between the two women, he realized that while Arabella’s words were a bit exaggerated, the gist was more or less the same as what they had said.
Dennis Donovan’s face instantly darkened. He struck the ground twice with his cane, making his anger perfectly clear.
"Do you and your families have a problem with the Donovan Family, or with me personally? Did you deliberately choose my wedding day to pull a stunt like this? You just can’t stand to see me happy, can you? Fine. Just fine. Since you want to make things difficult for me, then no one gets an easy time of it. Miles! Inform our people that from this day forward, these two families, along with all their relatives and friends, are to be blacklisted. They are to be denied entry to any and all of our establishments!"
"No, please don’t!" Mrs. Shelby and Mrs. Kohl never imagined that Dennis Donovan would pronounce their doom based on a few of Arabella’s words.
On the surface, Dennis Donovan’s move merely blacklisted them from his businesses, causing no tangible harm. But in Imperia, every action taken by a man of his stature was a bellwether for high society and every other social circle.
This was, without a doubt, Dennis Donovan’s way of announcing to the world that these two families had gravely offended him. To associate with them was to make an enemy of Dennis Donovan himself.
With that, Dennis Donovan wouldn’t have to lift another finger. Plenty of people would be willing to do him the favor of kicking the two families while they were down. For them, this was nothing short of a catastrophic disaster.
The moment the two women considered the consequences of Dennis Donovan’s order, and the wrath they would face from their husbands and relatives, their vision swam. They began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Elder Donovan, please, let us explain! It’s not what this girl said. We truly didn’t mean any of that."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I... We..." Mrs. Shelby’s face was deathly pale, her expression frantic. In her desperation, she did another foolish thing. She pointed at Arabella Donovan and shouted, "She’s lying! We never said any of those things. It’s all... it’s all stuff she made up."
"Yes!" Mrs. Kohl quickly caught on to what Mrs. Shelby was doing and chimed in, "We really didn’t say those things. I don’t understand why she would slander us like this, but it’s truly not what you think, Elder Donovan. Please, see the situation for what it is."
Dennis Donovan listened to their pleas, neither confirming nor denying his belief, and simply turned to look at Arabella Donovan.
"Serena, they say you’re falsely accusing them. What do you have to say?"
"What did I accuse them of falsely?" Arabella Donovan blinked, the picture of innocence. "Did you not call my grandmother a disgraceful vixen, or did you not say my grandfather would surely suffer later for marrying a wife like her?"
Arabella Donovan stared at Mrs. Shelby for a long moment before her face lit up with sudden understanding.
"Oh, I get it now. Your husband has his flings on the side, and you, in turn, are keeping seven or eight male models and another three or four college boys. The two of you do your own thing; your marriage is a sham. That’s why you can’t believe in true, lifelong, faithful love. I get it, I really do."
"But the greatest fallacy is assuming your world is *the* world. You’re tarring everyone with the same brush. Just because you couldn’t manage it, you assume no one else can. Don’t you think that’s a bit presumptuous?"
The onlookers were suddenly treated to a massive piece of gossip and all looked astonished. This was especially true for the woman in the yellow dress. Realizing that Dennis Donovan hadn’t lumped her in with the other two, she visibly relaxed and immediately switched into the mode of an avid gossipmonger.
Her face was now alight with the thrill of juicy gossip, her eyes practically sparkling.
"Mrs. Shelby, you..." Mrs. Kohl’s eyes went wide with astonishment. She pointed at Mrs. Shelby, her face a mask of disbelief.
After all, Mrs. Shelby was famous for boasting about how wonderful her marriage was—how much her husband doted on her and their child, how he never forgot an anniversary, and how he always prepared the most thoughtful gifts. And it was all a lie?!
Not only had her husband been cheating on her for ages, but she had been cuckolding him with multiple men. This was just...
Mrs. Shelby faced the crowd’s gazes—some shocked, some curious, some mocking—and grew both frightened and furious. "Nonsense! You’re spouting nonsense! My husband and I are nothing like that! We..."
"How is it not like that? Has your husband not been keeping a string of mistresses? Or have you not been secretly keeping male models and college students?"
"NEITHER!!!"
"Don’t be so absolute," Arabella said. In sharp contrast to Mrs. Shelby’s flustered rage, she appeared completely calm and in control.
"Do you know why your husband isn’t with you today at my great-uncle’s wedding?"
"He..." An ominous feeling suddenly gripped Mrs. Shelby’s heart, but she still tried to deceive herself. "He’s very busy. He doesn’t have time for these kinds of social functions."
"Busy? How busy? Busier than the tycoons here worth tens of billions?"
’It was only today that Arabella Donovan was getting a clear picture of her great-uncle’s connections. She’d seen more than half the guests at this wedding banquet on television before.’
’There were even tycoons from all over, each bearing a title like "Richest Man in X City," "Richest Man in Y District," or even "Richest Man in Z Country."’
’However busy Mrs. Shelby’s husband was, could he possibly be busier than them?’
"You already have your suspicions, don’t you? You just don’t want to believe them." Arabella Donovan glanced at Mrs. Shelby, whose face was now white as a sheet, and a flicker of pity crossed her eyes.
"The reason your husband couldn’t join you at the wedding today is that his latest mistress is giving birth. He had to be there for the delivery and couldn’t spare any time for you."
"Impossible!" The words had barely left Arabella’s mouth when Mrs. Shelby shrieked as if she’d been stabbed. "I don’t believe you! He promised me! He promised we would only ever have our Mengmeng!"
Mengmeng was the name of Mrs. Shelby’s daughter. With that, Mrs. Shelby had essentially admitted that Arabella’s claims were true, and the atmosphere instantly became awkward.
At this point, however, Mrs. Shelby could no longer bother with denials. Her only thought was to confirm whether her husband had truly broken his promise.
Seeing her state, Arabella couldn’t help but sigh. "By now, the baby’s probably already born. It’s a boy."
Mrs. Shelby’s pupils constricted. Her spine, which had been ramrod straight, seemed to snap, and her whole body went limp. She staggered, nearly collapsing to the floor.
The woman in the yellow dress, who had been silently playing the part of a wallflower to avoid getting dragged into the mess, finally gave in to a pang of pity and stepped forward to steady her.
"Are you all..."
Before she could finish, she saw that Mrs. Shelby’s eyes were brimming with tears, the rims completely red.