Chapter 464: Chapter 464: If He Can’t Be Saved, Just Throw Him Away
Before they arrived, Eloise Donovan had already made arrangements through Gregory Sherwood. His old classmate was treating them to lunch, which would be a good opportunity to learn more about her brother’s situation.
Besides, they figured Mr. and Mrs. Lynch were too preoccupied to be in any mood to host them now.
Before leaving, Arabella Donovan overheard the couple enthusiastically discussing something in the main hall.
"Juliet’s pregnant. Does that mean their wedding date will have to be moved?"
Mrs. Lynch quickly realized what he meant. "Oh, you’re right, we have to change the date. If we stick to the original schedule, Juliet will be showing by then, and her wedding dress would have to be altered. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event for young people. I doubt she’ll want to attend her own wedding with a big belly. We should just move it up."
The more Mrs. Lynch thought about it, the more she liked the idea. "We haven’t sent out the invitations yet, so it’s a simple matter of changing the date. It just means our preparation window will be much tighter, and we’ll have to get a move on many things. We’ll wait for the kids to come back and discuss it with them. Let them make the final decision. The first few months of a woman’s pregnancy are the most crucial, so we’ll definitely need to give them a bit more of our attention..."
Seeing that Arabella was interested in the wedding of Zane Lynch and his wife, Eloise explained as they walked out.
"After my cousin brought his wife and child back, they went ahead and got their marriage certificate, but they never found a suitable time to hold the wedding. Juliet’s parents passed away a long time ago, and she lost touch with relatives on both sides after that. Otherwise, raising Eason all those years wouldn’t have been so difficult for her. Her feeling is, since they haven’t been in contact, there’s no need to reach out to a bunch of strangers she has no emotional connection with just to make things look good for the wedding."
Arabella was a little surprised, but she also thought Juliet’s idea was quite insightful.
"I think Juliet’s decision is very wise. For the newlyweds, the wedding is a celebration of their future happiness, so it’s best if it’s as perfect as it can be. Some people are relatives in name only, with no real feelings. Having them attend would just cause trouble, so it’s better not to invite them in the first place."
"That’s true," Eloise agreed with a faint smile and a nod.
"Mr. Lynch and Mrs. Lynch respect Juliet’s wishes, but they also feel they can’t let her feel short-changed on this. Since her side of the family is absent, they want to make up for it in other ways. They want to ensure this wedding demonstrates to the world how much the Lynch Family values her and clearly establishes her status, to prevent her from being wronged in the future because of her past."
That’s the main reason they’ve put off the wedding until now.
"Their wedding was originally scheduled for three months from now. The invitations are all ready, and they were just waiting to send them out in the next few days. Who could have imagined..." And before the invitations even went out, they got this wonderful news.
Arabella did the math. In three months, Juliet would definitely be showing. The two elders’ concerns were not unfounded.
"So do you think the wedding will be moved up or postponed?"
"It’ll probably be moved up. Mrs. Lynch and the others have been preparing for so long, and most things are nearly ready. Postponing it now would mean delaying for at least another year. Not only would that be a waste of time and energy, but who knows what unfavorable rumors might start spreading about both of them. Moving it up saves a lot of trouble, and we won’t have to worry about tiring Juliet out. Mrs. Lynch and the family can handle everything."
Arabella thought Eloise’s analysis made a lot of sense, so she didn’t pursue the topic further.
The old classmate of Gregory Sherwood’s who was so eager for Arabella’s help was surnamed Lockhart. They arranged to meet at an upscale restaurant seven or eight kilometers from the Lynch residence, about a ten-minute drive.
When Arabella and Eloise arrived, their host was already there.
Gregory Sherwood was personally waiting at the restaurant entrance to greet them. After they exchanged pleasantries, he led them directly to the private room they had booked.
When Jessica Lockhart saw them enter, she immediately stood up to greet them.
"Miss Donovans, I’ve heard so much about you. It’s a true honor to finally meet you both."
"You’re too kind, Miss Lockhart." Eloise stepped forward to shake her hand, then shot Gregory Sherwood a look, signaling him to hurry up with the introductions.
All they knew was that the client’s last name was Lockhart and that she had a love-struck brother. They were completely in the dark about everything else!
Gregory Sherwood quickly caught her meaning and stepped forward. "Jessica, these are the two I mentioned to you—the young ladies from the second branch of Mr. Lynch’s family that they recently found, Miss Eloise, and her sister, Miss Arabella Donovan. This is Jessica Lockhart, the eldest daughter of The Lockhart Group, and she is the client who invited you here today in the hopes that Miss Donovan might be able to help."
Upon hearing the woman’s name, Arabella visibly tensed. The black sunglasses she’d been wearing specifically to project an air of cool sophistication slid down her nose, allowing her to get a clear look at this Miss Lockhart’s face.
"Jessica Lockhart?"
Jessica exchanged a glance with Gregory Sherwood and frowned. "Yes. Is something wrong?"
"Then don’t tell me your brother’s name is... Logan Lockhart?"
Jessica’s eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know? Do you... know my brother?"
’Of course I know. I don’t just know his name; I also know the woman who made his personality change so drastically, as if he’s been put under a hex. Good grief. I knew her description of her brother sounded familiar. So, this is what was waiting for me!’
Eloise’s ears perked up. ’Could it be that this Miss Lockhart and her brother are also some kind of important, well-known characters?’
Sure enough, the next second, she heard Arabella muttering to herself.
’Isn’t this guy Miss Rhodes’s number one simp from the original novel?’
Arabella had mentioned it before: Guinevere Rhodes had three great simps—a rich heir, a business tycoon, and a lawless desperado.
The business tycoon had already made his appearance—none other than Vaughn Kensington, who had been intercepted by Caspian Rhodes. This Logan Lockhart was the rich heir from what Arabella jokingly called the "trio of sad sacks."
Having read about Vaughn Kensington’s fate in the original novel, Arabella had sighed over how a perfectly career-minded tycoon, once caught under the heroine’s halo, was forcibly turned into a love-struck idiot. He began acting without any rhyme or reason, handling things with zero planning, and relying on pure brute force for everything. He allowed the heroine to run his massive family enterprise into the ground, while he himself was driven to bankruptcy and ended up jumping off a building.
It now seemed this younger brother of the Lockhart family was just as bad, if not worse.
’Before I got here, I was wondering what kind of disaster of a relationship it must be for his own sister to take such drastic measures, even hiring a master to perform an exorcism on him just to break the couple up. After arriving, and now knowing who the brother and his love interest are, everything suddenly makes sense. Sis, I feel your pain. If this brother can be saved, we’ll save him. If he can’t... maybe we should just throw him out.’
Eloise was speechless. ’How vicious!’