Chapter 474: Always Speaking Great Truths

Caspian Rhodes’s mouth twitched. If he hadn’t already perceived what she was thinking, he might have actually believed her high-and-mighty excuse.

At that moment, all of Caspian Rhodes’s attention was on Arabella Donovan, so he failed to notice that right beside them, someone was staring daggers at him, trying to find any little clue on his face to confirm their suspicions.

Sure enough, the moment Arabella Donovan spoke, Leon Lucas and Jessica Lockhart immediately looked over.

Leon Lucas raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice, “Did you find out who’s backing that woman?”

Caspian Rhodes kept his voice down, telling only Leon Lucas what he had found.

“It’s actually him!” A look of astonishment flashed in Leon Lucas’s eyes when he learned the man’s identity. “That old lecher… He’s old enough to be a fossil, but he’s still a pervert. To think he’d…”

Leon Lucas stopped mid-sentence, remembering that the woman in question was apparently one of the Rhodess. He asked tentatively, “That cousin of yours…”

“She is her own person, and I am mine. Her family is her family, and my family is mine.”

With just those two simple sentences, Leon Lucas understood what Caspian Rhodes meant.

“Now that you’ve said that, I’m relieved. Don’t worry about it. I can handle this myself.”

Hearing him say that, the weight on Arabella Donovan’s mind was finally lifted.

After they left the police station, Jessica Lockhart personally saw Arabella Donovan and her friends off.

Before they parted ways, she didn’t forget to transfer the commission she had promised Arabella Donovan. She even doubled the amount on her own initiative.

“Thank you all so much for today, especially you, Miss Donovan. Without your help, I’m afraid my foolish brother would have been a bachelor for life. He’s the type to get sold and still count the money for the person who sold him. He’s off explaining himself to his precious little sweetheart right now, so allow me, his sister, to express his gratitude on his behalf.”

You could tell Jessica Lockhart was genuinely happy. The pitch of her voice kept rising, and when she mentioned her brother’s relationship, she no longer sounded like it was the end of the world. Clearly, compared to Guinevere Rhodes, she was far more pleased with this Lover who had once truly helped her brother.

It was just that, given all the stupid things her brother had done in the past, the two of them would probably need some time to work things out before getting their happy ending.

Jessica Lockhart felt no stress about this. In fact, she seemed to be taking a little pleasure in his misfortune.

‘Serves him right! Who else can he blame for being so stupid? He messed up something this important. He deserves to suffer a little so he’ll learn his lesson.’

Arabella Donovan saw right through her thoughts. Her gaze swept over Jessica and Leon Lucas, and she couldn’t help but glance again at the absurdly thick red string of fate connecting their hands.

She’d witnessed too many bizarre, melodramatic love stories lately. She desperately needed a sweet romance to restore her faith, to believe that genuine, mutual love still existed in the world.

And this couple’s story certainly didn’t disappoint Arabella’s expectations.

As it turned out, the two were childhood sweethearts. Leon Lucas, the reckless underworld princeling, had been completely love-struck since he was a boy. A major reason he couldn’t stand his rival was that Jessica Lockhart had been close with the guy since they were children.

Back then, Leon Lucas didn’t even understand what it meant to have a crush; he just knew to go after his rival and fiercely protect his future wife, terrified someone else would try to steal her away.

Their relationship’s turning point came after Mr. Lockhart’s business failed. Unlike her somewhat naive and sheltered younger brother, Jessica Lockhart had shouldered the family’s burdens from an early age. When the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, she was the one under the most pressure, second only to Mr. Lockhart himself.

As the saying goes, true character is revealed in times of trouble. The Lockhart Family’s crisis gave Leon Lucas an excuse to try and win her over, but the man had a terrible way with words. At first, his offer to help came out sounding like he was trying to take advantage of her family’s misfortune, which made Jessica Lockhart furious. He nearly turned a sweet romance into a tangled, angsty melodrama full of misunderstandings.

Fortunately, Jessica Lockhart was no delicate flower who would burst into tears at the first sign of trouble. If Leon Lucas dared to make her angry, she dared to beat him up.

And so, after getting beaten up a few times, a certain someone finally learned how to talk. And after beating him up a few times, Jessica Lockhart finally saw the sincere heart hidden behind that tactless mouth of his. Without any of the classic, angsty tropes of misunderstandings or physical and emotional torment, the two smoothly arrived at their mutual happy ending.

‘Ooh, a clumsy-mouthed yet loyal underworld princeling and a sharp, proud heiress! A stable, healthy relationship really is so much better than all those dramatic, angsty love affairs. No wonder she could tell her brother’s relationship was off—she’s an expert!’

Jessica Lockhart noticed Arabella Donovan staring intently at her and Leon Lucas. Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked tentatively, “Is there something wrong with the two of us?”

“Oh, no, not at all! It’s just that you two are such a rare and wonderful match, a pair made in heaven. I couldn’t help but stare.”

Everyone loves a compliment, and for a love-struck fool like Leon, Arabella Donovan’s words were the ultimate validation of his relationship.

“See! I told you Miss Donovan isn’t like those other charlatans and frauds! She only speaks the absolute truth! Hehehe…”

Everyone: “…”

Jessica Lockhart wished a hole would open up and swallow her. She was utterly mortified. She hastily dragged Leon Lucas away, not daring to ask another question as they made their escape.

With their departure, only Arabella Donovan and her friends were left at the entrance.

Gregory Sherwood broke the silence. “It’s getting late. I’ll give you all a ride back.”

Arabella Donovan, who had been looking for a chance to sound out Caspian Rhodes, suddenly turned to him. “Mr. Rhodes, do you have any other plans for the evening? I have a few questions for you. Would you mind giving me a ride home personally?”

Caspian Rhodes was a little surprised by Arabella Donovan’s request. He was usually the one offering to drive her home; this was the first time she had ever asked him for help with it.

Caspian Rhodes agreed without a second thought. Seeing this, Eloise Donovan tried to follow, but Gregory Sherwood stopped her. She could only watch in frustration as the other two got into the car, and she shot Gregory an annoyed glare.

Gregory Sherwood: ?

The moment the car started, Arabella Donovan got straight to the point. “I heard that Mr. Kensington received help from a benefactor and that the custody case for Zora is going very smoothly, all thanks to a brilliant lawyer he hired. You mentioned before that your former cousin-in-law comes from a family of lawyers. You weren’t the one who introduced that lawyer to Mr. Kensington, were you?”

Although Caspian Rhodes was a little surprised she would ask about this, he still answered truthfully, “Yes.”

“I never would have guessed, Mr. Rhodes. You and your former cousin-in-law seem to be quite close…”

This felt like a trap! Caspian Rhodes shuddered and instinctively explained, “No, no, you’ve got it all wrong. I didn’t know her at all before. It’s just that after hearing you talk about her family’s troubles the other day, I felt sorry for her. I decided to secretly help her and my aunt, and that’s the only reason we’ve had any contact.”

It was impossible to tell if Arabella Donovan believed him. “Is that so,” she mused.

‘Is it just a coincidence? I can’t shake the feeling that Mr. Rhodes secretly knows a lot more than he lets on.’

Caspian Rhodes’s heart leaped into his throat.

‘Then… does he know that in the original story, the unlucky person who exchanged birth records with him for a spirit marriage… was me?’