After hearing that piece of gossip, what little buzz Melody Summers had was completely gone.

She and Sophie Thorne walked back to the banquet hall in silence, both quietly digesting the gossip.

Sophie Thorne was the first to break the silence. She sighed in a low voice, "Those two really are a match made in heaven. One pursues other women behind his fiancée’s back, and the other gets pregnant with another man’s child behind her fiancé’s back."

Melody Summers nodded. ’Sylvia Lancaster has some serious nerve,’ she thought, ’bringing Flynn Adler’s child back to the Sutton family.’

She remembered Zane Simmons saying he’d had the child Joanne White was carrying DNA tested before he brought her home.

’These powerful families are so cautious. Why is Sylvia Lancaster so confident she can get away with it? Are the Suttons really that stupid?’

Melody Summers couldn’t make sense of it. She could only sigh and mutter, "What a complicated love triangle."

Sophie Thorne shook her head and whispered in Melody Summers’s ear, "It’s more than a love triangle. I heard from my father that the Adler family is interested in a marriage alliance with the Hayes family. The two families already have business dealings, and Flynn Adler is supposedly already official with Clara Hayes."

Melody Summers froze. ’Flynn Adler and Clara Hayes?’

’Isn’t Clara Hayes supposed to be Sylvia Lancaster’s best friend?!’

’Did Sylvia sleep with her best friend’s boyfriend?’

’And I don’t think this happened in my past life!’

’What exactly has my rebirth changed? Why did those two end up together?’

’No wonder Flynn Adler called Hector Hayes ’Uncle’ in my past life. So their families did have business ties...’

Melody Summers’s head started to ache. She wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, but she felt this web of relationships was becoming more and more tangled...

*

「The Sutton Villa.」

Mrs. Sutton was on the phone with her younger son, Elias Sutton.

Some time ago, she had already sold off and transferred many of the assets under her and Mr. Sutton’s names, giving everything to Elias Sutton, who was abroad.

Unlike his ever-dependable brother Ethan Sutton, Elias had been mischievous as a child and grew up to be even more wild and reckless.

With the family’s fortune in Elias’s hands, Mrs. Sutton couldn’t rest easy. But she had no other choice; she didn’t trust any of their relatives or friends. All she could do was call her younger son from time to time to give him a reminder.

"Son, you need to watch that money closely. That’s my entire life savings. Our family’s comeback depends on it, so don’t you dare squander it."

On the other end of the line, Elias Sutton was already pretty high. With one arm wrapped around a blonde, blue-eyed girl and the other holding his phone, he slurred, "I know, Mom. Stop nagging."

After hanging up, Mrs. Sutton sighed and went back to sorting through her jewelry, looking for any remaining pieces not on the asset list so she could sell them all.

Just then, Mr. Sutton’s angry voice boomed from downstairs. Mrs. Sutton hurried out to see what was happening and found her husband on the sofa, berating Ethan Sutton.

Ethan stood before his father with his head lowered, not daring to utter a word.

Mrs. Sutton hurried over to mediate. "What’s going on? Didn’t you go to the one-month celebration for the Simmons family’s illegitimate son? Why are you back so early?"

Mr. Sutton yelled, "Why don’t you ask your precious son what he did! He tried to hit on someone and got thrown out! He’s utterly humiliated me!"

Ethan retorted, "Dad! I just exchanged a few words with Melody Summers! I’m telling you, that playboy Zane Simmons was targeting me on purpose!"

"You still dare to talk back!" Mr. Sutton slammed his hand on the table. "What were you doing approaching her for no reason? Do you insist on getting tangled up with the Lancaster family? I think you’ve lost your mind! How did I end up with a son like you!"

Ethan jutted out his chin defiantly. "You were the one who arranged the marriage alliance between the Suttons and the Lancasters. How can you turn around and blame me now?"

Mr. Sutton shot Ethan a furious glare and was about to erupt when the nanny’s voice came from the entryway. "Sir, Madam, Miss Lancaster is back."

Ethan’s brow furrowed as he watched Sylvia Lancaster walk in, her head bowed.

Sylvia had put on a little weight over the past few days, but her face was still pale.

The sight of Sylvia made Ethan think of Melody Summers. He frowned and asked irritably, "What are you doing back here? Didn’t you say you were never coming back?"

Mr. Sutton also shot Sylvia an irritated look. He’d never liked this daughter-in-law of questionable background. He frowned and said, "You run home to your family after one little argument with Ethan? Is that how your parents raised you? If you’re like this before you’re married, what will you be like after? We Suttons aren’t fortunate enough to handle a daughter-in-law like you. If you can’t fix that temper, you might as well go back to the Lancaster family for good!"

But to everyone’s surprise, Sylvia suddenly spoke. "Ethan... Mr. Sutton, Mrs. Sutton... I—I’m pregnant."

The Suttons were all stunned.

Sylvia added through her tears, "I know the Lancaster family is going bankrupt. I’m not good enough for Ethan. Otherwise... otherwise, maybe I should just get rid of the baby..."

Ethan’s reaction was reflexive. "What are you talking about? That’s my child! How could you even say something like that!"

Mrs. Sutton was also surprised. She stepped forward and took Sylvia’s hand. "Is it true? Sylvia, are you really pregnant?"

Sylvia nodded lightly with a soft "Mm-hmm." Then, she looked at Ethan and Mrs. Sutton with tears in her eyes. "I’m sorry, Ethan. I shouldn’t have fought with you. It was because I was pregnant... my hormones were all over the place, and I took it out on you."

Ethan’s heart softened. It was as if the joy of becoming a father for the first time reawakened his feelings for Sylvia. He recalled all the little moments they had shared over the years and, in the end, couldn’t bring himself to be harsh with her. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

Ethan wiped her tears away. "Since you know you were wrong, let’s just drop it. You’re pregnant, and these emotional swings aren’t good for you. Don’t cry anymore."

"That’s right," Mrs. Sutton added. "You’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be crying."

Then Mrs. Sutton instructed the nanny, "Make sure tonight’s dinner is suitable for a pregnancy. From now on, all of Sylvia’s meals should follow a standard prenatal diet."

The nanny quickly agreed and helped Sylvia back to her room.

Only the three Suttons were left in the living room.

Ethan sighed. "Dad... why don’t we just let it be? Things have already gotten to this point; it’s too late to change anything. Sylvia’s pregnant now, and it’s my first child. We have to let her have the baby, don’t you think?"

Mrs. Sutton sighed as well. "Of course we have to keep the baby. As for that Zara Walsh girl..."

Mrs. Sutton hesitated. She didn’t like the flamboyant Zara Walsh, who would be too difficult to control as a daughter-in-law. In comparison, she much preferred someone like Sylvia, whom she could easily manage.

So she continued to reason, "Zara Walsh and Ethan aren’t a good match anyway. Besides, even if we form an alliance with the Walsh family, it’s not certain they can help us much. We don’t know when this heatwave will end, and it’s getting harder to stay in the real estate business. For now, we should focus on preserving the assets we can. Once the heat passes, we can switch industries and start over."

Mr. Sutton lowered his head in thought for a moment, then sighed. "We’ll do as you say," he said. "Sylvia is carrying the Sutton family’s first grandchild. That baby must be born, no matter what. In that case, you two find a time to get your marriage license. I won’t have people saying the Suttons’ eldest grandson is illegitimate!"

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. "So, what month should we schedule the wedding for?"

Mr. Sutton rolled his eyes. ’A wedding? For marrying Sylvia Lancaster?’ With the Lancaster family bankrupt, he didn’t want to spend a single penny on this daughter-in-law from a questionable background.

"What wedding?" Mr. Sutton snapped. "Have you forgotten our situation? Just go get the license. We can talk about the rest after the baby is born."

Ethan understood their current circumstances and could only nod.

*

「Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of January, with the New Year just over ten days away.」

In previous years, parts of Anworth would have already seen snow by this time, but now, the heat was still scorching under a blazing sun.

The parched earth had yielded no harvest for an entire year. Prices had soared to the point where most people couldn’t afford to eat. Fortunately, there were free sand vine cakes. Most people managed to survive by collecting their daily rations.

On top of that, Sandvine Worms had begun to hatch in massive numbers. Every evening, the residential complex was filled with people holding empty bottles and chopsticks, trying to catch them. Some even ventured outside the community’s walls to hunt for more.

Melody Summers hadn’t been idle during this time either. She kept herself locked in her room, practicing how to pilot a yacht on The Arcadian Lake.

After ten months of drought, nearly all the planet’s rivers and lakes had dried up. Yachting schools had long since closed down, so Melody had to teach herself using the vessel’s operation manual and online tutorials.

Piloting a boat was very different from driving a car. The yacht’s console was complex; the navigation light panel alone had dozens of buttons that needed to be adjusted for different sailing conditions.

In addition to the main engine controls and the helm, there was the depth sounder, electronic charts, radar, the fire alarm control panel, and more—all of which Melody had to figure out by herself.

She haltingly taught herself how to use the control panels, then moved on to entering and leaving a port, docking, anchoring, navigating around buoys, and performing emergency maneuvers...

Just as Melody was practicing out on the lake, her phone rang. She pulled it out and saw the call was from her mother, Winnie Summers.

The moment Melody answered, Winnie’s frantic voice burst from the phone. "Melody, lock the doors right now! Tell your grandma and the others to stay inside and not come out! If you hear any commotion outside, get to the basement immediately!"

Melody froze. "Mom, what’s happening?" 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Winnie replied, "A group of robbers just broke into the complex! They drove a truck straight through the main gate! Don’t you dare go outside!"