Inside the restroom, Melody Summers stood to one side, arms crossed, watching Nina Summers with her head down as she tried to clean the dessert and wine off her dress.

The pale yellow dress still showed faint stains after being washed, but at least she didn’t look as disheveled as before. Nina Summers breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her head, and said softly to Melody Summers, "Melody, thank you for helping me out of that situation."

Looking at Nina Summers’ meek and submissive demeanor, Melody Summers felt a complicated mix of emotions.

She recalled the heatwave last year when Caleb Summers and his family had come to set her up on a blind date. Back then, even though Nina Summers was a bit down on her luck, she had still carried herself with her head held high, like a proud little peacock.

Now, just over a year later, the sharp confidence in Nina’s eyes was completely gone. She stood slightly hunched, with her head bowed and shoulders slumped. A trace of sorrow, unbefitting of her age, was hidden between her brows. She looked like a little quail that had been wronged one too many times.

Melody Summers frowned slightly. "That guy who pushed you just now... is he the boyfriend you mentioned before?"

Nina had mentioned having a boyfriend back when Caleb Summers’ family had tried to set Melody up.

Hearing this, Nina Summers nodded gently. "Yeah, that’s him. My boyfriend, Winston Sheffield..."

The memory of her family trying to set Melody up resurfaced, and Nina looked up guiltily. "Melody, I’m so sorry. My parents forced that matchmaking attempt on you to help me, and they said such awful things... I’m apologizing on their behalf."

Melody Summers just shook her head, unconcerned. "Let’s not talk about the past. What about you? That guy treats you like this and you’re not even married yet. If you actually marry him, what kind of life do you think you’ll have?"

Nina Summers froze for a second before forcing a smile. "His... his family is very nice to me," she answered quietly. "His father is my dad’s boss, and he’s so young but he’s already a civil servant..."

Seeing Melody Summers’ deepening frown and silence, Nina’s eyes reddened again. With a sob in her voice, she said, "Melody, I don’t have a choice... My mom’s dead, my dad remarried and has a new baby. I don’t have a home anymore... My only option is to get married and move out as fast as I can..."

After Nina Summers had barely escaped The Crestview Hotel with her life, she returned home only for Caleb Summers to slap her across the face instead of showing any concern, cursing her for being so reckless.

Caleb Summers grew more and more unhappy with Nina. Compounding this, Zoe Kane was constantly poisoning his mind with pillow talk. Nina’s life at home had become like that of a slave; she had to endure Zoe Kane’s constant nitpicking and also wait on her little brother, Chester Summers.

Nina felt like she couldn’t go on. All she wanted was to move out, and getting married was the quickest way to do it.

If she had once wanted to marry Winston Sheffield to marry up, now she just wanted to marry him to save herself. She had to escape the home that had become an abyss.

Hearing this just gave Melody Summers a headache. ’Why does escaping one abyss mean you have to get married? Aren’t you afraid of just falling into another one?’ But she had just had a long discussion about marriage with Sophie Thorne and didn’t have the energy to rehash it with Nina.

She ignored what Nina had said and changed the subject. "So what’s your plan now?"

Nina Summers bit her lower lip, silent. Winston Sheffield had brought her, but now he was ignoring her. She didn’t know a soul at the party; it would just be awkward to go back to the banquet hall.

But Winston Sheffield had told her to wait in the underground garage. The banquet hadn’t even started. If she actually waited, it would be for hours.

But the thought of going home by herself scared her... She was afraid she might run into trouble on the way.

Melody Summers looked at Nina’s predicament and sighed to herself.

’Don’t get involved in other people’s business,’ she had told herself time and time again, but...

Like aunt, like niece, as they say.

Looking at Nina’s face, which bore such a strong resemblance to a young Winnie Summers, Melody’s heart ultimately softened.

She reached out, straightened the collar of Nina’s dress, and said with a hint of resignation, "Alright... Since you’re here, you might as well eat. When we get back to the hall, just sit with me. I’ll take you home after the party’s over."

Nina’s eyes lit up. She grabbed the hem of Melody’s dress and nodded gratefully.

Ever since Melody had rescued her from The Crestview Hotel, Nina had come to trust and rely on her more and more. She felt like heaven itself was smiling on her; she was so lucky to have an aunt like Melody.

As the two of them left the restroom and headed back toward the banquet hall, they unexpectedly ran into Lily Adler and Sylvia Lancaster in the hallway.

Lily Adler and Sylvia Lancaster were clearly waiting there for Melody. The moment they saw her emerge from the restroom, they walked over and offered her a smile.

Nina recognized them as the two women who had been chatting up Winston Sheffield earlier in the banquet hall, and her eyes filled with caution.

Just as Nina was about to demand what they wanted, Melody patted her arm reassuringly. "Go on ahead and wait for me. I’ll be right there."

Nina hesitated, but she instinctively chose to obey Melody. She nodded and silently walked away.

Once Nina was out of earshot, Melody turned to Lily Adler and Sylvia Lancaster. "What do you want?"

Lily Adler started with a gentle, kind smile. She took a few steps forward, reaching out to take Melody’s hand in a familiar way, but Melody quietly sidestepped her.

Melody looked at Lily Adler with disgust. "Don’t touch me with your filthy hands."

Lily Adler didn’t seem annoyed by this. Maintaining her gentle, kind smile, she said, "You must be the real Miss Lancaster, aren’t you? I heard that you and Sylvia were switched at birth..."

Melody cut her off with a sneer. "Stop right there. Don’t even try that act with me."

Melody then took two steps forward, staring coldly at Lily Adler. She spoke slowly, enunciating every word. "Lily Adler. The one who switched me and Sylvia Lancaster... it was you, wasn’t it?"

Called out so directly, Lily Adler’s smile faltered for a moment.

But she showed no sign of panic. Instead, she continued with a sincere expression, "Miss Lancaster, you’ve truly misunderstood. I had no knowledge of this; I have no idea why you and Sylvia were switched. But I know that something like this is painful for both of you. And compared to Sylvia, my heart truly aches for you."

Seemingly oblivious to Melody’s mocking gaze, Lily Adler went on in a gentle voice, "Sylvia was cared for by the Lancaster family for many years. Now that the Lancasters are in trouble... if you run into any difficulties, you can always come to me. I truly hope I can make it up to you."

Melody scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. "Enough, enough. I told you, cut the act. Sylvia has already returned to the Hayes Family. Are you coming to me now because you’re afraid I’ll tell everyone that you were the one who switched us?"

Melody studied Lily Adler’s face before continuing, "There’s no need. The Lancaster Family is in the state it’s in. Even if they found out you were the one who switched us, they don’t have the power to do anything about it. So you can drop the performance."

Lily Adler put on a helpless smile, speaking like a benevolent elder. "Miss Lancaster, why won’t you believe me? I’m a mother myself. My heart truly goes out to you, and that’s why I want to compensate you."

Melody narrowed her eyes, meeting Lily’s gaze. A smile of understanding spread across her face. "Or... are you afraid I’ll cause trouble for Sylvia? That I’ll expose all the things she’s done and ruin her chances of marrying into a wealthy family?"

At these words, the flawless smile on Lily Adler’s face finally cracked.

On the day Sylvia was reunited with Hector Hayes, Clara Hayes discovered what had happened between Sylvia and Flynn Adler. Sylvia could never figure out how Clara had found out. Flynn Adler was dead; there was no way to verify the matter.

After hearing the whole story from Sylvia, Lily Adler keenly perceived that Melody was a loose cannon. That’s why she wanted to get Melody under control.

Seeing her reaction, Melody sneered. "Lily Adler, you’re a child-swapping kidnapper, and you have the nerve to come here and ask me to spare your daughter, the cuckoo who stole my nest?"