Chapter 405
Melody hurriedly gagged him and said, “You heard me right, but keep this a secret, okay?”
David nodded vigorously in agreement.
Melody let go of her hand that was covering his mouth and said, “Now you understand why Mr. Herbert and I had to get rid of him, right?”
“Totally! I may be a chatterbox but I’m not harebrained. I know some things shouldn’t be revealed, and I won’t leak a word,” he promised.
Melody nodded. She knew David well, and that was the reason she decided to trust him with the secret about Michael.
“Michael left earlier because he was angry. However, he must feel aggrieved, so he will find opportunities to come back and make trouble for us. Please help to keep an eye out for him. I’ll come by often to help out as well,” she added.
“Rest assured, Miss Fox. I will be here to defend
Herbathrive!” David promised, beaming with respect for Melody.
Melody gave David some further instructions, reminded him to post the recruitment notice, and then made her way out.
*****
An hour later, Melody had finished moving all her belongings to her new place.
The place was a far cry from its previously uninspiring state after she did it up.
Just as she was about to lie down and rest after a long tiring day, she received a call from Zara.
Zara rarely called her, so Melody was concerned. She quickly picked up the call and asked, “What’s wrong, Zaza?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I don’t have any work scheduled for these few days, so I thought of catching up with you. Are you busy today?” Zara asked.
Melody thought it would be nice to have a housewarming party at her new place, so she offered, “Would you like to come to my place? I’ll dish up something for you.”
“The Fox’s place? I’ve read in the news about the bet between two pharmaceutical companies in the past two days, and realized you’re the daughter of the Justalion Group’s chairman.”
At the mention of the Justalion Group, Melody’s eyes briefly betrayed a slight change in her emotions. However, she quickly regained her composure.
“It’s not the Fox’s place… I’ll forward you an address.”
Melody sent her address to Zara and it didn’t take long for Zara to arrive at her place.
“Wow… this place is nice!” Zara gushed as soon as she reached Melody’s new home.
Melody was amused by her reaction and teased, “Don’t give me that over-the-top act. It’s just an old house.”
Zara shook her head and explained, “No, I truly love this!
My family home is similar to this. Same courtyard style, but it’s not as elegant as yours. Sadly, since I became an actress, I could at most go home twice a year. Moreover, every time I do that, my agent pulls a long face.”
“Why? Worried it’ll affect your work schedule?”
“No…” Zara cast her eyes down, feeling a little inferior as she explained, “She doesn’t want people to know I came from a poor family. The paparazzi will have their eyes on me if I’m back in my hometown, and my detractors will create a big fuss over my background once they find out. I don’t want to make trouble for my agent and my fans. In the end, even if I do visit my family at home, I can’t really feel at ease and enjoy myself while I’m there. I haven’t gone home so far this year…”
As she spoke, Zara’s head hung lower, embarrassed.
Melody interrupted her and said, “What’s wrong with coming from a poor family?”
With a gleam in her eye, she continued to cheer up a confused Zara. “We can’t choose our family. Why should you feel sorry when it’s not your fault?”
“I-” Zara could not argue with that.
“Zara, if even you look down on yourself, how can you expect others to give you respect? Your background might not be as blessed as others, but what’s the problem with that? You made a name for yourself and you have millions of supporters. How does that make you inferior to those who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth?”
It was a eureka moment for Zara.
“That’s right. If I look down on myself, how can I expect respect from others?’
Melody continued, “You might not know this, but although being the daughter of the Justalion Group’s chairman sounds glamorous, I was neglected by my family since I was young. My stepmother left me to grow up in the
countryside. However, I never felt it was something I had to feel inferior about. If I have inner strength, no one can hurt me with their words.”
Zara fell into a long silence. It was obvious that Melody’s words were affecting her deeply.
After a while, Zara slowly clenched her fists and broke into a smile, her eyes beaming.
“Thank you, Melody. I get you! I will grow stronger!” she said.
Melody nodded with a smile and changed the subject. “Hey, I promised to cook for you, didn’t I? Come give me a hand.”
Zara nodded enthusiastically and asked, “What do you want me to do?”
“The weather is hot now, so let’s eat something light. I’ll make you a special fruit salad.”
“Special fruit salad? What’s that?”
“You’ll see. I’ve bought all the ingredients. Help me prepare some of the ingredients.”
“Leave that to me!”
About an hour later, Melody brought out a big tray of fruit salad from the fridge.
She dished some into a bowl, handed it to Zara, and said, “Try this.”
Zara was staring at her phone but quickly hid the phone behind her back when Melody came up to her.
However, her action raised Melody’s suspicion. Melody raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you hiding from me?”
“This… It’s best you ignore this,” Zara hesitantly said.
Melody knew something was wrong, so she probed further. “It has something to do with me?”
“Hmm… ah… no, no…” Zara stammered.
Amused, Melody demanded, “Out with it, Zaza. You know you’re a lousy liar.”
Zara pursed her lips momentarily, then fished out her phone from behind her and handed it to Melody.
Melody took it and saw a headline news on the screen.
It was a post from Justalion Group’s official X account, announcing that the Justalion Group and Russell had completely severed ties with Melody.
No reason was given in the post, but there was an official reply in the comments section below: [A disrespectful, complacent, and unreasonable person is not worthy of the Fox family.]
Zara cautiously monitored Melody for signs of change in her mood, ready to console her. Unexpectedly, Melody broke into a smile instead.
“Huh?” Zara was taken aback by Melody’s reaction.
“Melody, are you alright? What’s that smile for? Are you okay?” she asked anxiously.
Melody handed Zara her phone and said, “There’s nothing to be upset about. I severed ties with the Fox family last night.”
Zara was dumbfounded.
“Why?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Melody raised her eyebrows and explained, “They posted this announcement because they got upset. The more upset they are, the happier I am.”
The Fox family always swept dirt under their carpet and would never want to air their dirty laundry in public. The fact that Russell made such a post meant those black market assassins were giving him a hard time.
Panic would make them lose their cool and commit irrational acts. Melody was waiting to benefit from their mistakes. As such, she couldn’t be happier to see the post.
Unaffected by the announcement, Melody directed Zara’s attention back to the food. “Try this fruit salad,” she cheerily urged, handing Zara her share of the salad.