What? What changed?!

Mrs. Donovan and the others, who had been silently fading into the background, were suddenly on edge.

Arabella Donovan blinked, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

She had noticed it the moment he walked in. Henry Zeller’s brow was dark with misfortune. From the fight, his nose was bruised and marked with a horizontal line—the physiognomy of a violent death.

In other words, even if he cleared up the misunderstanding with Liam Lowe and avoided the suicide that occurred in the original storyline, he still couldn’t escape death.

But just now, when faced with their unconventional plea for him to stay, he had reluctantly compromised and agreed to remain instead of insisting on leaving as he had before. And in that moment, his features had changed.

The bruise on his nose was slowly fading, and the horizontal line, born from his melancholic frown, was gradually smoothing out. The mark of a violent death had transformed into a sign of new life in the face of despair.

Before Arabella Donovan could think any further, she felt a bright light explode in her vision. Fragmented scenes flooded her mind all at once, the impact causing her vision to go black and nearly making her fall.

"Serena!!!"

Mrs. Donovan and Lillian Donovan cried out at the same time, rushing to support Arabella Donovan from either side.

Lucy Ingram and the others were startled as well. When they came to their senses, they hurried forward to help. "Are you all right? I’ll go get a doctor."

"No need." Arabella Donovan shook her head and waved her hand. "My mind just went blank for a second. I was a little dizzy, but I’ve recovered now. I’m fine, you don’t need a doctor."

Everyone present: "..." ’The way you’re talking doesn’t sound like you’re fine at all!’

Arabella Donovan looked at their still-serious faces, paused for a moment, and said thoughtfully, "The reason this happened is probably because I inadvertently glimpsed a secret of fate."

As soon as she spoke, the room fell silent.

Unlike the surprise and curiosity of Lucy Ingram and the others, Henry Zeller’s gaze was full of scrutiny, the question "Could she be a fraud?" practically written on his face.

"This is..."

Lucy Ingram exchanged a look with Liam Lowe, a silent understanding passing between them.

"This is Miss Arabella Donovan. She’s Lillian’s grand-niece, and also a benefactor to our family and... to you."

"Benefactor?" Henry Zeller was stunned. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he’d suddenly acquired a benefactor out of thin air.

"Weren’t you wondering why we kept Sandy’s matter from you for so long, only to suddenly tell you now? It’s because of her."

Lucy Ingram briefly explained to Henry Zeller how they had asked Arabella Donovan to do a face reading for Liam Lowe, and what Arabella had told them.

After hearing the story, Henry Zeller’s slightly swollen eyes widened. "So you listened to her, guessed I had a misunderstanding with Big Brother about Sandy, and that’s why you told me the truth?"

"...Yes."

"That villain she mentioned... was that me?"

Lucy Ingram froze, worried that the person they had just managed to persuade might be scared off again. She had no choice but to turn and look to Arabella Donovan for help.

Arabella Donovan’s mouth twitched. She sighed in resignation and countered with a question, "If Mr. Lowe and the others hadn’t told you the truth, would today’s incident have happened? Would Mr. Lowe have been seriously injured because of it?"

Arabella Donovan deliberately emphasized the words "seriously injured." Henry Zeller shuddered, the answer already clear in his heart.

If he hadn’t known the truth, today’s events would definitely still have occurred, and he might even have been one of those in on the plan.

At that time, he wouldn’t have even needed to do anything—just find an excuse not to travel with Liam Lowe.

With no one by his side to protect him with their life, Liam Lowe would never have lasted until a Good Samaritan called the police. He would most likely have already... before that even happened.

At this thought, Henry Zeller couldn’t stop a wave of fear from washing over him. The color drained from his face, returning to its previous ashen state.

Lucy Ingram and her husband’s hearts sank. Just as they were about to say something, Arabella Donovan spoke first.

"Different choices lead to different outcomes. That’s true for them, and it’s true for you. Because of your choice, your future and theirs have already changed."

Henry Zeller froze, staring blankly at Arabella Donovan.

Lucy Ingram, however, was overjoyed. "Does that mean Liam has passed his trial and the future has changed? That Henry and all of us will be all right from now on, right?"

Arabella Donovan didn’t answer her question. Instead, she looked directly into Henry Zeller’s eyes and described what she had just inadvertently seen.

"The secret of fate I just glimpsed was about you. I saw you with a new family member—a little girl with dimples by the corners of her mouth. Very cute."

"That’s truly... truly..." Lucy Ingram was stunned for a moment, then, as if remembering something, she became too emotional to speak. She turned to her husband, her eyes already turning red.

Lillian Donovan didn’t understand, and could only question Lucy Ingram with her eyes.

Lucy Ingram sniffled and said in a choked voice, "I remember Sandy had a little dimple by her mouth, too. You could see it whenever she smiled."

Lillian Donovan and the others had a sudden realization. When they looked back at Henry Zeller, they saw that his face was already covered in tears.

Perhaps fate in this world is just that strange, delivering a rude awakening when things are going well, and offering a lifeline in times of despair.

Perhaps Henry Zeller wasn’t just grieving his family’s death. Perhaps he was just too lonely, living alone, not knowing when he would die, and more importantly, not knowing how to truly live. He was aimless, lost, like a walking corpse.

Arabella Donovan suddenly understood why the Henry Zeller of the original story had committed suicide, and why he had met a violent end after leaving Liam Lowe.

He had lost his only blood relatives and betrayed the brother who had treated him like family.

After half a lifetime of struggle, he looked around and found he was still all alone, with nothing to his name.

In the original story, he had even, due to a misunderstanding, done things that went against his conscience, leading to irreversible consequences.

The pain of losing all his family, the guilt of betraying his brother, the bitterness of trusting the wrong person—it all crushed him in that one moment, driving him to the decision to atone with his death.

Now, although there was still a chance to fix things and nothing catastrophic had happened to Liam Lowe, Henry Zeller’s past betrayal remained a thorn in his heart.

To suddenly learn that he would one day have a new family member, someone as lovely as his sister—for some reason, Henry Zeller suddenly felt that thorn in his heart soften.

’Maybe... maybe I’m not as terrible as I thought. That’s why heaven took pity on me and didn’t really leave me with nothing. I still have a chance at happiness, right?’

A drifting duckweed had found a harbor to anchor in, yet he was afraid this beautiful future was merely an illusion, as fleeting as a flower in a mirror or the moon’s reflection on water.

As if to corroborate Arabella Donovan’s words, before anyone could react, the door to the hospital room was suddenly thrown open with a BANG. A disheveled, sweaty woman rushed in. "I heard Mr. Lowe and Master were attacked and hospitalized! Are you... all right?"

The woman suddenly found herself facing a room full of people. Her expression went blank for a second, and her voice trailed off.

Arabella Donovan raised an eyebrow. Her gaze shifted downward, and sure enough, she saw the red thread of fate tied securely around both their hands.

’Oho, speak of Clark Carter and he appears. Isn’t this the legendary... baby’s mother?’

Mrs. Donovan and Lillian Donovan: Pfft...