Chapter 244: Headed for Great Misfortune
"What?"
Arabella Donovan’s words surprised the other people in the room.
Ms. Kerr immediately turned to her friend. "You two have met before?"
The woman hadn’t expected Arabella Donovan to remember her and said uncertainly, "I think we saw each other from a distance at the exhibition hall."
"Then what’s this about you speaking up for her?"
"It wasn’t so much speaking up for Miss Donovan. I was just telling the truth."
"I’ll tell you what happened."
As it turned out, back at the auction house’s exhibition hall, Timothy Donovan and Victor Donovan had approached Arabella Donovan. They not only subtly implied she was just a freeloader who had only gained Dennis Donovan’s favor by riding on Guinevere Preston’s coattails, but they were also openly and covertly jealous. They passive-aggressively suggested Arabella was unworthy of her position and tried to use their status as her elders and ’brothers’ to put her down and break her spirit.
Unfortunately for them, Arabella didn’t take the bait. Instead, she tore off their hypocritical masks and stomped all over them.
At the time, this woman had been in the crowd of onlookers. And she didn’t just watch; she backed Arabella up, exposing the ugly truth about those Donovan men. She revealed how they had tried to seize Dennis Donovan’s assets, thinking he had no heir, only to be punished by him instead. She also pointed out how they, despite having been disowned, still paraded around as Dennis Donovan’s relatives to swindle money from the uninformed. Finally, she hit the nail on the head by calling out their envy, jealousy, and hatred for Arabella, who alone had won Dennis Donovan’s favor.
"Even though I was confident I wouldn’t lose out to them, if it weren’t for this lady’s excellent support, helping educate everyone about their terrible relationship with my grand-uncle and all the shameless things they’d done in the past, someone might have actually been misled by them and tried to guilt-trip me into bowing down to them."
’It’s not that I feel any moral obligation toward people like that, but running into them is still disgusting. After all, dealing with these sanctimonious fence-sitters who don’t know anything is a real pain. That lady really saved my skin.’
Hearing this, the woman felt a little embarrassed. "Miss Donovan, you’re too kind. I’m just outspoken. I couldn’t stand seeing those greedy, grown men bullying a young girl like you, so I just said a few words of fairness. I never thought you’d actually remember me. It’s truly an honor."
Arabella smiled and turned to Ms. Kerr. "So they’re the ones you texted me about bringing along? Are you friends?"
"Yes. This is Mr. Lewis. He was a junior of my husband and me in school, and he’s now a crucial business partner for our company. Next to him is his wife, Ms. Cain."
"Hello. I’m a friend of Miss Kerr’s, you could say. My name is Donovan."
"Of course, of course. I’ve heard so much about you, Miss Donovan. We’ve been wanting to find an opportunity to meet you for a while now, but we kept missing the chance for one reason or another. Today, we’ve finally met the person herself."
"You wanted to meet me? Is it because Miss Kerr mentioned me to you?"
"Yes." Mr. Lewis glanced at his wife, then got straight to the point. "We heard about you from Ms. Kerr, and we know about your abilities. To be honest, my wife and I came here today because there’s something we’d like to ask for your help with, Master Donovan."
A glint flashed in Arabella Donovan’s eyes, but she wasn’t surprised at all.
She trusted the character of the Kerrs. After interacting with them a few times, she knew they weren’t impolite people. For them to suddenly say they were bringing people to a dinner they’d arranged surely meant it was about more than just getting a free meal.
"What do you need my help with? But let me be clear upfront: I may have some abilities, but compared to those miracle workers who can move mountains and predict the future, my knowledge is only superficial. I might not be able to solve your problem."
The couple exchanged a look, and both saw disappointment in the other’s eyes.
But they were at their wit’s end and were just giving it a shot, so they didn’t hold it against Arabella. They just said, "That’s alright. We just want a definite answer so we can finally give up hope."
"Alright then. Go ahead. What do you need my help with?"
"To be honest, Master Donovan, my wife and I both love children. We’ve never used contraception since we got married, but we’ve never been able to have a child. We’ve done countless medical check-ups over the years, and they’ve never found anything wrong, but when it comes to the fate of having children..."
PFFT... As soon as Mr. Lewis finished speaking, Arabella choked.
’No, wait. Buddy—no, not buddy—sir, if you can’t have kids, go see a doctor and get treatment. Why are you coming to me? I’m not Our Lady of Fertility. I can’t just lose my mind and steal a baby for you, can I?’
Caspian Rhodes: "..."
"How long have you two been together?"
"We’ve been together since college, for over twenty years. We’ve been married for almost twenty years."
"Have you had any children during that time?"
When Ms. Cain heard Arabella’s question, a sorrowful look appeared on her face. "We had one, but unfortunately... we lost the baby."
Mr. Lewis squeezed his wife’s hand comfortingly. "Yes, we had one. At over five months, we accidentally... lost it. After that, she was never able to get pregnant again."
"At first, we were worried it was because the miscarriage was too hard on my body, but we did all sorts of tests at the hospital, and they all said there was nothing wrong with me. We’ve tried medication, IVF... but everything failed."
It was clear the incident had been a huge blow to the couple. After Ms. Cain finished speaking, they unconsciously leaned closer to each other, as if it were the only way to draw warmth from one another.
Hearing this, Arabella couldn’t help but furrow her brow. She stared at the couple for a long moment, and her expression changed slightly.
Caspian Rhodes noticed the change in her expression. Just as he was about to ask, he heard her familiar, clamorous inner voice.
’What’s going on with these two? The aura of resentment around them is so heavy, and there’s an air of blood... They’re about to have some terrible luck—the life-threatening kind!’
Caspian Rhodes’s eyes flickered. He subconsciously turned to look at the couple, who were still huddled together, comforting each other.
Before he could think any further, he heard Arabella’s inner voice cry out again, even louder this time.
’Oh my god, so that’s what it is! This is completely depraved!’
Caspian Rhodes: "..." ’So what is it already? Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to get the whole story and then just keep it to yourself?’
Having figured out the couple’s basic situation, Arabella’s gaze toward them instantly filled with a complex mix of emotions and sympathy. She cleared her throat and asked in a low voice, "So, what exactly did you come to see me for today...? Let me state this first: I have no experience with matters like having children. I’m afraid I can’t help you with that."
The couple froze for a second, then couldn’t help but smile. "Master Donovan, you’ve misunderstood. We just wanted you to help us see if my wife and I are fated to be childless."
"And if you are, what do you plan to do?"
The expressions on the couple’s faces grew even more bitter. "If we are, it just means we are not blessed enough to deserve our own children. We’ll give up and stop trying. After that, we’ll see about adopting a child, or perhaps a formal adoption from a relative..."
"A formal adoption from a relative?" Arabella raised an eyebrow slightly, a smirk playing on her lips. "Are you planning to adopt the child of Mr. Lewis’s younger brother?"