Chapter 86: Chapter 86: All Wishes Granted
It took Arabella Donovan a few seconds to remember who Caspian Rhodes was talking about, and her expression changed abruptly.
"Chloe Thorne? What happened to her? Did something happen?"
"Don’t worry, Miss Thorne is fine."
Arabella Donovan was stunned. "She’s fine?"
"Yes, she’s fine. Completely unharmed."
"Then..."
Knowing what Arabella was worried about, Caspian Rhodes didn’t keep her in suspense. "After your reading that day, Solara excused her from night shifts and made sure colleagues accompanied her on her commute as much as possible. But I kept thinking about the blood calamity you mentioned. I still wasn’t at ease, so I arranged for two bodyguards to protect her in secret."
Arabella Donovan was taken aback for a moment, then her eyes lit up slightly.
’Mr. Rhodes, you’re next level! You actually know how to connect the dots and plan ahead!’
"The night before last, Miss Thorne must have woken up hungry in the middle of the night and went out to buy a late-night snack. On her way back, she ran into a couple arguing—or to be precise, an ex-couple arguing after they’d broken up. The man was trying to get back together with her, and when she refused, he flew into a rage and stabbed the girl."
This was the first time Mrs. Donovan and the others had heard about this, and they couldn’t help but gasp.
Arabella Donovan’s face was also a little pale, but she was thinking of something else.
’So it’s true. Just getting rid of the ’coming home late’ factor isn’t enough to completely avoid the risk. The plot can still be forced back onto its original track.’
’Thank goodness Mr. Rhodes arranged for bodyguards to protect her in secret beforehand. Otherwise, no matter what I’d said, I wouldn’t have been able to save Miss Thorne’s life.’
As she thought this, Arabella Donovan subconsciously clenched her fists, a flash of regret in her eyes.
’I was still too arrogant and took things for granted. That was a real, living person. Any single unfavorable factor could have led to a disaster.’
’And you only get one life. One chance...’
Caspian Rhodes’s eyes glinted. He was also secretly glad that he had listened to Arabella Donovan’s mumblings back then. He had thought that saving one life was better than none, and if it really happened, they might even be able to save the ex-girlfriend who got stabbed. That’s why he had decisively sent two bodyguards to protect Chloe Thorne, just to be completely sure.
’And to think, she actually called it!’
"After attacking the woman in a rage, the man noticed Miss Thorne at the mouth of the alley, frozen in fear. He was about to go all the way and silence her for good. Fortunately, my two bodyguards stopped him in time. They called the police and took the injured girl to the hospital. Thankfully, they got her there quickly. The wound wasn’t fatal, but she had lost a lot of blood. In the end, they were able to save her."
Hearing that the ex-girlfriend had also been saved, Arabella Donovan finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness."
Watching the pure relief and joy on Arabella Donovan’s face, a strange feeling suddenly blossomed in Caspian Rhodes’s heart.
’To her, these people were just strangers she had met once, or hadn’t even met at all. Yet she was able to empathize with them so naturally.’
’She sympathized with their plight, grew angry at their suffering, and would even rack her brains to obstruct and warn them in order to change their predetermined fate.’
"It certainly is a good thing, and it’s all thanks to you. If it weren’t for your warning, I’m afraid both of them would have met a terrible fate."
Arabella Donovan felt a little embarrassed by his words and quickly waved her hands. "No, no, it was all Mr. Rhodes’s doing. If Mr. Rhodes hadn’t been so thorough and sent bodyguards to protect Miss Thorne in advance, two lives wouldn’t have been saved by such a coincidence. They should be thanking Mr. Rhodes."
Caspian Rhodes just smiled without saying a word, not arguing the point with Arabella Donovan any further.
On the other hand, Liam Lowe and the others had been listening for a while and could no longer contain their curiosity. "Mr. Rhodes," Liam interjected, "what exactly were you two just talking about...?"
Caspian Rhodes subconsciously glanced at Arabella Donovan. Seeing no objection from her, he began to explain.
"It’s like this. My cousin opened an entertainment company, and lately, there have been all sorts of minor issues popping up internally. He started to suspect he was having a run of bad luck, or maybe there was a problem with the company’s feng shui. So he asked me to invite Miss Donovan to come take a look..."
"Miss Donovan knows feng shui?"
The one who asked was Lucy Ingram, but she was looking at Lillian Donovan as she spoke.
It was as if she were asking: ’Your cousin knows how to do this? How come you never mentioned it before?’
Lillian Donovan was speechless. ’To be honest, I just found out myself,’ she thought.
Seeing this, Mrs. Donovan chuckled and smoothed things over. "Our Serena grew up in a Sacred Temple. She followed her master in spiritual cultivation and only learned a few superficial skills. It’s nothing impressive, really. Please don’t laugh at us."
An idea flashed through Lillian Donovan’s mind. Mrs. Donovan had said the same thing to her before when she mentioned Arabella Donovan.
She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now that she knew about Arabella’s extraordinary abilities, she finally, belatedly, understood what those words had really meant!
Caspian Rhodes seamlessly played along with Mrs. Donovan. "You’re being too modest, Auntie. Miss Donovan’s skills are by no means superficial. Everything I just mentioned stemmed from Miss Donovan’s insights, especially the matter with Miss Thorne. Miss Donovan simply walked past her desk and was able to deduce from her appearance, her features, and the arrangement of her surroundings that she would face a blood calamity. She warned her to absolutely avoid coming home late."
"Because of that, my cousin specifically allowed her not to work overtime or come home late. I never expected she still barely escaped it. It was truly a close call."
Liam Lowe frowned. He had always been indifferent about believing in supernatural tales, but he also knew that Caspian Rhodes had no reason to lie to him about something like this.
Lucy Ingram, however, leaned more towards the "better safe than sorry" approach. "That’s truly a stroke of luck in a terrible situation. I don’t know what’s wrong with the world these days. A while ago, I saw a news story about a girl who was tragically killed taking a taxi home from work late at night. You just can’t protect yourself from everything."
Caspian Rhodes smiled faintly. After laying all this groundwork, he finally revealed his true purpose. "Mr. Lowe, didn’t you just say you’ve been running into a lot of trouble lately, with several projects failing at the very last minute? Why not let Miss Donovan do a reading for you? You might get a pleasant surprise."
Arabella Donovan suddenly jolted. If she had an antenna on her head, it would be standing straight up right now.
’Mr. Rhodes, you are my absolute hero! I was just wondering how I was going to warn this couple that their precious little cabbage is about to be dug up by a wild pig, and then this opportunity just lands in my lap!’
’Although, if I really do a reading for this Mr. Lowe, I’m afraid there won’t be any pleasant surprises, just a whole pile of nasty shocks.’
Caspian Rhodes: Pfft...
’Oh well. Surprise or shock, what matters is saving them. That’s the bottom line.’
’Besides, knowing Liam Lowe, he’ll probably turn all of his own displeasure into a nasty shock for someone else.’
’And if he really finds out the truth, the future of this matter will most likely go in the direction Arabella Donovan was just hoping for.’
Caspian Rhodes made no attempt to hide his selfish intentions regarding Arabella Donovan. He just wanted the wishes of the person before him to come true.
To that end, it wouldn’t matter even if it took a little extra effort.
