Ariana was surprised by his response and her eyes widened. She asked, "If you know that, why do you still treat her so well? Is it just because she was Marley's best friend?"

Theodore's face darkened when he heard the name "Marley". Much like the moment back at the Anderson family's residence when he learned from Helen that Ariana went into Marley's room, he was unable to mask his terrible expression.

As Ariana's eyes welled up, she struggled to keep the quiver out of her voice as she asked, 'Who is Marley? Do you care about her a lot? Why is her room still on the fourth floor? And what do you think of me?”

Ariana hoped for more answers from Theodore, but he remained silent.

"So, she truly matters to you.” Ariana spoke softly, almost as if she was mocking herself.

"You've been lying to me all along, so why stop now?"

It tured out Helen's words held truth. Marley was indeed Theodore's first love.

Ariana was about to cry, so she hurriedly lowered her head. She didn't want ‘Theodore to witness her like that. After losing everything, she didn't want to appear a mess in front of him once again.

Ariana was trembling, feeling absurdly foolish. She wanted to ask if Theodore had ever perceived her as a substitute for Marley, but at that exact moment, the operating room lights flickered off.

A nurse gently transported Helen out of the operating room and led her to one of the wards along the corridor. Following closely behind, the doctor approached with medical documents in hand.

Ariana quickly stood up, feeling anxious. Despite Helen's faults, she didn't believe Helen deserved to die. Ariana couldn't understand how Helen could be willing to risk her life, even if it meant facing death.

“Mr. Anderson.” The doctor handed the medical report to Theodore and stated, "The patient has sustained a concussion and a contusion to the chest from the impact.

Her condition is currently stable, but we need to maintain surveillance and assist her recovery. However, we must delay tomorrow's scheduled heart surgery.

"

Theodore didn't pay much attention to the medical report and asked in a low voice, “Until when is it postponed?"

“That would depend on Miss Clarke's subsequent recovery process. There is, however, another complicating factor." The doctor appeared uncomfortable as he disclosed, "Miss Clarke sustained a deep facial laceration during her fall, exposing the underlying bone. The two-hour emergency procedure required us to stitch the wound, an especially challenging task considering the wound's location and extent, covering nearly her entire eyebrow. We strived to minimize scarring, but we couldn't completely remove it."

"Are you saying that she'll be left disfigured?" Theodore's tone remained unchanged, making it difficult to discern any concem.

With a compassionate nod, the doctor explained, "Here's the situation. When a wound is extensive, it's expected to leave a scar. Additionally, Miss Clarke has a tendency to develop scars. Due to her heart condition, it's not feasible for her to undergo frequent facial reconstruction surgeries within a short span of time, making complete recovery challenging..."

Ariana was slightly shocked and her mouth fell open a little, noticing the contrast between Theodore's indifference and Helen's actions. It was clear that Helen had sacrificed a great deal to cause her harm.

How could someone as proud and self-assured as Helen come to terms with the reality of facial disfigurement?