Ariel frowned slightly, and her thoughts gradually cleared.

She was probably just too anxious. She’d closed the file, so Jayson shouldn’t have seen any of Faye Technologies‘

core content.

Still, her instincts told her there was something unusual in the way he’d looked at her.

Instead of dwelling on it, Ariel turned off the lights and got into bed. She figured Jayson wouldn’t be coming back either.

She hadn’t slept long when she sensed the door opening.

Footsteps moved steadily across the room. In the darkness, she opened her eyes to see a tall figure approaching the other side of the bed, followed by the mattress dipping slightly under his weight.

Though there was a clear distance between them, Ariel could smell the faint cedarwood on him and his distinct masculine scent.

She froze, and her body, curled on its side, went stiff.

Why hadn’t he left? Why had he come back? Questions bombarded her mind.

Now that they were getting divorced, sharing a bed under such circumstances felt bizarre.

After lying down, Jayson stayed motionless. He didn’t touch her, and it seemed he’d fallen asleep as if he had no interest in her.

Ariel’s tensed nerves slowly relaxed.

It made sense that he might not want to act strange under Betty’s watchful eye. Plus, he’d always been cold and restrained toward Ariel.

Though their occasional intimacy had felt obligatory, he’d never shown any real desire for her.

She slowly drifted to sleep after having reached this conclusion.

The next morning, Ariel was woken by the buzz of a phone vibrating on the pillow beside her.

Eyes still half–closed from sleep, she reached out and answered without a second thought. A woman’s soft, cheery

later?” voice came through the line. ” Good morning, Jay. Are you coming to pick me up

Ariel snapped awake. At the same time, it felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.

“Jay, is someone with you?” the voice on the other end puzzledly asked.

Ariel instinctively turned to look beside her when a warm, muscular body pressed against her back. Arms slid around her and pulled her into a firm embrace.

A masculine scent overwhelmed her as she turned her head in surprise.

Jayson was already awake. His expression was composed as he reached out to take the phone from her hand.

The

+25 BONUS

N

He glanced at Ariel in his arms and calmly said into the phone, “No.”

Ariel’s chest tightened. She was the legal wife, yet she was acting like some secret lover hiding from getting caught.

His chest was pressed firmly against her back, and she could feel its warmth.

Blushing, Ariel tried to pull away from him.

That was when Jayson realized the awkwardness of their positions and got up to put some distance between them. “I’ll call you later,” he said, ending the call.

Then, he looked at Ariel, who’d sat up and regained her composure. “Sorry. I didn’t realize it was your phone.”

Jayson gave a soft laugh as he walked toward the bathroom. “Please try not to make that mistake again, Mrs. Larkin.”

Ariel pressed her lips together and understood his implication. He was worried that Nancy would misunderstand, or worse, that she had done it on purpose.

Frowning, Ariel knew that no explanation would change anything now, so she gathered her clothes and prepared to wash up.

Jayson emerged from the bathroom just as she passed by. When he’d held her earlier, he’d noticed how much thinner she’d become. Now, her face looked pale and bloodless without makeup.

As she walked past him, he suddenly asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Ariel froze, and her heart missed a beat.

He eyed her and asked in a rare moment of concern, “Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

She immediately realized that he’d noticed her deteriorating condition.

“No need,” she answered quickly. He mustn’t find out about her cancer; that would just give him more reason to justify his affair.

Still, his concern was fairly unexpected.