Chapter : 70
Perry had already registered that Ariel wasn’t well, so seeing her faint again only amplified his worry. He wondered if Jayson knew.
Ariel didn’t sleep a wink that night and was in a terrible condition when she woke up that morning. The issue of the art gallery loomed over like a weight constantly pressing on her.
She couldn’t shake it off and knew this wasn’t over.
After thinking it over, Ariel decided to make the first move.
She called Jayson, but he didn’t pick up. She didn’t care whether he was genuinely busy or ignoring her on purpose; she went straight to Bluum Corp.
She’d worked there for three years, and the receptionist recognized her.
When Ariel called Colton, his tone was lukewarm as he said, “Mr. Larkin is busy, Ms. Walker. You’ll have to wait.”
She went upstairs to the conference room, where Colton saw her and didn’t bother greeting her. Instead, he turned and walked off. But the others in the secretarial department remembered her well.
Back when Ariel had tried to understand Jayson better, they’d made friends, talked over shared meals, and gathered information.
They were quite happy to see her now and exchanged a few pleasantries.
Someone said, “Ms. Walker, you’ll probably have to wait a while. Mr. Larkin has an important guest in his office.”
“Important guest? More like the apple of his eye.
Ariel immediately guessed it was Nancy. It seemed Jayson wasn’t too busy with work to see her; he was just spending time with Nancy and ignoring her.
“Ms. Stanton’s really lucky. Now that she’s here at Bluum Corp, she’s treated like the boss‘ wife. There are no restrictions on her as she can come and go from his office whenever she wants.‘
“I heard that when Ms. Stanton left yesterday, her lipstick was smudged!”
“Oh gosh. An office play?”
Ariel listened numbly like an outsider. She had to make an appointment and wait to see her husband, while Nancy could come and go as she pleased. Everyone had to make way for her.
The secretaries brought Ariel some tea and returned to their work.
Ariel waited for nearly two hours. People came and went from the CEO’s office, but no one invited her in.
Taking a deep breath, she knew this couldn’t go on. When she noticed Colton turning a corner and walking over, she got up and asked, “Is Mr. Larkin still busy?”
Looking at her, Colton smiled while clutching a stack of documents. “You’re still here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m sorry, Ms. Walker. Mr. Larkin didn’t know you were waiting here and left for lunch with Ms. Stanton over an hour ago. Didn’t you see them?”
He looked surprised, but his expression was far too composed. Ariel wondered if Colton intentionally failed to mention her to Jayson, or if Jayson had known she was there and deliberately chose not to see her.
Either way, it made her feel suffocated.
She stared at Colton in silence for a moment before turning and walking away.
Colton watched her as she left. So he’d been right.
When Ariel had ignored him, he thought she’d finally grown a backbone. But now, she’d come back and hoped to meet Jayson.
No matter how much she kicked up a fuss, it was a fact that she couldn’t leave Jayson.
Ariel returned to Faye Technologies and wrapped up the rest of her work.
Jayson had yet to make a move. She still hadn’t seen him but vowed to discuss the issue sooner or later.
After much thought, she decided to drop by their marital home after work. However, she received a call from Leonard that evening. He told her Jayson had visited him at the nursing home.
Ariel’s expression changed drastically.