Wendy was being clingy again. Lucas took a drag from his cigarette and ruffled her hair. “Listen to me. Go in and wait for the results. I’ll be there once I finish this.”

Seeing his laid–back but firm expression, Wendy knew he wasn’t in the mood for her antics. She gave his arm a little shake. “Okay, fine. But don’t keep me waiting too long.”

When she had broken Lucas‘ cup, seeing him angry made her feel both nervous and a little giddy. On instinct, she pretended to have a stomachache to ease his anger.

Thankfully, after cleaning up the broken pieces, Lucas brought Wendy straight to the hospital.

The fact that he cared about her so much made it impossible for her to admit she’d faked the stomachache.

Once Wendy had gone inside to the ER waiting area, Lucas finally looked in the direction Ariel had left.

For just a second, he wondered if she had seen that. Would she be furious and jealous again?

He frowned at that thought. With the cigarette between his fingers, he strode quickly toward Ariel.

Ariel had just unlocked her car and was about to get in when a hand suddenly reached past her, slamming the door shut with force.

She turned and saw Lucas. Her expression instinctively tightened.

Seeing that she was not the least bit shaken, he frowned.

“Why didn’t you come and say hi?” he asked.

Ariel pressed her lips together. She hadn’t expected him to follow her.

“It’s dark. I didn’t see you,” she replied evenly, as if nothing had happened.

Lucas let out a scoff. “You didn’t see me? But you ran off pretty fast. You’re married. Why get so embarrassed just watching someone kiss?”

Ariel heard the edge in his voice. Every word he said struck a harsh tone.

She kept her calm as she looked at him. “What do you want?”

Lucas studied her composed face. He flicked away his cigarette and said, “You saw me and walked away. Didn’t you do that to get me to chase after you?”

That used to be her thing. And back then, he always gave in.

Ariel pressed her lips together, finding his words absurd. “You’ve misunderstood. What you do with your girlfriend is your business.”

Seeing her calm demeanor, Lucas suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Right. Just like you never said a word when Jayson treated his lover like his wife.”

Ariel hadn’t expected Lucas to twist the knife regarding her already fractured relationship with Jayson.

The mockery stung, especially since it came from someone who had been like family.

She said nothing, simply turning to get into her car.

Lucas suddenly grabbed Ariel by the shoulder and pulled her close. A low chuckle escaped him as he said, “You didn’t say hi to me, but you can’t just ignore your husband, can you?”

Ariel followed his gaze and saw that a Maybach had just passed the security booth. Inside the car, Jayson and Nancy looked over at them.

Jayson was in the driver’s seat. His gaze was unreadable. But he quickly looked away, treating Ariel as if she were invisible.

Ariel thought he must be here to see Sarah.

Jayson had been to visit Leonard more in the last few days than he had in the entire time Leonard had been here.

Leonard had lived here for years, yet he hadn’t visited nearly as often as he had in just these few short days since Sarah moved in.

Men, huh? Where their time and money went was where their love was.

Lucas chuckled. “Ari, you really do have a high tolerance. You can put up with that? Want me to give you a little lesson? A man’s never gonna value a woman who doesn’t know her own worth.”

“Why not take a page out of Nancy’s book and learn to carry yourself with a bit more pride?” he added, giving her some “friendly advice“.

“That’s between me and him. You don’t need to worry about it.”

She dismissed him completely, no longer fazed by his barbs or his attempts to twist the knife further.

Ignoring Lucas‘ cold expression, she slid into her car and drove off without any explanation. She didn’t feel the need to tell Lucas that she was divorcing Jayson.

As Ariel’s car disappeared from view, Lucas‘ expression soured. Wendy’s calls came through one after the other, but he ignored them.