Betty glanced alternately between the couple.

She stepped forward and slapped Jayson on his arm. “Why aren’t you saying anything to Ari, you heartless boy? When will you ever change that attitude of yours?”

It wasn’t like Betty hadn’t noticed how Jayson had only given his attention to those books ever since he returned. He acted as though the books were much more interesting than Ariel was.

Matt heard those words as well. He said teasingly, “It’s because you’re worried that Ariel may suddenly change her mind and refuse to get divorced if you show her even a bit of kindness now. After all, women are mostly… soft- hearted and sentimental.”

Especially if it was Ariel, who was deeply in love with Jayson.

Jayson paid no mind to Matt’s comment. He simply ignored it and ended the call.

“Why are you still standing there? You should drop Ari off at her office.” Betty couldn’t possibly let Ariel leave on her own. She dragged Jayson along as she stepped through the front door.

Ariel had just closed the trunk. She said calmly, “It’s alright, Grandma. There’s no need to trouble Jayson.”

Jayson raised his brows. It seemed like he never intended to offer to drive Ariel anyway. He curled his lips and

commented, “See, Grandma. Ari can handle it on her own.

Jayson’s use of “Ari” made her pause, her brows furrowing slightly.

Sometimes, Ariel couldn’t help but be amazed by how good Jayson was at keeping up appearances.

It was true that she didn’t and wouldn’t want Jayson to drive her to her destination. However, Jayson was exceptionally good at leaving the choice up to Ariel whenever it came to doing something he didn’t want to do. Ariel directed her gaze to Betty. “I’ll get going now, Grandma.”

She got into the car without saying another word to Jayson

Ariel didn’t head back to the office. Instead, she brought the gardenias back to her place.

She had been taking care of these plants for years. Back when she was staying with the Sandersons, Lori would tell her to get rid of the gardenias by claiming that she had a pallen allergy.

Morgan would also try to persuade Ariel to discard the plants since he was concerned about Lori’s health. He would tell her to be more considerate of her younger sister, or not to be too selfish and think only about herself.

After Morgan’s affair began, compounded by Elena’s death, and Ariel being sent to Jayson’s room, Ariel stopped viewing Morgan as her father.

There was a time when things were really tense and hostile between her and Morgan.

As for the gardenias, Lucas instructed some men to build a small sunroom for Ariel on t preserve what few belongings she had left.

balcony and helped her

After Ariel married Jayson, the latter gave her full authority to do whatever she wanted with their marital home. Anyway, Jayson was rarely home. He couldn’t be bothered about these insignificant matters.

Ariel checked the soil moisture and examined the gardenias leaves and branches. Once she confirmed that the plants were healthy, she packed her luggage for the Sorenta trip.

There were a lot of things she could learn from Carlos‘ joint project this time. The experience would be very helpful in Ariel’s upcoming plans to write a scientific paper and apply for postgraduate studies.

Chad picked Ariel up in his car the next day, and they drove to the airport. They still didn’t know who the other companies had sent as their representatives.

At the airport, Chad left briefly to obtain their boarding passes.

When be returned, Chad and Ariel spotted Nancy, who had on a coat and a pair of high heels. Behind her was Colton, who had driven her to the airport.

Nancy noticed them too. She calmly greeted Chad by giving him a nod. Then, she headed upstairs. Nancy didn’t even bother sparing Ariel a glance. She treated Ariel as if the latter wasn’t even there.

Ariel stiffened slightly when she saw Colton. However, she soon paid no mind to the pair.

One could tell how much Jayson cared about Nancy when he instructed someone like Colton, his personal assistant, to take Nancy to the airport.

Chad explained, “Nancy is also one of the people joining the Sorenta trip to observe and learn this time.”

Ariel checked the boarding time. “Didn’t they say that the representatives have to be chosen from each company’s lead engineers or technicians?”

Chad helped pull Ariel’s suitcase. He replied, “Initially, Nancy was on the Nexura Solutions team. After some disagreement with us, she could no longer remain on that team as one of the project leads.

“However, I heard that Jayson had helped her put together a team just to make her eligible for this trip. With a valid reason, she managed to snatch a spot to join the trip.

Anyone would be shocked to hear about Nancy’s preferential treatment. It was no surprise that almost everyone on the Nexura Solutions team treated Nancy like their boss‘ wife.

Ariel’s expression remained unchanged. She didn’t find any of this surprising.

With Jayson doing so much to assist and protect her, Nancy’s career should take off smoothly. She would be able to go on and achieve many extraordinary things in the future.

“Still…” Chad clicked his tongue. “This is quite unusual. I thought Jayson would postpone his work and travel to Sorenta with Nancy. I don’t see him here, though.”

Ariel fell silent. However, she was not about to waste her time getting distracted by those people or their affairs.

The arrangement was to gather at Sorenta at a specific time. Carlos was dispatching a few men for pickup since all the company representatives would arrive concurrently.

They landed in Sorenta safely.

As soon as she exited the airport, Ariel spotted a familiar face among the crowd.