Ariel felt as though a hole was bored through her chest. A cold, empty feeling rose within her.

She looked at the photos Nancy shared. One of them was a photo of a resort villa, where they had finished the decorations for the party venue. The next photo was a photo of an exquisite emerald jewelry set.

Ariel recognized the set of jewelry. It was the one Janice had witnessed Jayson spending seven million dollars on at a jewelry shop when he and Nancy went there.

The jewelry set turned out to be a gift for Sarah.

This somewhat explained why Ariel did not receive any replies from Jayson even after she had contacted Colton. It seemed like Jayson had made his choice from the start.

Nancy included a caption along with the photos. “This will be the liveliest and the most extravagant birthday party that we’ve ever thrown for my mom. There’s a special someone whom I feel extremely grateful to…. Everyone, please look forward to the fireworks show tonight!”

It was obvious who the special someone she had mentioned in the caption was.

Ariel’s eyes hardened. There was a faint mocking look on her face.

It was because she knew that today was not Sarah’s birthday.

Back when Elena and Sarah were still close, Elena had celebrated Sarah’s birthday with her and took photos at the time. She also wrote down the time and date on the photo to commemorate the day.

Ariel had stumbled upon the photo when she was going through Elena’s belongings previously. Sarah was supposed to have her birthday next month.

“Yet, these people chose to celebrate Sarah’s birthday and have a fireworks show on the day of my mom’s death anniversary? What do these people think they’re doing?” Ariel fumed internally.

Lori was extremely pleased as she took in the stony expression on Ariel’s face. She felt like she had finally won for

once.

“I only told you the truth since I didn’t want to see you being kept in the dark forever. Mr. Larkin must be with Ms. Stanton right now,” Lori took back her phone and said mockingly.

Ariel remained silent. She was lost in her train of thought after facing such a ridiculous situation.

“That’s enough, Lori.” Lucas gave her a stern, disapproving look.

Lori could see that Lucas was still taking Ariel’s side. She bit her lip and glared at Ariel indignantly. Then, Lori took a step backward.

Morgan had no intention of staying around anymore. He was very disappointed with the current situation.

Before leaving, Morgan said, “You couldn’t even keep your husband’s heart and attention on you. We’re losing the backing of a prestigious family such as the Larkins to someone else! It was pointless for us to put our hopes in you in the first place!”

The Sandersons would have managed to gain something out of their union if Ariel was able to win Jayson’s favor and affection.

Morgan and Lori got into the car.

Lori directed her gaze toward Lucas. She had a longing look in her eyes. “Lucas? Let’s go home. There’s no point staying here any longer.”

Lucas did not even bother glancing over his shoulder at her. “You guys should head back first.”

Lori clenched her jaw and stared at Ariel. After she closed the door, their car drove off.

Ariel came to her senses. She looked at Lucas indifferently. She appeared so calm that it was as though what she had just been informed of was of little importance to her. “Go on in. My grandma’s waiting for you inside.”

She could not be bothered to criticize Lucas for bringing Morgan and Lori over today, nor did she want to listen to what he had to say. Ariel headed toward the garden alone.

A chilly wind was blowing.

Ariel heaved a deep breath. She decided to give Jayson a call.

He could choose not to come over. Ariel had expected that much. Something like that would not ruffle her at this point.

However, Sarah was deliberately aggravating Ariel and her family by pulling an act like this. They arranged for a fireworks show and a grand, joyous celebration on Elena’s death anniversary just to mock the Walker family.

Ariel could not just stand by and do nothing after having realized Sarah’s malicious intent.

She wanted to ask Jayson face–to–face if he knew what that day meant for the Walkers. If he did and chose to side with Sarah and Nancy regardless, Ariel would not stand for it.

After waiting for some time, the line finally got through.