Jayson gave Ariel a thoughtful glance, as if piecing together the situation in his mind. After a brief moment, he looked away coldly, then turned his attention to Perry and Lucas.

But Ariel caught something strange in that look.

“Why did you come here?” Perry asked, clearly surprised.

Nancy explained, “Matt had something come up last minute and asked us to come. What’s going on here?”

She wasn’t happy.

Why was Ariel here? They’d been running into each other way too often lately. This was their usual circle. Ariel somehow slipped in quietly.

Perry felt a headache coming on. He hadn’t expected things to get so messy. Matt was really unreliable.

Jayson strode in and asked seriously, “Mr. Sanderson, what’s going on here?”

Perry frowned. How could Lucas explain? If he had said he only acted because of Ariel, Jayson would have only overthought it.

Lucas‘ eyes flickered with something subtle. He pulled Wendy into his arms and said casually, “It was just a misunderstanding. We had a little scuffle. It’s nothing serious.”

Clearly, Lucas wasn’t going to elaborate.

Jayson’s eyes showed no emotion. “Alright, then.“!

He didn’t even bother to press further.

Ariel wasn’t surprised by his attitude.

There were probably plenty of people and things Jayson cared about, but she definitely wasn’t one of them.

Lucas noticed Jayson’s coolness too. He gave Ariel a sly, almost mocking glance.

Jayson blatantly ignored Ariel with Nancy right beside him. It was seriously humiliating.

Wendy turned to Nancy. “I’m taking Lucas to get his wounds treated. Let’s catch up another time.”

Nancy nodded.

Lucas didn’t look back at Ariel. With his arm around Wendy, he walked off and coaxed her as they left.

Ariel watched them leave, then said, “Since everything is settled, let’s go.”

Nancy pulled a tissue from her bag and handed it to Perry. “Here, wipe your lip. You’re bleeding.”

Perry took it. “It’s nothing.”

Jayson glanced at his watch. “Let’s talk outside.”

No one objected.

Ariel stayed quiet, trailing behind like a stranger.

At the car, Jayson threw a subtle glance her way and said, “I’m taking Nancy back to the office.”

After a pause, he asked, “Where are you headed?”

Ariel knew what he meant and replied coolly, “I’ll grab a cab.”

Jayson chose to drive Nancy back, but since she was here, he had to ask. Ariel knew that he wanted her to say she’d go on her own to make things easier for him.

Perry shifted slightly, feeling it wasn’t right to let Ariel go alone. But if he gave her a ride, that’d be even more awkward.

After all, Jayson was her husband.

Ariel didn’t bother with what they were thinking. She simply looked down and pulled out her phone to call a ride.

At that moment, Jayson’s phone buzzed. It was Betty calling, so he answered. “What can I do for you?”

Betty’s voice was sharp. “Are you done with work yet? Go pick Ari up and take her back to your home. I stopped by today, and Georgia said you two are hardly ever there. The place feels cold and lifeless. How could you let things get to this point?”

If she hadn’t come by, she wouldn’t have known they were avoiding home.

Jayson lowered his eyes. Flicking a lighter between his fingers, he replied smoothly, “Work’s been busy.”

“So? You still have to live your life. Don’t change the subject. Go pick Ari up. You…”

“My ride’s confirmed. I’ll leave first,” Ariel said calmly, glancing up after seeing her ride confirmed. She was ready to go.

Betty, catching Ariel’s voice on the line, hurriedly asked, “You’re right there with her, aren’t you? That’s great. Bring her home.”

Jayson’s expression stayed unreadable as he glanced at Ariel. “Grandma wants you back at our marital home.”

Ariel frowned. Her eyes flicked to his phone screen, where the call was still active.

She wanted to say no, but Nancy was there. How could she refuse? She couldn’t exactly tell Betty that Nancy was with them and that Jayson was actually just trying to give Nancy a ride.

But Betty was pressing hard for Jayson to bring her home.

Before Ariel could answer, Betty hung up. She didn’t know what to do, so she looked at Jayson.

Given how much Jayson cared about Nancy, there was no way he’d ignore her needs.

At that moment, Nancy’s expression didn’t shift in the slightest. She just looked at Jayson and said calmly, “I’ll go

to the office with Perry. Your grandma comes first. You should go check on her.”

Her tone was perfectly poised and gracious, like a couple smoothly negotiating. She had no problem stepping aside and letting Ariel take this chance.

That calm confidence only came from Jayson’s clear favoritism toward her.

Ariel’s lips curved in a bitter smile.

Since when did she, the rightful wife, have to wait for permission from another woman?

She had no intention of getting dragged into this mess. A decision formed swiftly in her mind–she’d go on her

own.

She looked up, ready to speak.

But Jayson had already glanced over coolly and beat her to it. “You’ve already booked a ride, right? Then just take the cab back. No need to make things difficult.”

He made the call without hesitation.

Ariel knew it wasn’t because his car couldn’t fit her. He could’ve dropped Nancy off first and then brought her home. He simply didn’t want her ruining his time with Nancy or tagging along as an unwelcome third wheel.

She wasn’t surprised. “Okay.”

Even Perry shot Ariel a glance, feeling an indescribable, suffocating helplessness from the sidelines. How much more so for Ariel herself?

But no matter how closely he watched, Ariel showed no sign of making a scene.

This was unusual.

Anyone would struggle to handle such a blow to their pride in a situation like this. Arguing, yelling, or crying were all understandable.

But Ariel was almost too calm.

She didn’t care what they planned. Just then, her ride arrived. Without sparing anyone another glance, she walked

away.

Watching Ariel get into the car, Perry glanced back at Jayson.

He coolly withdrew his gaze from Ariel, clearly indifferent to her choice. Then, he kindly opened the car door for

Nancy.

At that moment, Perry finally understood why Ariel had given up like this.

When all the negativity she threw out got no response, she would just run out of energy to react