Colton’s surprise was absolute as Ariel swept past him, her eyes fixed straight ahead, offering him no acknowledgment whatsoever.

What had gotten into her? It was obvious she’d seen him, yet she hadn’t even offered a polite greeting.

“Mr. Zeller, what’s going on?” someone called out to him.

Colton snapped out of it and said, “It’s nothing. I’ll report the details to Mr. Larkin.”

Before leaving, he frowned again in Ariel’s direction. What exactly was she playing at?

+25 BONUS

At Bluum Corp Tower, Jayson had just ended a meeting. As he walked, he skimmed over the report Colton had handed him. The latter dismissed the rest of the secretaries and followed Jayson into the office.

“Mr. Larkin, GildSynergy has offered a small concession. They seem sincere, so please take a look.”

Jayson flipped through the file and signed his name. “Good work.”

Without looking up, he asked, “How’s the contact with Mr. Hockney coming along?”

Nancy had always wanted to meet Carlos, and Jayson had been trying to pull the strings for her.

Colton hesitated briefly before saying, “It’s a little tough. Mr. Hockney is eccentric and doesn’t attend private gatherings or public events. We need to seek a different plan.

“It doesn’t matter what it takes as long as this gets done,” Jayson casually stated as he capped his pen.

Colton understood how much Jayson valued Nancy and would go that far to connect with Carlos just to fulfill her wish. All that was for Nancy to make a name for herself and gain a solid foothold in the industry.

But…

“I ran into Ms. Walker at GildSynergy just now.” Colton thought about Ariel’s blatant disregard and scoffed inwardly. He figured she’d just been putting on an act. In the end, she’d still come crawling back and suck up to Jayson.

Jayson raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”

Colton replied, “She’s quite full of herself now that she’s working with Mr. Hockney.” Ariel was already acting like she was too good for anyone.

It was only now that Jayson shot him a glance. His voice was cold but carried undeniable authority as he warned, She’s joined Faye Tech and may even be a partner in the future. Show some respect and adjust your attitude.”

Colton froze and couldn’t understand what Jayson meant by that. Regardless, he lowered his head and said, ‘ Understood, Mr. Larkin.”

||

Jayson glanced at his watch and got up to leave, while Colton caught a glimpse of the cabinet across the room and asked, “Do you want me to clear out everything Mrs. Larkin sent earlier?”

Ariel had had Colton bring the things over to Jayson, but they’d been left untouched in the cabinet all this time.

Now that she wasn’t at Bluum Corp anymore, keeping her stuff was taking up space, wasn’t it?

Without looking back, Jayson nonchalantly replied, “Leave them.”

That afternoon, Ariel was surprised to receive a call from Jayson. He’d rarely contacted her since she’d moved out. This was the only time he did it, and it was in the middle of the night.

Most of the time, Jayson seemed to forget he even had a wife.

Ariel picked up the call. “What’s up?”

Jayson’s deep voice came from the other end of the line. “Grandma is asking for you.”

She thought about it and said, “Got it.”

This time, he didn’t hang up right away. Instead, he slowly added, “Don’t tell Grandma anything about my situation.”

He was referring to the affair with Nancy and everything else.

Ariel gave a silent, bitter smile. Before she could respond, he’d hung up and was completely unconcerned about her reaction or feelings, just like always.

He believed she would always put him first and never turn down his requests. That was why he didn’t care how she answered and was sure that she wouldn’t dare go against him.

Ariel took a deep breath. Sure, she wouldn’t say anything since Betty had high blood pressure and heart issues. She didn’t want to cause the latter any distress.

After getting off work, Ariel returned to Larkin Manor. That was when she learned Betty had arranged for pearl lobsters to be flown in from Fiorvell.

Ariel loved seafood, and Betty had always kept that in mind. She’d always been fond of Ariel.

“I’ve been thinking about it. You’ve lost weight lately, so I’ve asked to prepare some good supplements for you. You need to take better care of yourself.”