“Up to you. Just make sure you explain to Grandma when she asks.” Jayson gave Ariel a long look as he adjusted

his tie.

She instantly understood. So, this was just about pacifying Betty, who’d been complaining about his lack of concern for Ariel.

Downstairs, Betty had returned from her morning walk. She’d gotten up early to make Ariel a nourishing soup.

Not wanting her effort to go to waste, Ariel endured her discomfort and forced herself to drink some.

“Jay, why don’t you leave with Ari?” Betty warmly suggested.

Jayson paused and looked at Ariel, who recalled the phone call from earlier and said, “No need, Grandma. I have something to take care of in the opposite direction.”

Betty glanced at Jayson, who didn’t bother responding. She immediately understood that he did not intend to leave with Ariel and fumed.

Ariel knew Jayson was going to pick up Nancy, and she hadn’t forgotten how he’d left her stranded on the roadside just days ago. She had no interest in reliving that humiliation.

After stepping outside with him, she made sure the household staff and Betty had gone back in before turning to Jayson. He was talking on the phone as she said, “I’ll be busy from now on, so I won’t be coming back here again.”

They were divorced, and if he wasn’t going to clear things up with Betty, constantly getting called back here again would only make things uncomfortable for both of them.

She hoped Jayson would settle things with Betty quickly, and of course, she could still meet Betty in private. The marriage was over, but there was no need to hurt the latter.

Jayson turned around, but Ariel had left.

He frowned slightly as Matt’s curious voice came from the phone. “Wow. Is Ariel threatening you by not coming home now? She’s pulling all the tricks lately!”

It seemed Ariel was going all out!

Jayson casually replied, “Who cares?”

Ariel returned home to freshen up before heading to the office.

All morning, she was in meetings with Chad. Their next project was taking shape, and if everything went well, it could be launched by year’s end.

As noon approached, Chad took her on a visit to Jadeon Technologies as a technical consultant.

It wasn’t until they arrived that Ariel realized it was a subsidiary of Johnstone Group, and Lucas was now in charge.

As they entered the lobby, Ariel noticed a familiar group not far away. A woman was gracefully clinging to a man’s arm and engaging smoothly with executives of Jadeon Technologies.

+25 BONUS

When Ariel glanced over, Jayson happened to look up, but his eyes briefly swept past her as if he didn’t know her at all.

For the entirety of their three–year marriage, this guarded distance had been a constant. It was a pattern Ariel had come to recognize all too well.

Nancy spotted her too, but she didn’t bother to acknowledge her.

Ariel calmly looked away. Without Jayson, Nancy might not even get access to the business elites, even with all her degrees. But now that she was Jayson’s girlfriend, all of them had to show her respect.

Suddenly, Ariel thought of what Evelyn had once said. In many ways, Nancy was exactly the kind of woman they wanted to bear the heir to the Larkin family.

In a wealthy family like theirs, superior genetics was what mattered most.

Their host was Ryan from Jadeon Technologies. It was nearly 12:30 pm after they wrapped up their main discussions.

Ryan suggested, “Why don’t the two of you join us for a quick lunch? The cafeteria is quite good. If you don’t mind

Chad checked the time and realized it was getting late. He looked to Ariel for her opinion, who had no objections.

So, the group made their way to the cafeteria.

They hadn’t expected to run into Jayson, Nancy, Lucas, and Wendy, walking in side by side like impeccable matches made in heaven.

The four were there for lunch too.

The scene made Ariel feel like she could hardly breathe as her feet came to a halt.

On the other hand, Ryan was delighted. “What a coincidence! If you all don’t mind, why don’t we eat together?”