Chapter 119
Before she could say anything else, Ariel picked up on the sound of footsteps coming from the door.
A calm, deep voice said, “Have I gotten here a bit too late, honey?”
Ariel was interrupted by the voice. She turned around with a bewildered look on her face. Ariel thought she might have heard it wrongly.
The others looked in the direction of the voice, seemingly surprised as well. Jayson strode into the room.
Lucas furrowed his brows the instant he saw Jayson. He was rather surprised by the fact that Jayson was willing to do Ariel such a big favor by addressing her so intimately in front of all these people.
On second thought, Jayson was probably willing to pretend to acknowledge Ariel as his wife since only the Walkers and their close friends were there. There were no outsiders present.
Ariel probably would not have been able to hear Jayson address her that way if they had a clueless soul with them that day.
Jayson’s tall form, which was clad in a plain black suit, moved closer toward the group. After taking a glance at Ariel, he turned his eyes to Katie and said flatly, “I got held back because of some issues at work. I’m sorry, Grandma.”
Ariel’s expression hardened.
She almost forgot to control her expression after hearing Jayson calling her “honey” nonchalantly. The shock she received from hearing the way he addressed her was much greater than the shock of her seeing him here.
It made Ariel wonder what exactly Jayson was trying to achieve by doing this. He was willing to do this much just to keep up appearances?
Jayson had not once called Ariel “honey” ever since they got married. Besides, Ariel had come to terms with the fact that Jayson chose to keep Nancy and Sarah company that day. She could not help wondering what Jayson was doing here.
She subconsciously glanced at his tie. It was not the tie with the red embroidered pattern that Nancy had shared on her social media account. Instead, it was a plain black tie that fitted today’s occasion.
The frown on her forehead deepened as Ariel still could not figure out the reason behind Jayson’s actions.
Jayson directed his gaze to Ariel. He said matter–of–factly, “What’s wrong?”
Ariel finally noticed how she must be staring at him in a really strange way. She steered the topic away since Katie and the others were watching them. “Where were you just now?”
“At the office.”
Ariel fell silent. She did not buy what he said. However, she had no intention to pry and get to the bottom of things. It was not something she should do considering their current relationship.
Katie’s expression had softened considerably. As the elder in the family, she did not try to scold or give Jayson an earful. She waved her hand at the couple.
“It’s good enough that you’ve made it here in time. Let’s get started with the ceremony, then.”
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Chapter 119
+25 BONUS
Jayson gave a slight nod. He calmly followed Katie’s instructions.
Janice was momentarily stunned when she heard Jayson calling Ariel honey. With a confused expression, she poked Chad a few times. “What’s going on?”
She could not understand why Jayson was calling Ariel that when they were already getting divorced.
Chad lowered his voice. “Perhaps the two of them have reached some sort of agreement. Anyhow, I’ll take back what I said earlier since he’s here. I guess he’s not that awful of a man.”
If Jayson had really not bothered coming here today, Chad would advise Ariel to just completely forget about the man and the years she had spent beside him.
Anyway, none of them had expected to see him there right now. Logically speaking, Jayson should be staying by Nancy’s side as one of the main guests at their party.
“Perhaps… The fireworks show happening later at night should be the main event. That’s why Jayson is free to come over now?” Chad pondered.
He was not the only one who thought about it. Ariel had also made a similar guess.
The
The ceremony for Elena’s third death anniversary would end roughly before noon. Ariel reckoned Jayson would probably leave around that time.
That way, he would not appear cold–hearted and disrespectful. At the same time, he could still make time to meet up with Nancy’s group. He could kill two birds with one stone.
Lucas remained in the same spot. As if he was totally unaware of what had happened, Lucas curled his lips and greeted Jayson. He smiled enigmatically. “I thought you’d be too busy to come over today, Mr. Larkin.”
Yet, Jayson came. Lucas was frankly quite surprised. It was because he had sent Jayson the WhatsApp message around ten minutes ago…
That meant Jayson was already on his way here at the time.
Jayson turned his gaze toward Lucas. His expression remained unchanged. “Work was still alright. I still have the time to make it to our family gatherings.”
“Our family gatherings?” Lucas repeated inwardly.
He was amazed by Jayson’s ability and efforts to keep up appearances. Jayson always managed to say these things while keeping a straight face despite his reluctance.
Katie’s mood had improved. She instructed, “Ari and Jayson, you two should light the incense for your mom.”
Ariel hesitated and looked toward the man beside her. She was not sure if Jayson was willing to cooperate and complete the task with her.
Jayson sensed her gaze. He said nothing and proceeded to light the incense. He bowed slightly and carried out Katie’s instructions carefully. There was no sign of him handling the task half–heartedly.
Ariel.was momentarily dazed. However, she swiftly assisted him.
As they lit the incense for Elena, Ariel felt so sad and heartbroken that her eyes turned red.
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Chapter ip
+25 BONUS
However, she was not one to show her vulnerable side to other people. She stood facing Elena’s photo for quite some time so that others would not notice her teary eyes.
That was until someone held out a piece of tissue toward her.
She met Jayson’s cool gaze. There was an unreadable look in his eyes. “You should use it to wipe away your tears?”
Ariel was surprised by how he was showing her this much consideration.
