Jayson’s voice wasn’t loud, but it landed like a hammer, crashing to everyone’s ears with undeniable weight,
The corridor fell into sudden silence. Every single person wore some form of shock on their face.
When Nancy heard those words, her chest heaved. She clenched her fingers tightly, barely holding herself together as her composure threatened to crack.
She was stunned. Her gaze settled on Jayson’s calm face.
He actually admitted that Ariel was his wife.
Even Ariel was caught off guard. Her head snapped up, and her eye locked onto the man beside her.
As if sensing her stare, Jayson glanced down at her and said, “I’m truly sorry, everyone. We never made our relationship public for various reasons, but we’ve been married for four years now.”
Betty’s expression immediately softened. She gave a slight nod, clearly satisfied.
But for everyone else, it was like a calm lake struck by a boulder, sending shockwaves in every direction.
Matt raised a hand to his forehead. It was really over. The whole situation had completely unraveled.
Perry felt like something had yanked at his chest.
So, in the end, they were never going to get divorced.
The first to speak up was Frederick, whose face had gone completely stiff. His voice was thick with disbelief. “Mr. Larkin, then is
Ms. Stanton…”
Wouldn’t she be…
Zach felt a ringing in his ears that wouldn’t fade, like he had just been struck over the head. He stared at Ariel, who had remained calm from the beginning.
Ariel was Jayson’s wife?
Suddenly, the sarcastic words she had once thrown at him came flooding back. His cheeks burned with embarrassment. It was hard to even breathe.
“Shouldn’t you be asking Ms. Stanton that question instead?” Betty didn’t like Frederick, and it showed in her cutting tone and expression.
Her words ripped straight through the last thread of grace Nancy had been trying to hold onto.
All eyes turned to Nancy.
The scene was far beyond anything she had expected. Nancy’s lips had gone pale. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice came out hoarse. “I’m sorry. There’s been a misunderstanding. Tonight is just Jayson’s birthday party. It’s not…”
She didn’t say the word “proposal“.
She knew she had no other option at this point. The only move left was to retreat. Pushing forward would only destroy her further.
Even if Jayson wanted to defend her, there was nothing he could do now with Betty standing right there.
Luckily, she had never outright said it was a proposal. That gave her room to backpedal. After all, they were the ones who had jumped to conclusions.
But the facts were out now.
1/3
ster
+25 BONUS
Betty had spoken, and Jayson had confirmed that Nancy wasn’t his girlfriend. He was married, and his wife turned out to be none other than Ariel, the very woman who had been making heat ines lately,
Two people who had never once appeared connected in public were suddenly revealed to be husband and wife,
The shock was seismic.
Everyone’s minds were blown by the revelation.
“Ms. Walker’s been Mr. Larkin’s wife all along? You’d never guess from how they acted.”
“Gosh, we really misunderstood. Thirns out Ms. Stanton’s just Mr. Larkin’s… close friend.”
Several people looked over at Nancy again. Their gazes were now Hinged with subtle mockery.
Everyone here was part of the same circle. They knew exactly the truth behind all this.
And the fact that Jayson hadn’t said a word to defend Nancy meant slie didn’t even qualify as a close friend, To people in their circle, she was just someone who had been tagging along.
They had all thought Nancy was a cultured, elite returnee from overseas, born into an artistic, well–educated family. At the very least, she had a polished, glamorous image.
But it turned out that beneath the surface, she was a mess.
Nancy caught those veiled barbs. No matter how calm she was under normal circumstances, even she couldn’t keep her color from draining.
Frederick watched as Nancy backed down without a fight. It hit him that she had always known Jayson and Ariel were married. He felt a sense of dissonance. After all, Nancy had always been the picture of purity and elegance in his mind.
