Ariel didn’t quite understand what Jayson was thinking. Why go tough the motions when Betty wasn’t even around to see it?
Besides, shouldn’t he be in a rush to find Nancy right now and clean up the fallout from tonight’s scandal?
This might be the first time Nancy had suffered such a major blow No doubt she needed Jayson to comfort her.
“Your address?” Jayson turned toward Ariel. “It’s late. It’s not safe to be out this late alone.”
Clearly, he wasn’t giving her a choice.
Ariel didn’t feel like arguing, so she typed her home address into the GPS.
The ride was silent. Neither of them spoke.
Just before they arrived, Jayson’s phone, which was resting on the center console, suddenly rang.
The sharp sound cut through the silence. Ariel instinctively glanced at the screen.
It was a call from someone saved as “Babe“.
She quickly looked away.
Jayson didn’t bother hiding it. He just answered the call.
Nancy’s voice came through, sounding tired. “Jayson, are you done over there?”
Jayson replied with a hum of acknowledgment.
E
Nancy was clearly shaken by everything that had happened, but she still tried to sound composed. “Did I make things hard for you? You were forced to acknowledge Ariel. That must’ve caused trouble for you, right?”
Forced to?
Ariel heard the wording and thought Nancy wasn’t wrong.
Jayson’s voice stayed steady. “It’s fine.”
“I’m not sure how to explain things to everyone now. Jayson, what do you think?” Nancy sounded serious.
“I’m in the middle of something. Let’s talk later.” Jayson didn’t elaborate.
Nancy understood that he probably had just as many headaches to deal with as she did right now. After all, he had worked so hard to avoid being seen as connected to Ariel, And now, Ariel had set him up.
“Okay, I’ll wait for your call.”
With that, the call ended.‘
Ariel sat there, having listened to every word, and couldn’t help but feel like she was the third wheel.
After all, Nancy had planned to propose tonight. In the end, things took an unexpected turn. Her perfect plan fell apart, and she had to be talked about behind her back.
If Betty hadn’t shown up, Ariel was pretty sure Jayson wouldn’t have said no to Nancy’s proposal.
She turned toward the window. The phone call didn’t faze her at all
Jayson, naturally, didn’t offer any explanation.
About half an hour later, they pulled up in front of her neighborhood.
This was Jayson’s first time seeing where she lived after she had moved out of their marital home.
It was a high–end neighborhood with tight security and a clean environment.
When Ariel got out, Jayson followed. He stood next to the car, looking at her.
Ariel spoke first. “You should know that none of what happened today was something I planned. I’ve never intended to bring up our relationship to anyone. It’s already in the past, after all. So if you publicly acknowledged it, that’s on you. It doesn’t count as me breaching the agreement.”
That was the main point she needed to make.
If Nancy hadn’t chosen tonight to propose, none of this would have escalated.
Jayson looked at her under the moonlight and replied calmly as usual, “Yeah, it’s not your responsibility. It’s on me.”
That answer was enough to ease Ariel’s concern.
“Since our marriage is exposed, the clause is void. But you still need to keep the divorce under wraps,” Jayson reminded her.
Ariel understood that perfectly well. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have gone along with the whole act at Larkin Manor.
“Sure.” As long as Jayson didn’t pin the exposure on her, she didn care about the rest.
She didn’t bother to invite him in for tea. She simply turned and walked inside.
Jayson didn’t leave right away. He leaned against the car, looking around the neighborhood, deep in thought.
Nancy hadn’t told Sarah what happened yet. She was afraid the latter would blow up.
She barely slept that night.
The next morning, when she showed up at Veyo Solutions, she looked visibly worn down.
The moment she walked into the office, she felt all the stares coming at her from every direction.
