Chapter 44
By the time Ariel reached the marital home, it was nearly 9:00 pm. The evening rush hour had delayed her significantly.
Georgia was surprised to see her back. “Mrs. Larkin, you’re back! Have you had dinner? I can prepare something for you if you’d like.”
Ariel politely shook her head. “No need to bother. I’ll be leaving soon.‘
Georgia’s expression shifted to concern. “Why are you leaving so soon? Did you have a fight with Mr. Larkin?”
Ariel opened the shoe cabinet and pulled out a pair of disposable slippers. “No.”
And it was true.
Most of the time, Jayson simply ignored her. What hurt more than feeling unloved was his indifference.
Aside from the few days each month when they followed their routine intimacy, they barely communicated, let alone argued.
They never fought.
They were just getting divorced.
Georgia had been taking care of the cleaning since they married and knew Ariel well. She thought Ariel didn’t really mean what she had said.
She couldn’t help but try to offer advice. “Mrs. Larkin, things will get better with time. Couples argue, but they make up in the end. You’ve always known that. You love Mr. Larkin so much and can’t live without him. If you keep this up…”
Could she still end this farce without looking bad?
In the end, it’d only be Ariel who had to swallow her pride and apologize. That would be embarrassing.
Ariel paused, looking dazed.
So this was how everyone saw her.
She was supposed to be the one who swallowed her anger, stayed humble, and always catered to Jayson. No one expected her to be the one to walk away.
She pulled a tight smile, trying to change the subject. “Has he been back recently?”
Georgia hesitated. “Not much.”
“I see. You can rest now.” It was just as Ariel had expected.
Of course, Jayson hadn’t come home.
He had Nancy’s comforting embrace to go to. Why would he come back here?
She went upstairs to the study. This house had two studies. One was Jayson’s private domain, which she was never
allowed to enter, and the other was open. Ariel often spent time there reading.
She’d kept up with her studies over the past three years, never falling behind the times.
Having decorated it herself, she was familiar with every corner of the study. She knew exactly where everything
was.
Ariel quickly found the book she’d been looking for on the middle shelf.
To make sure she hadn’t missed anything, she looked around again and gathered up all the books she needed to take with her. She then packed them into boxes.
It was only a bit of light lifting, but it left her winded.
Her body was weaker than she’d expected after her diagnosis.
She had to ask Georgia to help carry the boxes downstairs. As she went out, she noticed it had started snowing.
A layer of white covered the ground.
Ariel checked the time. It was already 10:30 pm.
After she got into the car, Georgia went to rest.
But after starting the engine and trying for a while, Ariel realized the car was having issues. It wouldn’t start, no matter what she did.
After a lot of messing around, there was no sign of the engine turning over.”
She had to give up driving.
Ariel checked the time again. It was already 11:00 pm.
This was a villa neighborhood with sprawling grounds. Just walking out of the area would take half an hour. Cabs couldn’t get in, and calling an Uber in the snow meant waiting in a long queue.
Ariel frowned.
She was already exhausted.
In the end, she decided to stay the night.
Since Jayson wouldn’t be coming home, there was no need to worry about facin genuen Manche
She went back upstairs.
him.
She didn’t intend to sleep in the master bedroom, so she headed for the guest room.
After taking a shower, she realized she hadn’t brought a change of clothes with her, so she wrapped herself in a towel and went to the master bedroom closet to get what she’d left behind.
Luckily, since Jayson rarely came home, Georgia hadn’t thought to throw away her clothes.
She grabbed a change of clothes and was about to leave when suddenly, the bedroom door was pushed open from the outside.
Ariel was startled.
Jayson had his coat draped over his arm. When he saw Ariel, there was no trace of surprise on his face, as if it was
exactly what he expected.
Ariel always came back.
He gave Ariel’s towel–wrapped figure a brief glance, then walked in as if nothing had happened. As he passed by her, she caught that familiar scent of women’s perfume again.
It was overpowering, as if it were marking its territory.
The Jayson who’d once been too busy to spend time with her now seemed to have no limits when it came to Nancy.
No matter how busy he was, he always made time for her.
Ariel felt uncomfortable. She wanted to explain why she was here. “Sorry, I just-”
Jayson set down his coat and glanced at her again. His eyes lingered on the sight of her towel–clad body, the delicate curve of her neck, and her slender legs.
He turned away and said flatly, “I’m not in the mood.”
