Chapter 442
With that shift in perception, when people glanced at Nancy, thelazes held something less flattering.
Nancy felt it immediately. Her face remained calm, but her grip on the pen tightened slightly..
The sudden drop from grace was a little too fast for her to process,
Ariel, meanwhile, stayed completely unaffected. After all, she had always kept herself removed from gossip and drama.
Every time someone looked like they wanted to pry or ask more, Chad would smoothly step in, redirecting them with a few easy words.
Once the meeting wrapped up,Ariel and Chad stood and left right away.
She didn’t even glance in Jayson’s
She had no intention of lingering in the spotlight or giving Jayson and Nancy any opportunity to twist the narrative.
Whatever people wanted to assume about their relationship was none of her business.
The rumors were still running wild.
As someone who had been at the party, Zach still hadn’t been able to fully recover from it all. He couldn’t quite put his feelings into words. He was just so frustrated that he wished he could hit a reset button.
That evening, he asked to meet Liam.
Liam had just returned from a nearby city, and with no work scheduled for the next day, he decided to check in on Zach.
By the time he got to the table, Zach was already halfway into a solo drinking session.
“What’s wrong? Did you get dumped?” Liam asked as he sat down beside him. After setting down his bag, he ordered a signature drink.
Zach looked at him and frowned. “Dumped? I didn’t even date anyone.”
“Then why are you drinking like it’s the end of the world?”
Zach opened his mouth, but a wave of frustration caught in his chest. The whole thing had hit him hard. Eventually, he told Liam everything that happened at the birthday party.
Liam swirled his glass lightly, not even bothering to look up. “Okay. And?”
Zach froze for a second. “Liam, don’t you think it’s insane? The real girlfriend turns out to be the mistress, and the mistress is actually the wife! I feel like a damn clown!”
Liam gave him a long look. “Didn’t I warn you? Why were you always going after Ms. Walker anyway? I don’t see you obsessing over other people’s relationships.”
Zach fell silent. “I…”
“Find a chance to apologize to Ms. Walker sincerely. Whether she accepts it is up to her, but if you mess up, you have to own it.”
Liam didn’t bother saying much more. A real man should own his mistakes, and he knew Zach would come around eventually.
As for Ariel…
Liam glanced down at the ice shifting in his drink.
Even though her relationship with Jayson was now out in the open, the situation between Jayson and Nancy wasn’t something she would simply swallow without protest.
1/3
He didn’t think Ariel was the type to suffer in silence. This marriage might not last.
He checked his watch. It wasn’t even 9:00 pm yet.
Something clicked in his mind. After some thought, Liam pulled out his phone, found Ariel’s contact on WhatsApp, and typed out a quick message.
“Ms. Walker, don’t forget your checkup at the hospital next week. I update your treatment plan and adjust the meds.”
Once the reminder was sent, he set the phone down.
Still stewing in frustration, Zach pulled out his phone, only to realize something belatedly. “I don’t even have her number. How am I supposed to talk to her about this?”
Liam didn’t answer. He wasn’t about to hand over Ariel’s number. That was Zach’s problem to solve.
Zach’s headache only got worse.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Ariel standing there, staring at him coldly while saying, “Stop writing yourself into the story. That’s not righteousness. That’s just stupidity.”
The memory made him wince. He wished the floor would swallow him whole.
Just as he sat there, gripping his phone in frustration, a news notification popped up on the screen.
Zach saw the keywords and instinctively unlocked his phone.
The headline read, “Reputable Overseas Scholar Caught in Affair Scandal?”
