Chapter <b>50 </b>
Leonard still looked frail. Chemotherapy had taken a visible toll, and he always wore a knitted beanie.
When Ariel arrived, he was sitting on the balcony and basking in the winter sun.
She couldn’t help but be reminded of how she looked when her chemotherapy began. The thought sent her zoning out before she handed over two carefully wrapped gifts.
“Happy birthday, Uncle Leo. These are from me and Jayson<b>.</b><b>” </b>
She’d chosen a rare set of books on physics as his gift. It’d taken her quite some time to find them.
Leonard was a physics professor and once a prominent name in academia, loved by generations of students. He’d devoted his entire life to physics.
If not for what happened back then, perhaps he would be mentioned in the same breath as Carlos by now.
As for Jayson’s gift, she picked out a luxury foundation pen, worth over ten thousand dors. It was a practical gift for Leonard and fitting for Jayson’s style.
“Mr. Larkin’s busy?” Leonard casually asked as he epted the gifts with a smile.
Ariel nodded and yed along. “Yeah. It’s the year–end, and he gets busy around these times.”
She knew that now they were divorced, it wouldn’t be easy to convince Jayson toe along and help her exin things to Katie and Leonard. He didn’t love her, so dealing with her family was a waste of his time.
“Just you?” Katie emerged from the kitchen and nced toward the door. Shaking her head in disappointment, she set down a te of sweet and sour ribs. “Well then, let’s just enjoy a quiet family dinner.”
A pang of guilt struck Ariel. Her life had gonepletely off course, while Katie and Leonard were constantly worried for her.
The thought stung especially when she knew Jayson had never once shown them proper respect.
He hadn’t bothered toe and give any sort of exnation to the elders, even when they got divorced. She couldn’t bring herself to tell them the divorce, as she had yet toe up with a reason that could appease the two.
It was because Nancy, the woman Jayson had cheated with, was the daughter of the woman who once stole Elena’s research and used her of having an affair with another man, Sarah.
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If Katie and Leonard found out, they’d be devastated.
Pu
She needed Jayson to face this and resolve it himself, but that idea gave her a headache.
Leonard gave her a kind pat on the shoulder and reassuringly said, “Mr. Larkin manages so manypanies. It’s year–end, and it’s understandable he’s swamped. A birthday isn’t that important.”
Katie brought her a bowl of freshly stewed chicken soup. “You’re Jayson’s wife, and you don’t have to bother with <b>us</b>. Leonard and I don’t care about formalities. As long as he treats you well, that’s all that matters.”
Leonard frowned and gave Ariel a long, worried look. “You don’t seem welltely. Are you feeling okay? Have you seen a doctor?”
He had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right with her.
Ariel had never been <b>a </b>fan of makeup<b>, </b>buttely she always appeared meticulously done up. Though they couldn’t tell what exactly was <b>off</b><b>, </b>she’d clearly lost weight on her cheeks.
She was startled. She hadn’t figured out how to break the news of her illness yet, so for now<b>, </b><b>all </b>she could do was keep it hidden. “I’m fine, just busy with a new job. Nothing to worry about.”
Leonard still looked concerned.
Katie noticed it too. She gently added more food to Ariel’s te and asked, “Is it the stress? Don’t <b>feel </b>like you have to lower your head in your husband’s family.
“Worst case, I’ll just sell the family home. You’ll have money to invest in thepany, and I’ll always be here for you.”
The family home was now worth at least 200 million dors. That would be Ariel’s safety even without the Larkin family.
Ariel’s eyes warmed with tears. She shook her head and murmured, “No. Just stay here. We can’t sell this ce. You and Grandpa spent a lifetime here, and it means so much.”
Katie patted her hand in distress and said no more.
After dinner, Ariel stayed the night. Even then, she didn’t rest and pulled out herptop to continue refining her project proposal.
A sudden string of WhatsApp messages from Chad interrupted her focus. He’d sent ten messages in a row.
There was a coge screenshot and a few candid couple shots. The pictures were from Nancy’stest update, captioned, “Epitome of happiness.‘
The screenshot showed a dinner gathering, photos of the restaurant, the dishes, and a morous woman chatting with Jayson. There were three other pictures of just Nancy and Jayson.
Chad asked, “Last time Jayson used his connections to bring Nancy to that dinner with me, we exchanged numbers. Look at this. Are they just unting it now?
“Aren’t you two still technically married? They’re not even pretending anymore.”
Ariel instantly recognized the morous woman beside Jayson as Nancy’s mother, Sarah. She’d epted help from Elena, only to rise as one of the top socialites.
No wonder Jayson had firmly said he was too busy toe today for Leonard’s birthday; he’d prioritized meeting
his future mother–inw.
In the picture, his expression while looking at Nancy was soft and carried a faint smile at the corner of his lips. Their gentle gazes met.
Ariel scanned her memory and realized something ridiculous. In their three years of marriage, she and Jayson had never taken a single picture together, except for their wedding pictures.
Jayson had never liked taking pictures. She’d suggested taking one on an anniversary, but he’d brushed it off and said it was meaningless.
Meanwhile, he appeared utterly rxed in his pictures with Nancy<b>, </b>and his smile carried <b>a </b>casual fondness.
He lovedmemorating every moment with her.