Chapter <b>279 </b>


    “You and your husband still don’t have a child of your owns it because you can’t or you don’t want to?” The look of scorn in Lucas‘ eyes became even more prominent. Still, he had a smile on his lips.


    Others would think that this was just Lucas‘ way of teasing Ariel in a yful manner.


    Lucas could tell that Jayson didn’t love Ariel. Naturally, Jayson wouldn’t want Ariel to bear his child. Yet, Ariel was still trying so hard to maintain her marriage, which was slowly falling apart. Lucas found it extremely amusing


    Ariel’s expression hardened.


    Lucas was unaware of her health condition. There was a high chance Ariel wouldn’t be able to conceive in the future. With him asking the question in front of all these people…


    Others might think Lucas was telling Ariel to try for a baby soon out of concern. For Ariel, what he did was no different than him rubbing salt into her wound.


    He reminded Ariel about her marriage, in which she waspletely despised and neglected. Also, Ariel was being reminded of the pain and despair of possibly losing her life and reproductive rights.


    Ariel could tell that Lucas was doing it on purpose. However, these were all her personal matters. She had no interest in arguing with him either.


    Besides, the topic was rather sensitive. Ariel couldn’t mention or discuss anything about Jayson or their divorce.


    She had an icy look on her face. “It’s not something you need to be worried about, Mr. Sanderson.”


    Lucas‘ eyes hardened when he heard how Ariel had addressed him. He knitted his brows.


    Chad stood in front of Ariel, blocking her from Lucas‘ view. He smiled dryly. “Ari ces a lot of focus on her work. Instead of just taking care of her husband and kids, she can showcase her abilities on a bigger tform. Isn’t it a good thing that she’s notpletely bound by her marriage and family life?”


    Lucas narrowed his eyes and responded, “You have a point, Mr. Hockney.”


    Jayson heard what Lucas had said earlier as well.


    His eyshes fluttered slightly. He was not looking at Ariel’s face or expression. His eyes were devoid of emotion as he remained silent.


    Nancy froze for a split second. Then, she sent a sidelong nce at Ariel.


    Some really decent men would wait a long time before getting intimate with the woman they loved because they cherished that person a lot. On the other hand, some men wouldn’t have any urges at all even if they were to sleep on the same bed with a woman they did not love. Naturally, they wouldn’t let the woman conceive their child either.


    Nancy thought about how Ariel seemed to have zero worth. She found it rather pathetic.


    She smiled slightly and shook her head.


    Then, Nancy averted her gaze and crossed her legs. It was impossible to tell what her thoughts were as she smilednguidly.


    They moved on from that topic fairly quickly.


    Wendy appeared as though she hadn’t noticed the strange atmosphere from earlier. With a smile on her face, she circled her arms around Lucas‘ waist and directed her gaze to Jayson and Nancy. “Nancy, does Mr. Larkin like


    children?”


    Nancy chuckled softly and nced at Jayson with a gentle look in her eyes. “He loves kids. Jayson has been working on renovating his house recently. He had the interior designer include a baby room too.”


    With a knowing look on her face, Wendy winked at Nancy. It seems like… Mr. Larkin already has a n, then.”


    Nancy merely smiled faintly without making any furtherments.


    Jayson kept silent since he had never liked sharing about these private matters.


    Ariel heard everything they said. However, she couldn’t care less about these things.


    She turned her eyes to Chad and whispered to him, “The ship will probably sail further out to the sea. I’m thinking of heading back to the shore first.”


    The organizers had prepared the rooms on the cruise ship for their guests.


    However, Ariel preferred not to spend the night in this environment. She would probably get seasick if she were to stay any longer.


    Chad nced at his watch. “Jan is probably somewhere on the floor below. We’ll head back with you. They’ve arranged for smaller ships to follow along the cruise ship’s course. Those ships can take people back tond at any time.”


    Ariel shook her head. “It’s alright. You and Janice should stay and enjoy the night. There are a few of the guests here whom we may consider coborating with in the future. You should try to get acquainted with them.”


    Chad didn’t insist on leaving with Ariel since he agreed with her opinion.


    Without telling anyone else about it, Ariel disembarked from the cruise ship shortly afterward.


    Still, Zach noticed it. He looked in the direction where Ariel had walked off to.


    He had once again heard about Ariel being married. This time, it was Lucas who mentioned it.


    After a moment’s consideration, he asked Jayson in a seemingly casual tone, “It seems like Mr. Sanderson is pretty close with Ariel’s husband too. Why hasn’t her husbande to the engagement party, though?”