Chapter <b>416 </b>


    Ariel <b>was </b>stunned for a moment.


    After all<b>, </b>she had been convincing herself to ept the reality of needing a full hysterectomy.


    Liam could tell she was shaken. He knew that a patient who had suffered both physically and mentally neededfort, but he still had toy out all the risks and consequences clearly.


    Softening his voice, he said, “But it’ll take coordination on several fronts, and the risks are rtively high. I’m currently developing a new medication with a team overseas.


    “It’s still in the trial stage, and the earliest it could be ready for clinical use is in about two months. But if you trust me, I can start treating you first. The main goal is to avoid removal unless it’s absolutely necessary.”


    Ariel’s mind raced.


    This was her body. She’d be the one bearing the risks. She needed to think it through.


    While Ariel stayed silent, Liam looked at her and asked, “Can you give me some time?”


    Once the medication was ready for clinical use, he could do his best to preserve Ariel’s ability to have children.


    Ariel had never been one to hesitate. After a deep breath, she answered, “Okay, I’m in.”


    Her decisiveness caught Liam off guard. She was cing her faith entirely in him, after all.


    “Do you want to talk it over with your family or partner first?” Liam asked, fulfilling his duty as a doctor.


    Ariel gave a faint smile. “No need. I can make my own decisions.”


    Liam nodded and didn’t push further.


    At this point, he had a fairly clear picture of Ariel’s physical and emotional condition.


    After they wrapped up, Ariel thanked him politely.


    Now Liam would begin building a tailored treatment n for her.


    Liam prescribed her some new medication, all of which came with a hefty price tag. Despite that, Ariel felt a flicker of hope and maybe even a bit of wishful thinking.


    She couldn’t help but wonder if Liam would have even offered to treat her if she hadn’t been so forgiving about Vireon Technologies.


    On Sunday, Ariel packed her things with minimal fuss.


    She and Chad were flying out for an international academic conference. The event itself wouldst around three days, but with the round trip, they’d be gone for five or six.


    Janice would be holding things down at Faye Technologies.


    On Monday, she and Chad boarded their flight to Nacsall.


    Over ten hourster, they arrived at the luxury hotel where all attendees were staying.


    Ariel didn’t travel often<b>, </b>so the whole experience felt fresh. Still, the long–haul flight left herpletely drained.


    After checking in, she skipped dinner and copsed into bed for several hours.


    By the time she woke, it was nearly <b>12:00 </b>pm.


    Since the conference’s opening ceremony was scheduled for the next day, today’s itinerary was fairly open.


    Ariel quickly got herself ready, then sent Chad a text to ask if he wanted to grab a bite.


    She had noticed a cozy Fiorvellian restaurant downstairs when they checked in.


    Chad replied, telling her to go ahead and order first.


    Ariel headed down, picked a table on the patio, and ced her order.


    It had been a long time since she felt this rxed. She even snapped a quick picture of the restaurant and posted it to her social feed with the location tagged.


    She had barely been seated for a few minutes when she <b>saw </b>two familiar figures exiting the hotel lobby.


    Nancy walked ahead. Smiling, she turned back and pointed toward the same restaurant while the man behind her continued his phone call.


    As Jayson ended his call and looked up, his eyesnded on Ariel, who was sitting under a patio umbre.


    He didn’t look surprised. If anything, it seemed like he had been expecting it.


    Nancy saw her too but barely spared Ariel a nce before turning back to Jayson. “The foie gras here is really good. I used toe by whenever I had the time. You should try itter.”


    Jayson nodded. “Alright.”


    And just like that, the two of them walked right past Ariel.


    Jayson didn’t say a word to her, and Nancy acted as if she didn’t exist, happily chatting with him as they walked by.


    Ariel didn’t care. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were here for a date or a little getaway.


    Just then, Chad arrived and caught sight of the pair too.


    “Nancy signed up for the conference. Jayson’s probably one of the attendees. Guess he’s just tagging along to keep herpany.”


    He must have looked into the attendee list and had a rough idea of who wasing.


    Ariel nodded. She had been narrow–minded to assume they were here just for a vacation.


    This particr academic conference had strict invitations. The only attendees were leading professionals in the field, schrs, high–levelpany execs, and a handful of independent standouts who applied and got epted.


    Nancy clearly fell into thatst group.


    <b>Chapter </b>417