<b>Ariel </b><b>couldn’t </b><b>quite </b>exin how she fell. It wasplicated.
<b>She </b><b>had </b>never nned to make her past rtionship with Jayson oblic because thest thing she wanted was more entanglement. But now, Betty didn’t know they were divorced, and the terms of the divorce prevented Ariel from saying anything about it.
Now that the truth was out, she and Jayson would likely be the center of attention.
That divorce agreement Jayson had drawn up was too clever. Every use tied her hands. She couldn’t even rify that they weren’t together anymore.
“Everyone, please turn off your phones.” Matt was the first to recover.
He nced at the celebrities and influencers he had invited and quickly said, “I hope no one reads too much into what happened today. It was all just a misunderstanding.”
He rushed to handle the mess.
This involved Jayson<b>, </b>after all. He didn’t want things to spiral out of control.
But one of the heiresses who did livestreaming for fun looked a little guilty as she said, “I forgot to turn off my stream just now. I think it went live.”
Matt frowned at those words. If it had already been livestreamed, the clip might already be circting online.
Nancy realized the same thing, and her expression turned even uglier.
Betty’s gaze swept the crowd with calm authority. “In that case, to avoid any further misunderstandings, we won’t be keeping you here any longer, Ms. Stanton. Please see yourself out.”
Those words were no different from an outright dismissal. Everyone could tell that Betty was protective of Ariel.
Of course, even though Betty had called it a “misunderstanding“, everyone knew the truth. The word “mistress<b>” </b>she used earlier had already branded Nancy. It was clear to everyone now that she was the one who had no rightful ce in this.
With the way things had unfolded, there was no need to spell everything out too bluntly. After all, both sides still had some dignity to preserve.
But one thing was crystal clear now- -the Larkins didn’t favor Nancy.
“Matt, take Nancy home,” Jayson finally spoke. His expression was still às unreadable as ever.
Matt knew that if they didn’t clear the scene now, this mess could get worse.
Nancy said nothing. Her hands were clenched tight. As she turned to leave, she cast Jayson a deep look. She still believed he would take care of things. But…
As her gazended on Ariel, it turned cold,ced with bitterness and a mocking edge.
Ariel must have done this on purpose. She had set the stage to ruin her ns and publicly humiliate her. Now Jayson had been forced to confirm their rtionship in front of everyone.
Ariel’s moves were nastier than she thought. Absolutely low–ss
Ariel didn’t even nce at her. She didn’t care what Nancy thought
“Now that everything’s been cleared up, you can get back to the party. The Larkin family is covering everything tonight. Don’t Het a little interruption spoil the fun,” Betty said, switching back to a gracious tone.
The crowd quickly echoed their agreement.
<b>But </b>Ariel <b>didn’t </b>feel <b>like </b><b>staying </b>another <b>minute</b>. She looked at Betty <b>“</b><b>Grandma</b><b>, </b>I think I’ll <b>head </b><b>out </b>first,”
<b>Betty </b><b>took </b>her <b>hand</b><b>. </b>“Come home with <b>me</b>,
<b>Ariel </b><b>figured </b>she wanted to talk<b>. </b>After <b>all</b><b>, </b>the truth was out now. There was <b>no </b>going back to pretending nothing had happened<b>. </b>
<b>Then </b>Betty looked over at Jayson, who had remained calm through the entire scene. “You too.”
Jayson didn’t argue.
<b>He </b>turned to Perry<b>, </b>who was still by the side. “Matt will be back in bit. You guys enjoy the party first.”
Perry’s gaze flicked briefly toward Ariel. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Ariel walked past Zach and Frederick without sparing them a nce. She treated them like they didn’t exist.
The two of them looked extremely pale. It was obvious that they were still struggling to process the reality of it all.