<b>Chapter </b><b>673 </b>
Jayson’s head pounded like it was splitting open<b>, </b>but he couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his <b>eyes</b>, Ariel’s cold face carved itself into his mind, hammering at him without pause.
He sat in the nursery for two straight hours before finally standing.
Out in the living room, he dug out an old pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the cab. Without ncing at Georgia, he said, “Make a few dishes that are good for recovery in the way Ariel likes them. Give them to Toby and have him send them to the hospital.”
Georgia immediately sensed something was wrong. “Is Mrs. Larkin sick? Should I deliver them myself<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“No need. Let Toby go.”
Jayson’s voice was rough. He mped his lips around the cigarette and lowered his head to light it. His hand was trembling, so the lighter sparked a few times before the me finally caught. After that, he turned and walked toward the balcony.
Georgia would be going back to Larkin Manor sooner orter. Jayson didn’t want word of Ariel losing the baby to reach his family. That would only trigger a storm of questions she couldn’t handle.
Georgia didn’t know what had happened, but after working for the Larkins for more than ten years, she had never seen Jayson so defeated.
Still, she knew her ce. The affairs of her employee weren’t hers to meddle in.
Ariel remained in the hospital for two days.
During that time, Jayson never showed. Only his driver came, dropping off meals three times a day. It was as if Jayson had vanished.
However, Ariel didn’t ask about him.
When she was discharged, she returned to her neighborhood.
Chad had heard about her situation, from losing the baby to the cancer.
Since Ariel hadn’t gone back to Faye Technologies, she couldn’t use any excuses to hide it from him.
She had thought Chad would at least be calmer than Janice, yet when he rushed over, his eyes were red as he red at her with both frustration and concern.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and say, “Ariel, do you even consider us your friends? What do you think friends are for? Why did you shoulder everything alone?”
<b>1/4 </b>
But Ariel was already so frail.
Chad swallowed down his anger. With his hands on his hips, he forced himself to breathe evenly but still couldn’t ept this.
Finally, he said, “Stop all your work right now and focus on your treatment! Stop worrying about everything else!”
The baby was gone, and though that grief would linger, what mattered most now was Ariel.
She hadn’t expected this reaction from him. He was far more forceful than Janice, and there was no way she could brush him off.
So she tried bargaining. “I promise, once I finish up the 719 base project, I’ll stop and focus on my treatment. My condition is stable enough now. You know how it is. Once you’re in the national research engineering team, you can’t just pull out halfway.”
Chad knew she was right. He clenched his jaw, staring at her helplessly.
Ariel was too stubborn to confide in them, and now it was toote to have her quit.
He forced down his emotions, thinking how unfair life was for piling every hardship onto Ariel. “Fine. Handle the 719 base project as much as you can, but your graduate school is starting soon. You don’t have the energy for it. I’ll talk to my dad and postpone your enrollment. I won’t let you push yourself recklessly.
11
Ariel understood that as well. At the moment, postponing was the only choice.
Chad also tly forbade her from going back to work at Faye Technologies. He ordered her to rest for at least two weeks. With the baby gone, she needed time to recover.
Ariel didn’t argue. Still, if tasks came from the 719 base, she would do her best to take care of them.
She hadn’t told Katie or Leonard about her condition. She kept their calls brief, careful not to raise
suspicion.
Janice decided to stay and take care of her.
Ariel never saw Jayson again from across the hall. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
She wasn’t surprised.
Even knowing her illness meant she couldn’t keep the baby, she still grieved the loss. How much worse <fn0074> Checktest chapters at find~novel</fn0074>
must it have been for Jayson, who thought she simply didn’t want the baby<b>? </b>
She knew he wasn’t exactly even–tempered.
Arielsted barely over a week at home before returning to work.
Grief had no end. She needed something to keep her mind upied, or she would drown in it.
The hospital and Liam hadn’t given her answers yet. She suspected the hospital would suppress the incident, and the police investigation would take time.
A clear conclusion might be far off, but she needed one. She needed proof of who had targeted her.
Once back at the military base, Ariel immediately called a team meeting.
Over at the hangar, work on the stealth parameters for the aircraft was in full swing. Next, she would
need to lead the team on the flight control system.
As she left the conference room, she came face–to–face with a man.