Dead at Heart

The next morning, the Larkins' housekeeper, Lily Hill, arrived with Jayson's younger sister, Renee Larkin.

The 17-year-old had a striking figure and a sharp attitude. The moment she walked in, she tossed her bag onto the couch.

"Where's Ariel Walker?" She blinked up at Jayson.

Jayson finished adjusting his tie and shot her a look. "Don't be so disrespectful."

Renee pouted. "You don't even like her. Why should I respect her?"

Her mother, Evelyn Cavell, always said Ariel had married above her station. She should be grateful to them and serve them without question. What was the term again? A glorified maid?

Jayson saw right through her. "Alright, what do you want this time?" His voice was cold.

Renee's eyes darted mischievously. "Jay, you're busy today, right?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Mom's at a fashion show, Dad's overseas, and Grandma isn't well. No one can make it to my parent-teacher meeting.

"Can you ask Ariel to go? She spends your money and doesn't do anything anyway. Might as well put her to use," Renee said coyly while swinging her legs.

Jayson hesitated. "Ask her yourself."

Renee scoffed. "Please. She's always trying to get on your good side. She dotes on me like crazy, just like those scheming women in online novels. Just tell her she has to go."

Lately, she'd been obsessed with Nancy's aerospace lectures overseas, and her grades had taken a hit.

She didn't want her family at the meeting. Ariel, on the other hand, didn't matter to Renee. She didn't mind Ariel taking the teacher's scolding.

And to please Renee, Ariel definitely wouldn't rat her out to Jayson or Evelyn.

Jayson thought for a moment, then shrugged on his coat. "Fine. I'll give her a day off."

…

Ariel woke up with a pounding headache and a low-grade fever. Her immune system had been unreliable for a while now, so her body could break down at any moment.

She'd already taken sick leave the day before. She could go to the hospital today to confirm her treatment plan.

By the time she reached the hospital lobby, her legs had gone weak. She barely took a few steps before the world tilted.

"Ari!"

Ariel heard a woman's startled cry. Then, everything went black.

When she woke up, she saw her best friend, Janice Swanson, sitting by the hospital bed.

The moment she opened her eyes, Janice let out a relieved breath, then immediately started scolding, "What the hell did that bastard Jayson do to you? The doctor said you collapsed from exhaustion! You just barely broke your fever!"

Ariel tensed instinctively, worried that her illness had been discovered.

"What's wrong? Did the fever fry your brain?" Janice gasped in shock. "Doctor! She—"

"Don't shout. I'm fine," Ariel said. Her head throbbed from all the fuss. She quickly stopped Janice.

Luckily, Janice didn't know. Otherwise, with her loud nature, news of Ariel's cancer would spread across Eldoria in less than a day.

By then, Katie and Leonard would find out as well.

"What are you even doing at the hospital?" Ariel asked.

Janice shrugged. "My idiot brother drank himself into alcohol poisoning. I came to check if he was dead or not. Anyway, you look awful. Is it because of Jayson and his mistress?"

Janice had seen the live stream.

Hardly anyone knew Jayson was married, so people were obsessively rooting for his so-called perfect love story with Nancy.

That shameless couple disgusted Janice.

Ariel felt a brief moment of daze, but no anger stirred in her. "We're getting a divorce soon."

Once the 30-day cooling-off period was up, this whole ridiculous chapter of her life would finally be over.

Janice froze. Then her eyes widened in fury. She misunderstood. "He's making that bitch his wife?"

When Ariel married Jayson, she gave up her dreams and career entirely. She even turned down her lecturer's rare recommendation to join the aerospace research institute.

Instead, she devoted herself to being the perfect wife, taking care of Jayson's every need.

She loved that scumbag to the point of obsession.

To outsiders, there was no way Ariel would have been the one to ask for a divorce. It had to be Jayson who dumped her.

But Ariel shook her head. "I filed for it."

Janice stared at her, speechless for a full two minutes. Then, suddenly, she clapped her hands together.

"Finally! That's what I'm talking about! A badass, talented woman like you should be focusing on your career. Ditch Bluum Corp and join Faye Tech. How about taking an equity stake with your expertise?"

Faye Technologies specialized in cutting-edge drone technology, and Janice was one of the major shareholders.

She had no idea about the technical side of things. After all, she'd been a terrible student all her life.

But she knew one fundamental truth—money talked, and she was willing to spend a lot of it.

At the mention of Faye Technologies, something in Ariel's pale face finally lit up.