Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 112

Chapter 112

“Ari, tell me the truth. Is there something going on between you and Jayson?” Katie’s eyes were fixed on Ariel. Her gaze was full of worry.

Ariel pressed her lips together, unable to bring herself to tell Katie about Jayson and Nancy.

Nancy was Sarah’s daughter, after all. If Katie found out, she’d be devastated.

“He’ll come,” Ariel finally said, choosing to avoid the heart of the matter.

Katie stared at her for a moment, then sighed. “If it weren’t for the bond between Jeremy and Timothy as war comrades, I would’ve confronted Betty myself by now and demanded an explanation.”

It was Betty who had firmly agreed to the marriage back then, promising that Ariel would never be mistreated. Katie had believed her.

But now? What was with this lukewarm attitude?

Ariel gently tried to calm Katie. “Grandma, it’s late. You should go get some rest.”

She would handle these things herself. She didn’t want Katie getting involved and ending up angry or hurt.

Katie seemed like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she just reminded Ariel to be careful on the road and went back upstairs.

Ariel had driven herself to the hospital, but the nursing home’s parking lot was full, so she’d left her car near the outpatient building out front. She took her time walking over, treating it as a chance to clear her head.

When she reached the parking lot, she suddenly heard a flirtatious voice not far off. “Lucas, kiss me again…”

Ariel’s steps faltered. She instinctively turned toward the sound.

Under the dim lighting of the parking lot, a woman was clinging to a man by the door of a flashy Mercedes G- Wagon. She was tiptoeing, planting light kisses along the man’s jaw.

It was the kind of action that came with a hint of seduction.

Lucas had one hand at her waist. His expression was hidden in the shadows, but his voice was casual and unrushed. “Getting this bold out in the open? You know there are…”

His words cut off abruptly as his peripheral vision caught Ariel standing not too far away.

A flicker of something crossed his eyes.

The next moment, he changed his demeanor completely. He pulled Wendy into his arms. With one hand braced against the car door, he tilted her chin up and lowered his head to bite and kiss along her neck.

+25 BONUS

He wanted to see whether she had truly stopped caring or was just putting on an act.

Ariel turned away, exhaled slowly, and resumed walking toward her car with a blank expression.

Seeing her reaction, Lucas frowned at once. He let go of Wendy almost immediately.

Wendy, still caught up in the moment, looked up at him breathlessly. “What’s wrong?”

Frowning, Lucas pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Didn’t you say your stomach was hurting? Let’s see what the test results say later.”

Wendy pouted and clung to his arm. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Why don’t we just go back? Stopping halfway is torture…”

She had gone to Lucas‘ place today, planning to get a little intimate. But he’d been buried in work and ignored her.

Bored, she started playing with the knick–knacks in his study. She accidentally broke one of a pair of handmade ceramic cups on his bookshelf.

To her shock, Lucas had gotten angry at her for the first time. His face had gone cold, and he snapped at her for touching things without permission.

When he snatched the broken pieces from her hands, Wendy saw a deep sorrow and a flicker of panic in his eyes.

In that moment, all the frustration she’d felt from him snapping at her disappeared. She realized that Lucas was worried she might get hurt by the broken shards.