Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 672

Ariel's gaze flickered. She never expected Isaac's treatment of Leonard to somehow involve Jayson.

Isaac finally remembered everything. "Ms. Walker, back when you were waiting for Mr. Walker's surgery, I remember thinking Mr. Larkin looked familiar. I'm not great with faces, so it took me a while. I was swamped with work overseas and barely had time to come back. Mr. Larkin must've coordinated with the hospital over a month or two to make that happen."

And the hospital had offered him a hefty bonus, plus pay 40% higher than what he earned abroad. That was a big part of why he came back.

Janice looked confused. "Wait, I thought Dr. Spencer introduced you to Ariel."

She didn't see how Jayson fit into this.

Isaac smiled. "I got assigned to the hospital where Mr. Walker was being treated, and since I specialize in oncology, it was only natural I'd end up handling his case. Even without Liam's introduction, there would have been a public onboarding ceremony at the hospital. Ms. Walker would've found out about me and reached out anyway."

Everything lined up in a way that made the outcome inevitable.

Ariel stayed silent for a long time. Saying she wasn't surprised would have been a lie. She had thought she had tried hard to connect with Isaac through Liam.

But Jayson never mentioned any of this.

By now, she could roughly understand what he was thinking back then. He must have held back and not been fully honest with her because of Lucas.

Leonard's treatment was a big favor.

But now, her relationship with Jayson was essentially broken. How could one even separate right from wrong in all this?

Ariel could only give a bitter smile, unable to put the feelings into words. She had no energy to focus on Jayson.

The baby was never meant to stay, yet saying goodbye to it in such a painful way left her heart with lingering sorrow.

Liam could tell Ariel was still fragile. "You need to rest well. Your mood affects your recovery more than you realize. Once you're fully back on your feet, we can discuss treatment again."

He wasn't an overly empathetic person, but Ariel was the only patient he interacted with frequently. He knew a lot about her experiences and struggles and couldn't help but pity her at times.

"I understand." Ariel's face was pale, and her expression was blank, as if all her energy had drained away.

Liam gave her a long look before leaving with Isaac.

The day he saw that email, he recognized the hospital in the background and knew Ariel's neighborhood was nearby. Once he confirmed she was pregnant, he felt as if his heart was about to burst through his chest.

He wished he could have shown her all the feelings he usually kept buried beneath his calm exterior.

He knew he wasn't a good person, but all the sincerity he had was given wholly to Ariel. So when he discovered her heart might belong to someone else, his pride shattered. The pain cut to the bone, and he could neither accept nor face it.

With the baby, he thought he finally had a ray of hope. Yet, it shattered in an instant. It once again forced him to watch helplessly as Ariel showed how she didn't love him.

Before leaving for his business trip, he had considered many things. Since Cecilia had learned of Ariel's pregnancy, he had arranged bodyguards to protect Ariel in secret, to avoid another abduction like last time. However, he kept them hidden so as not to affect her daily freedom.

But this time, Ariel had gone to the hospital herself. Inside the hospital, there was only so much his bodyguards could do.

He had taken precautions, but in the end, Ariel wouldn't wait for him.

Some decisions just couldn't be stopped, no matter how hard he tried.