Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 712

Lucas' mind went completely blank. He had suspected Ariel might be ill, but it was the truth about the past that shattered him the most.

Not long after Lucas stepped out of the hospital building, an anxious and agitated Wendy arrived. She had instructed men to keep a close watch on him, unwilling to let Lucas meet Ariel in secret. Yet, reports came in that he had done exactly that.

Wendy stormed out of the car and confronted him, her teeth clenched. "Lucas, how could you do this to me? If not for you and Ariel, would I have lost my child? Why are you still trying to see her?"

Her voice was shrill with rage. The trauma of the induced abortion had left her scarred, and in her grief, she pinned the blame on both Lucas and Ariel. If Ariel hadn't kept giving him false hope, Wendy believed, Lucas wouldn't struggle so hard to let go of her.

Lucas only stared at her in silence.

In a fit of fury, Wendy hurled her handbag at him. "Lucas, this is cheating! We only postponed the wedding because I just lost our child. But we'll still marry soon! How can you meet another woman behind my back?"

Without a word, Lucas raised his hand and slapped her.

The turbulent emotions surging through Wendy dissipated instantly. She staggered a little. With one hand covering her swollen cheek, Wendy stared at the expressionless Lucas, looking shocked and dumbfounded.

"How could you…"

"After you had an induced abortion, I figured I should at least take responsibility for what happened. After all, you hadn't done anything wrong. Yet, it turned out you didn't deserve me doing something like that for you."

Lucas' face twisted into a scowl as his words ground out between clenched teeth.

Wendy shuddered. The anger and resentment radiating from him were unlike anything she had ever seen. "What are you talking about?"

"You. Your father. The Sandersons. You're all liars and hypocrites!" Lucas stepped forward, his eyes sharp with menace as he gripped her chin. "The wedding? Dream on. I'll make sure every one of you pays for what you've done."

"Not long after I read about your past with Lucas on your laptop. To me, the two of you seemed like star-crossed lovers. But selfishly, I kept it to myself. I was afraid you'd waver after learning the truth. Ariel, when it comes to you, I've always been sly and despicable."

For once, the words came easily. With her illness looming over them, he no longer wanted to waste a single moment hiding his heart.

Even if Ariel refused to take him back, it was enough that he could speak honestly. He loathed the man he used to be—arrogant, evasive, and unwilling to bare his true feelings.

Would things have been different if he had been honest sooner? Would Ariel have been spared from enduring her illness alone? Could he have helped her earlier?

The questions only drove him deeper into misery, a pit of helplessness he couldn't climb out of.

In that moment, Ariel finally realized how deeply insecure Jayson had always been about her feelings for him—how he had buried those fears silently in his heart.