บททั้งหมดของ Dead at Heart: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Ariel was startled. She quickly stepped aside.Behind her, a young woman's panicked voice rang out, "I'm so sorry, miss! My drone's acting up. It's not responding properly. Are you okay?"Ariel turned around and saw a teenager in a hospital gown. She had a pretty face and looked genuinely apologetic.Ariel nodded. "I'm fine."The young woman let out a breath of relief. "That's good to hear. I don't know what happened. It just started going wild."Ariel glanced at the drone hovering nearby, then held out the cookie boxes she was carrying. "Mind if I take a look at it?"The young woman's eyes lit up. "Not at all!"She took the boxes from Ariel and peeked inside. Her eyes practically sparkled when she saw the cookies.Ariel grabbed the drone and gave it a quick inspection. "It's likely a malfunction in the flight system, which is why it couldn't follow the preset route. We'll need to check if it's an issue with the gyroscope or a sensor calibration error."The woman stared at her

By the time Ariel reached the marital home, it was nearly 9:00 pm. The evening rush hour had delayed her significantly.Georgia was surprised to see her back. "Mrs. Larkin, you're back! Have you had dinner? I can prepare something for you if you'd like."Ariel politely shook her head. "No need to bother. I'll be leaving soon."Georgia's expression shifted to concern. "Why are you leaving so soon? Did you have a fight with Mr. Larkin?"Ariel opened the shoe cabinet and pulled out a pair of disposable slippers. "No."And it was true.Most of the time, Jayson simply ignored her. What hurt more than feeling unloved was his indifference.Aside from the few days each month when they followed their routine intimacy, they barely communicated, let alone argued.They never fought.They were just getting divorced.Georgia had been taking care of the cleaning since they married and knew Ariel well. She thought Ariel didn't really mean what she had said.She couldn't help but try to offe

Actually, Jayson had already noticed that Ariel was on edge beside him; she kept sneaking glances at him.He finally turned to look at her and suddenly asked, "How are you adjusting to the new job?"Ariel pressed her lips together. "It's going well. I actually really like it.""Sounds like working at Bluum Corp was tough on you."Ariel frowned. She wasn't even professionally trained for the PR job at Bluum Corp. She'd only taken it to stay close to him and build a connection. But he never cared about what she wanted.Jayson didn't pay attention to what Ariel had replied. Just then, a WhatsApp notification popped up on his tablet.He casually flipped the screen face down on the table, clearly trying to keep Ariel from seeing it.Ariel got the hint and quickly looked away.Jayson asked, "I've got something urgent to take care of. Can you grab a cab to work?"It sounded like a question, but it really wasn't. He'd already made up his mind not to give her a ride.If anything, he w

Janice's expression darkened at those words. She was about to say something when Ariel stopped her and shook her head.At the same time, she caught the flicker of Nancy's gaze landing on her. There was no doubt the latter had heard what Lori said.Nancy arched a brow with a faint smile tugging at her lips. Then, she turned to Jayson and Matt and said, "I'll head in first."Compared to Nancy's effortless grace, Ariel suddenly felt awkward and conspicuously out of place.Arial could guess what Nancy was thinking, but that didn't matter since she no longer wanted Jayson. Self-consuming wouldn't solve anything.Morgan wasn't pleased either. What would Jayson think of Ariel showing up and stirring such a storm? How was he supposed to continue the conversation?As if heartbroken by Ariel's behavior, he shook his head and turned to Jayson. "Let's meet another day, Mr. Larkin. You should come by Sanderson Manor for dinner sometime."Jayson didn't respond as his expression remained dark

Leonard still looked frail. Chemotherapy had taken a visible toll, and he always wore a knitted beanie.When Ariel arrived, he was sitting on the balcony and basking in the winter sun.She couldn't help but be reminded of how she looked when her chemotherapy began. The thought sent her zoning out before she handed over two carefully wrapped gifts."Happy birthday, Uncle Leo. These are from me and Jayson."She'd chosen a rare set of books on physics as his gift. It'd taken her quite some time to find them.Leonard was a physics professor and once a prominent name in academia, loved by generations of students. He'd devoted his entire life to physics.If not for what happened back then, perhaps he would be mentioned in the same breath as Carlos by now.As for Jayson's gift, she picked out a luxury foundation pen, worth over ten thousand dollars. It was a practical gift for Leonard and fitting for Jayson's style."Mr. Larkin's busy?" Leonard casually asked as he accepted the gifts