Chapter b618 /b

    b“/bYou haven’t eaten yet, right?” Jayson’s gaze flicked over the parcel before turning back to Ariel. “Want to eat something first?”

    Ariel no longer carried the storm of emotions fromst night. Anyone confronted with such an absurd situation would struggle to stayposed.

    She nced at Jayson in his loungewear. Even someone as work–obsessed and constantly upied as him had moments when he skipped the office entirely.

    “No need.” Ariel felt that she was keeping herself fairly calm.

    “How do you think we should handle this?” she asked.

    Jayson knew this moment couldn’t be avoided. He lowered his eyes, studying her expression without missing a detail. “Aren’t you curious about the reasons?”

    The biggest problem right now was that Ariel didn’t ask for any exnation.

    Why hadn’t the divorce gone through? Why did he refuse to divorce? Why hadn’t he told her?

    She seemedpletely devoid of interest in him.

    Ariel looked at him. “The reasons are your business, but I’m the one left dealing with the fallout. Am I supposed to have some kind of emotional reaction to you?”

    She admitted she could be biting at times, but this was the umtion of all the anger she hadn’t let

    out before.

    She had stepped back once during the contraceptive herbs incident. This time, she couldn’t do that

    anymorei. /i

    Both times set her off.

    Jayson’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he noted the resistance in her eyes, which was sharp and prickly enough to hurt from a distance.

    “Have you always wanted to cut ties with me?” He still stared at her as if he wanted to look straight into her mind. “Even for the past three years?”

    Ariel wasn’t curious about his answer, but he clearly wanted her to respond.

    She held his gaze calmly. “Jayson, if you had paid attention, you’d know I’ve always been honest with you over those years.”

    “Even the reason you married me?” he blurted.

    Her eyes flickered. She hadn’t expected him to bring this up so suddenly.

    Jayson knew his words had clearly been harsh. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Our divorce agreement has so many unfair uses, yet you signed it without hesitation just ito /iget away from me. Did you even consider whether it was legally sound?”

    He remembered watching her at that moment. Her determination was clear, without a flicker of doubt. Even though the agreement was unfair, she didn’t care.

    The divorce agreement was a factor, but not the full reason the divorce hadn’t gone through.

    Jayson even thought of himself as pretty devious, considering how much effort he had poured into reversing the oue of something that seemed set in stone.

    Ariel pressed her lips together. “What exactly do you want from me?”

    “What could I want from you? Rip open your chest to see what your heart looks like? Crack byour /bskull to see what you’re really thinking? To find out if there’s a ce for me inside? Ariel, what do you think I

    want?”

    His tone had softened, but his eyes were heavy with unspoken intensity, as if he were speaking of

    someone else’s business.

    But it was exactly this tone and gaze that made Ariel’s mind tense for a moment.

    He hadn’t even said it outright, yet she read him perfectly.

    She clenched her fists, her gaze icy. “So I’m supposed to pay the price for your fickle feelings? Just because you regret it, I have to deal with it?”

    How ridiculous.

    She actually saw the faint traces of feeling in Jayson’s eyes.

    But he had withdrawn it at the moment she needed it most. Who had ever paid the price for the damage

    to her heart?

    Jayson fell silent.

    He realized that Ariel really was something else. She could drive a knife straight into his heart with the slightest words. He also saw no sign of relief or hesitation about their still–existing marriage in her eyes.