Chapter 677

Ariel lowered her gaze and looked at Jayson’s hand holding her wrist. His expression remained calm. When he spoke to Shane, there was even a faint curve of a smile on his lips, yet it revealed nothing of his thoughts.
Shane chuckled and tilted his head toward Ariel behind Jayson. “See? Jayson’s still so protective of you. We haven’t been back in years, so it’s normal that Ari isn’t very close to us.”
Betty chimed in, “True. You all went abroad about a year after Ari and Jayson’s wedding. It’s been nearly three years since she last saw you.”
The Larkin family’s businesses spanned multiple countries, with various ongoing investments, all managed regionally.
“I was so surprised when I called you about Ari,” Jayda said, then playfully glared at Ariel. “Ari, how did you never let anything slip before? You’re incredible at keeping secrets.”
Before Betty went to take her supplements, she proudly added, “Ari’s not an arrogant person. It was the government’s demand. It wasn’t like she wanted to hide it.”
Just then, Evelyn entered.
Jayda immediately beamed. “Evelyn, you’re really lucky to have such a great daughter–in–law. You must
feel really proud. In our circles, it’s nothing unusual to marry a rich heiress, but Ari is a rare gem.”
It was indeed a kind of family honor.
Evelyn gave Jayda a faint glance. “Right, back when Jayson married Ariel, who had no family background, you were pretty pleased too.”
After all, only Jayson and Shane were competing to be head of the family at that time.
But in that crucial moment, Jayson married Ariel, who had nothing and wasn’t a proper match. She brought no status or value. Kyle and his family were delighted, fully entertained by the spectacle.
Yet now, Jayda was putting it so nicely.
“That’s because I thought Ari was a good woman. Turns out my judgment wasn’t wrong. Evelyn, I remember you weren’t too happy back then. You nearly took a gem for a worthless trinket, huh?” Jayda joked, shaking her head.
Still, she couldn’t help feeling annoyed.
Who would have guessed Ariel was so talented?
Evelyn sat on the couch and said casually, “Jayda, you say your judgment’s good, but you had Shane escape so quickly back then. Otherwise, who knows who Ariel would have ended up marrying?”
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Chapter 678
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At those words, the room went tense.
Though Evelyn didn’t say outright what it was about, Jayda’s smile stiffened, and Ariel frowned silently.
Because what happened back then was more complicated than it seemed.
Morgan wasn’t capable enough to target Jayson so precisely. At the time, Shane, the Larkin family’s eldest son, was actually his first target.
It happened to be during Jeffrey’s birthday party before he passed, where the entire hotel was booked to host the guests.
Back then, Morgan had tricked her into going to Room 6609. Ariel later found out that Room 6609 was actually Shane’s suite.
She didn’t know exactly what had happened at the time, but when she woke up, she was in Room 6606 with Jayson.
Only once did Ariel happen to hear Jayda on the phone, saying, “The Sandersons tried to slip someone into our family. Come on, Shane is out of their league, and we don’t need that kind of headache.” Fresh chapters posted on.net
That was when she realized Morgan hadn’t targeted anyone in particular. Just getting her close to any Larkin was enough to achieve his goal.
Though she didn’t really know what went on in between.
Now, with Evelyn suddenly bringing it up–without even spelling it out–something felt a little off.
But of course, the most uncomfortable one was Jayda.
She had once watched Jayson being pressured into marrying someone like Ariel and had even mocked Evelyn several times.