Dead at Heart

If Ariel had stayed on the path she originally wanted, she would have ended up in aerospace engineering.

Drones were among the most important technological advancements of the era. They were used in military operations, civilian industries, and agriculture.

The only reason she had gotten a glowing recommendation to the research institute back then was because of her own achievements.

She designed and oversaw the development of U.N, a reconnaissance and strike drone that featured long-range capabilities, heavy payload capacity, high speed, and automated operation.

Ariel's breakthroughs had overcome key technological barriers, and the drone was now actively deployed in military operations.

In the aerospace field, it was considered top-tier.

But marriage had cost Ariel everything. Now, she was physically and mentally wrecked, staring down a cancer diagnosis at a young age, with no idea how much time she had left.

Yet, if nothing else, she had learned one thing. One should always put oneself first and live for oneself.

Even if she couldn't be cured, Ariel refused to spend what little time she had left in regret.

She wanted to return to her field and focus on nurturing her dreams.

Janice didn't understand the tech side of things, but Faye Technologies had a real heavyweight running the show, Chad Hockney.

Janice provided the funding, while Chad and a team handled the research. In just a few years, Faye Technologies had skyrocketed to prominence, becoming a dark horse in Eldoria's tech scene.

But…

"You know how it is. When I got married, Chad cut me off completely. He's the one running Faye Tech now. I doubt he'd even let me through the door," Ariel said.

The lecturer who had once written her recommendation letter was Chad's father. The father and son had trusted Ariel and went out of their way to support her. They truly believed she was destined for greatness, perhaps even something that would make their country proud.

But after she got married, she let them down.

Janice scratched her head. "Chad's all talk. You know how he is—stubborn as hell but a softie deep down. Let me set something up and get you two to talk it out. He actually misses you, you know."

Ariel smiled bitterly.

If Morgan hadn't schemed to get Ariel into Jayson's bed and forced her to give up everything she loved, her life might have turned out very differently.

Just then, her phone buzzed. Renee was calling.

Ariel frowned and declined the call.

She and Jayson were about to get divorced. She had no reason to entertain Renee anymore.

But Renee was relentless. There was an unmistakable arrogance to it.

By the fifth call, Ariel pressed her lips and finally picked up.

"God, you're so annoying! Can't you see my name on your screen?" Renee shouted.

"What do you want?"

"My school has a parent-teacher meeting at 10:00 am. You'll go in Jay's place. If anyone asks, just say you're our maid. Got it?"

Jayson had just gone public with Nancy. The last thing Renee wanted was for people to misunderstand Nancy.

Ariel replied calmly, "I'm not your mother, and I'm not your sister-in-law anymore. Find your legal guardian. And one more thing. You're old enough to understand what basic respect means."

Then, she hung up.

She felt exhausted.

Renee had never liked her. Young people were perceptive. They picked up on the way adults treated people.

She had grown up thinking Ariel was some desperate gold digger who had forced her way into marrying Jayson. And for the past three years, every time she had a school break, she had made Ariel's life hell.

She demanded food and made Ariel do her laundry. She always found new ways to push her buttons.

And when things between Jayson and Nancy had started heating up, Renee had deliberately kept Ariel busy to make sure she couldn't interfere with their dates.

She was 17. She should know better.

Ariel had no obligation to put up with Renee anymore.

Seeing that Ariel was truly standing her ground, Janice was finally convinced of her determination to divorce. Without wasting any time, she left for Faye Technologies to try to talk Chad into meeting with Ariel.

Ariel waited for her IV drip to finish.

By 5:00 pm, her phone rang again. It was Evelyn.

After some hesitation, she answered it.

"Where did Renee go? Didn't she ask you to attend the parent meeting? The teacher said you didn't show up, and Renee took the day off too. Now, no one can find her!" Evelyn's tone was sharp, and her impatience was evident.

Ariel frowned. She hadn't expected this.

Evelyn had never liked her. She practically despised her. If Ariel hadn't "forced" Jayson into marriage back then, he would've married someone of proper status.

"I don't know," Ariel replied.

"You bailed on her first! Now you're trying to wash your hands of this? Not that it's surprising. You couldn't even have a kid in three years. Why would you have any sense of responsibility toward someone else's?"

"Alright, calm down. You know how Ari is," came a weak voice from the other end. It was Jayson's grandmother, Betty Stewart. "Renee's not a child anymore. And she's not Ari's responsibility."

Betty was the only person in the Larkin family who had ever treated Ariel with kindness.

For three years, she had protected Ariel as best she could. Jayson had only agreed to marry her in the first place because Betty's health was fragile, and she couldn't handle stress.

And their families had history. Ariel's grandfather had once fought alongside Jayson's. Betty had always liked her. That was why she agreed to the marriage.

Hearing Betty get dragged into this mess, Ariel weighed her options and finally said, "I'll try to get in touch with Renee."

She had let Renee get away with too much in the past. Today, she had drawn a line, and it had embarrassed Renee.

Renee was at an age where rebellion was second nature. A young woman wandering around alone wasn't exactly safe. Not to mention, Ariel had been the one who had shut her down earlier.

After pulling out her IV, Ariel swayed slightly as she forced herself upright.

She called Renee several times, but each call went unanswered or was quickly ended, as if Renee were deliberately toying with her.

But three years in public relations had taught Ariel a thing or two. She was skilled at paying attention to details. She carefully searched through Renee's social media posts.

Eventually, she pinpointed the location of a pool club.

When she finally got there, she spotted several familiar faces in one of the private rooms. And at the center of it all were Jayson and Nancy.

Renee was practically glued to Nancy, bombarding her with questions about Ashford University.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ariel. Immediately, she latched onto Nancy's arm.

"Jay loves you so much. So I guess I can stop calling you Ms. Stanton now. How about just Nancy? I'm already treating you like my sister-in-law."