Dead at Heart (Ariel and Jayson) novel Chapter 776

Elsie, ever blunt, snorted. "So now you're jealous and fighting with me for Ariel? Why not care about your fiance sitting next to another woman?"

That was a deadly verbal chokehold.

Janice froze instantly. Her expression stiffened.

Elsie realized too late that her mouth had run ahead of her brain. Panic written all over her face, she glanced between Ariel and Janice. "Hey, I didn't mean it…"

She had just been watching from the side, picking up on some vibes. When she heard Alicia say "fiancee", she had naturally connected the dots.

Even Chad, who hadn't said a word about any of this, paused for a moment. His gaze landed on Janice.

Thankfully, Janice was only ever half-baked at everything except pretending to stay calm. She waved her hand. "It's no big deal."

Ariel pressed her lips together and silently raised her gaze toward Alicia and Wade.

This time, the discussion focused on several aspects of the aircraft's performance.

They spent nearly half an hour going over the next steps in detail. Everyone shared plenty of insights, and no one brought up personal relationships again.

Midway through, the door opened again.

Jayson walked in, clad in a suit. Everything about him exuded style and composure. No one could tell that his injuries beneath the fabric were far from healed.

All eyes in the room turned toward him.

He spotted Ariel among the group immediately. His gaze lingered for a beat, then he gave a slight nod to the others as a greeting while walking past them.

He strode directly to Ariel's side.

Elsie didn't know the full backstory. All she knew was that Jayson was Ariel's husband. Begrudgingly, she pursed her lips and gave up her seat for him.

Jayson nodded. "Thanks for asking. I'm fine."

Elsie, glancing between Jayson and Ariel, suddenly noticed something. Her eyes were fixed on Ariel's hand. "Is that your wedding ring?"

Once she pointed it out, everyone looked at Ariel's hand.

Even Janice only now realized that Ariel was wearing a ring again. Her eyes widened. "That's…"

Ariel lifted her hand to glance at the ring herself. It had been a long time since she had worn it, but she had worn it so often before that it felt as if it had always been part of her hand.

Alicia also noticed the diamond ring, and a flicker of admiration crossed her eyes.

Before Ariel could say anything, Elsie suddenly clapped her hands. "No wonder it looked familiar! I've seen this ring before!"

Ariel raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How would you have seen it?"