Chapter b617 /b

    Ariel hadn’t slept at all the previous night. Plus the emotional turmoil, her whole body felt weak.

    She drank a ss of water to moisten her throat and theny back down in her bedroom.

    Anger and shouting really took it out of her. She was realizing she couldn’t handle these bkinds /bof crises

    the way she used to. (1)

    Sleep came fitfully.

    Around noon, the doorbell rang.

    Dragging her tired body to answer, she found a deliveryman outside, but she didn’t remember ordering

    anything.

    “Ms. Walker, you have a parcel to sign for.”

    Ariel checked thebel. It was indeed addressed to her, with her phone number on it.

    She took it. “Thank you.”

    Once she closed the doorb, /bshe weighed the box. It wasn’t too heavy.

    The shippingbel showed it came from a rtively remote town, and it was sent a week ago.

    Ariel opened it to find a document envelope on top. Inside was a certificate. The moment she unfolded it,

    she froze.

    It was a donation certificate, apanied by various receipts.

    But the donations weren’t money. They were ten schools of hope established in her and Jayson’s names.

    The schools were spread across different states, even one as far as Larnwick.

    And this parcel hade from that school in Larnwick.

    Alongside the certificates and receipts were carefully packaged local specialties she had never seen.

    There were also photos from different ces.

    After the schools were built, children started enrolling. The five–story teaching buildings included dormitories and libraries. Poor children could receive an education, left–behind children were cared for,

    and orphans had a safe ce to live.

    In the photos, Ariel saw children with clear eyes but malnourished faces. Some were small, others older. They looked shy, yet curious and full of hope.

    Apanying the pictures were letters of gratitude.

    At the bottom was one from the principal, handwritten and heartfelt.

    It exined that after months of construction, the schools had only just officially opened in the past month. It mentioned Ariel’s and Jayson’s names, thanking them for bringing hope to the children and benefiting this otherwise barrennd.

    Ariel felt the gratitude in the letter.

    She had never personally participated, yet here she was being credited as a “savior” for so many children.

    Suddenly, she remembered. Jayson had gone to a charity g with Nancy, even shing with her at the

    time.

    But the organizers had decided to donate in Jayson’s and Nancy’s names, so why did all this merit end up attached to her?

    As Ariel stared at the letter, her mind spun. She held it tightly, lost in thought for a long while.

    Everything came at once. Ariel found it hard to process, and part of her found it almostically absurd.

    Her life was so full of twists and turns.

    A sudden knock at the door pulled her back to reality.

    She walked to the door and peered through the peephole. It was Jayson, dressed in loungewear. He

    hadn’t gone to the office today either.

    Given what had happened yesterday, they needed to talk things through, so Ariel opened the door and let

    him in.

    He carried a neatly packed meal. Seemingly unaware of Ariel’s somewhat detached expression, he

    walked to the table to set it down.

    Then, his gaze fell on the open parcel.

    He had arranged for it to be sent a few days ago, but clearlyb… /bthe timing now wasn’t quite right.

    d