Once the door closed behind him, Ariana breathed a sigh of relief, and her fingers finally stopped trembling.

She glanced at the wine rack. Who would have thought there was an emergency exit hidden behind the wine rack? Otherwise, Jasper definitely would have found

Holden. Although there was nothing happening between her and Holden, she didn't want Jasper to know he was there because he would cause her trouble.

She patted her face, trying to cheer herself up and left.

On the way back, she passed a dessert shop and bought a small cake.

She felt guilty and wanted to make up for it.

Besides, because of Holden's persuasion, she wasn't so angry with Theodore anymore.

Although Helen was annoying and her identity was a mystery, Theodore didn't seem to have crossed a line. Perhaps she had misunderstood the situation after all.

Looking at the neon lights outside the window, Ariana took a deep breath and decided to ask him about it tonight.

When she arrived at the Anderson family's house, she knocked on Theodore's door, but he wasn't there. She went to ask Judy and found out Theodore went out in the evening.

"Do you know where he went?" she asked.

Judy hesitated for a moment, before faltering, "I don't know. He left with Miss Clarke."

Ariana's face turned cold, and Judy quickly added, "How about I call him and ask?

Maybe he'll be home soon."

“No, don't bother him." Ariana felt a lump in her throat and immense sadness in her heart.

Today was Theodore's birthday. What else would he do except celebrate his birthday with Helen?

He hadn't told her about his birthday, but had celebrated it with Helen. To Ariana, that said enough about how he felt.

Holding back tears, she turned and left.

She passed the stairway and looked down at the beautiful cake in her hand with a bitter smile. Then she threw it straight into the trash can.

The next day, Ariana had been in bed for a long time and didn't feel like going downstairs for breakfast. She didn't want to face Theodore.