When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

### Chapter 10: You’re Just a Mascot

Returning to the Hawthorne villa, they could see a massive horde of reporters lying in wait from a distance.

Standing among the reporters was a pitiful-looking pregnant woman with disheveled hair.

Hazel Hawthorne was about to get out of the car when Aiden Xavier’s phone suddenly rang—

"Aiden, the matriarch brought her people to the villa just now. I... I’ve already moved into a hotel."

Raina Lowell bit her red lip, tears streaming down her beautiful face. "Can you come find me? I want you to be with me."

Hazel Hawthorne, sitting beside Aiden Xavier, could vaguely overhear their conversation and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’I didn’t expect the matriarch to move so quickly. But...’

’At least I won’t have to see that fake innocent anymore. That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned.’

Aiden Xavier’s chilling voice replied, "Alright."

He hung up, his gaze falling on Dylan Miller at the villa’s entrance. His voice was laced with meaning. "Mrs. Xavier, it’s time for your performance."

Hazel Hawthorne scoffed. She stepped out of the car in her high heels and strode toward the villa’s entrance.

Meanwhile, Aiden Xavier had the driver turn the car around and head toward the hotel where Raina Lowell was staying.

The moment Hazel Hawthorne appeared, the reporters swarmed forward, surrounding her.

"Mrs. Xavier, we heard that Ms. Miller is pregnant with Mr. Xavier’s child. Is that true?"

"Did this news humiliate you so much that you ordered Ms. Miller to be blacklisted from the industry?"

Dylan Miller wore no makeup today. Perhaps from a lack of sleep, her face was pale and pitiful. She walked forward and dropped to her knees at Hazel Hawthorne’s feet, begging, "Ms. Hawthorne, I know I was wrong, but please, have mercy. Spare me."

"My baby can’t grow up without a father..."

Tears streamed down her face. "I fought for ten years in the entertainment industry to get where I am today. Now, it’s all ruined."

The reporters, afraid they’d miss a single moment of the scene, furiously aimed their cameras and recording devices, flashes firing relentlessly.

Watching this spectacle, Hazel Hawthorne scoffed inwardly. ’The so-called entertainment industry truly has no shame these days.’

She glanced down at Dylan Miller, a corner of her mouth lifting. "Ms. Miller, you’ve gotten one thing wrong."

She remained poised and composed. "I am Aiden Xavier’s wife. Therefore, you should address me as Mrs. Xavier."

Dylan Miller’s face paled. She lowered her head and said softly, "Mrs. Xavier."

Hazel Hawthorne continued, "I don’t understand on what grounds you’re standing before me, Ms. Miller. Has the entertainment industry become this tolerant? Brazenly interfering in someone’s marriage, and then bringing the media to harass the legal wife? Besides..."

She leaned down, gripping Dylan Miller’s chin, and sneered, "Is the child in your belly really my husband’s?"

Meeting Hazel Hawthorne’s cold, mocking eyes, Dylan Miller’s confidence wavered for a moment, but she insisted stubbornly, "The child in my belly is Mr. Xavier’s!"

"Mrs. Xavier, everyone knows you’re just a mascot. You and Mr. Xavier don’t have a real relationship."

Dylan Miller tugged on her sleeve and started banging her head on the ground. "Why don’t you just do the right thing and let me and the child be happy?"

"I’m afraid not."

Hazel Hawthorne bent down and pried Dylan’s fingers off her clothes. "I have no intention of doing a good deed."

She stepped around Dylan Miller and started walking toward the villa, but a scream suddenly erupted from behind her—

"Ah, my stomach...!"

Dylan Miller collapsed on the ground, blood gushing down her legs. Her face was ghastly pale as she looked up with tear-filled eyes. "Mrs. Xavier, I know you hate me, but the baby is innocent... How could you do this to my child? Please, save my baby...!"