When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

###Chapter 33: Missing from Your Bar

Julian Sterling didn’t know Hazel Hawthorne had been there. All he saw was Raina Lowell sniffling, so he announced, "Hey, this is the best a friend can do for you. I heard you and Aiden had a fight, so I took the liberty of calling Raina here to give you two a chance to reconcile."

Julian noticed Aiden Xavier’s expression was off. Raina Lowell was still sobbing, and the private room was dim. He thought he’d seen a woman walk out moments ago, but he hadn’t given it much thought, assuming it was just some barfly trying to hit on Aiden who’d been caught in the act by Raina.

To avoid any collateral damage, Julian thoughtfully sent all the other women out of the private room. When only the three of them remained, Julian still hadn’t grasped the gravity of the situation and even pulled Aiden down to sit.

He said softly, "If you and Raina have something to talk about, just talk it out. Don’t make the girl cry." After that, Julian turned to the sniffling Raina and said gently, "You should stop crying, too. Aiden only came to the bar to blow off some steam because he was in a bad mood after fighting with you."

Aiden, who had been standing to the side, glared furiously at Julian, who was still confidently playing the peacemaker. "Who told you to take it upon yourself to bring Raina to the bar?"

That wasn’t what Julian had expected to hear. His face went blank as he stared at Aiden. ’Could I have been wrong? Aiden didn’t come to the bar to blow off steam because of Raina? Is that why he’s so angry to see her here?’

A thought suddenly struck Julian. ’Don’t tell me Aiden was planning to leave with that woman from earlier, and I ruined his fun by calling Raina here?’

While Julian was still lost in his own wild theories, Raina started sobbing softly. "Julian, it’s not your fault Aiden’s so angry. Maybe I’m the one who shouldn’t be here. I should have stayed abroad... I never should have come back."

"Huh?" Julian was completely confused.

Aiden picked up his jacket from the sofa, about to go after Hazel. Raina must have sensed his intention, because she immediately rushed forward and grabbed his hand. "Aiden," she said, her voice full of hurt, "are you really going to leave me here all by myself?"

Aiden gave Raina a long, hard look, and for a split second, his resolve to leave wavered. But the memory of Hazel’s expression and words made him anxious. He could never seem to grasp what she was thinking, and it was incredibly frustrating.

"Aiden, I’m suddenly not feeling well. Can we go home, please?" Raina, knowing she had made him hesitate, tried to seize the opportunity to lead him away and prevent him from going after Hazel.

Just when she thought she had succeeded, Aiden abruptly pushed her hand away. Without a shred of hesitation, he ordered Julian, "You get Raina home. I have something to deal with."

The words had barely left his mouth when Raina, unable to even grab his hand in time, could only watch as he bolted from the room. Julian was completely clueless about what was going on. Aiden had just abandoned him to deal with the perpetually weeping Raina. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

He liked women, but not women who were always crying. Their tears just got on his nerves. Right now was a perfect example; he silently watched Raina weep, unsure what to do. He could only sit on the sofa and wait for her to tire herself out so he could finally take her home.

*****

Outside the bar entrance, Hazel Hawthorne took a deep, silent breath, her expression stormy. The security guard who had stopped her earlier happened to be standing nearby. Noticing her foul mood, he approached with a few comforting words and kindly offered her a bottle of water.

Hazel was, in fact, quite thirsty. She took the water and started drinking. "Thanks," she said.

’She was completely baffled by Aiden’s bullshit. If he wanted her to pick him up, why call Raina over too? Did he do it on purpose? Did he want her to see how he and Raina acted together? To show her just how close they were?’

In a fit of pique, she chugged the entire bottle of water, tossed the empty into a nearby trash can, and gave the can a vicious kick. She never should have bothered coming all the way to the bar for him tonight, all because of one stupid phone call.

To think she’d rushed over here to pick him up, only for it to end like this. She should have just let Aiden rot here. What was the point of worrying about him?!

What fucking rotten luck!

Hazel swore to herself that if anything like this ever happened again, she would absolutely not make the same mistake.

Besides, even without her, he still had Raina.

It wasn’t her place to get involved in Aiden’s business anyway.

Hazel marched straight to the parking garage. Once inside her car, she spent several minutes cursing Aiden out, but even that didn’t cool her anger. Her only regret was that the slap she’d given him had been far too gentle.

’Opportunities to slap Aiden didn’t come around every day; how could she have wasted it? If heaven gave her a do-over, she wouldn’t use her hand. She’d grab a plate off the table and smash it right in his face.’

Aiden rushed out but couldn’t find Hazel. He waved a security guard over and described her. "Did you see that woman leave?"

The guard’s eyes flickered evasively. He stammered, pointing in the opposite direction from where Hazel had actually gone. "I... I think I saw her head that way."

Aiden caught the guard’s uneasy expression and headed in the opposite direction from where he’d pointed. He knew Hazel would have driven. The cars in their garage at home were all his; he’d be able to spot hers in the parking lot in an instant.

Aiden found the car Hazel had driven, but she was nowhere in sight. The door was ajar. He scanned the surroundings and then spotted Hazel’s phone on the floor beneath the driver’s seat.

’Hazel was in trouble!’

The color drained from Aiden’s face. He whipped out his phone and called his secretary. "Hazel is missing. She was at KM Bar. Get people looking for her now!"

Hazel was his wife. Anyone who’d kidnap her would most likely be trying to use her to extort him. But he had a feeling it wasn’t that simple.

If it was just kidnappers wanting money, things would be simple.

The problem was, Hazel had gone missing from KM Bar. A place like that was full of sketchy characters. And Hazel was beautiful. There was no shortage of men in a bar who’d act on their lust. If they targeted someone, especially a woman who put up a fight, it wasn’t unheard of for them to resort to underhanded tactics in the dark.

After the woman was taken advantage of, the man would give her a large sum of money the next morning. For the money, most women would choose to keep quiet and let it go.

Besides, most of the women who hung out at KM Bar were there to hook a rich man anyway.

But Hazel was different. And *he* was the one who’d called her here!

’If Hazel really got hurt because some man targeted her, he would personally slaughter him!’

Aiden thought of the security guard at the entrance. A sudden realization hit him, and he immediately called the bar’s owner.

The bar owner got Aiden’s call and came rushing over. Seeing the dark look on Aiden’s face, he barely dared to breathe. He approached cautiously and asked, "Young Master Xavier, is something wrong?"

"My wife has gone missing. In your bar." Aiden’s voice was so icy it sent a cold sweat running down the owner’s back.

*****