When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

###Chapter 43: A Heart Attack

"Hazel, aren’t you angry? She’s talking about you behind your back, saying you must have gotten in through connections. If I heard someone say that about me, I’d definitely go and confront them."

Sharon Winters was indignant. Seeing Hazel Hawthorne so calm, and then remembering she lived in a luxury villa like this, she scratched her head. "You didn’t really get in through connections, did you? After all, I’m just now realizing you’re actually rich."

"No. I got into Sterling Group on my own merit," Hazel Hawthorne said sincerely. "Living here doesn’t mean I’m a rich person, and even if I were, that doesn’t mean I’m not capable."

Sharon Winters eyed Hazel Hawthorne skeptically. Hazel was amused by her expression and chuckled. "Sharon, do you believe me? Do you believe I got into Sterling Group on my own merit?"

Sharon Winters was silent for a moment. "I believe you."

Hazel Hawthorne couldn’t help but smile and ask again, "Why do you believe me? Aren’t you worried I might be lying to you?"

"Hazel, I’m suddenly realizing you’re a strange person. You’re the one who asked if I believed you. I said I did, and now you’re asking me why. But if I believe you, I just believe you. I won’t question you so easily."

"That’s the most basic trust between friends."

Seeing Sharon Winters’s earnest expression, Hazel Hawthorne found it amusing. She hadn’t meant to tease Sharon; it was just that being trusted made her happy. With Sharon, she felt a joy she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

To Hazel, Sharon Winters was as pure as a blank sheet of paper. She was different from Sharon; she didn’t trust people easily.

People are always drawn to each other for certain reasons. Sharon Winters thought she was beautiful, while she liked the purity that emanated from Sharon.

In the world of adults, people who still possessed that kind of purity were truly rare.

Hazel Hawthorne had Sharon Winters stay the night, and Aiden Xavier never called her.

Aiden Xavier had been very busy the past two days handling company matters. He hadn’t reached out to Raina Lowell either. In fact, Raina had tried to contact him several times, but he had turned her down each time, citing work as his reason.

Raina Lowell had never been given the cold shoulder by Aiden Xavier like this before. She knew Hazel Hawthorne was the cause of it all. She despised Hazel and wanted nothing more than to drive her away from Aiden’s side as quickly as possible.

’Aiden can only belong to me.’

「Sometime later.」

When Raina Lowell drove to find Hazel Hawthorne again, Hazel was with Sharon Winters. Seeing the uninvited Raina, Hazel’s eyes turned cold and sharp. She blocked Raina at the door and said angrily, "What are you doing here again?"

"What do you think I’m here for? Don’t you know? Didn’t you promise me you’d divorce Aiden?"

"Listen, lady, I did promise you I’d divorce Aiden Xavier, but I never gave you a specific time. It’s only been a day and you’re already here to confront me. Are you out of your mind? Besides, I don’t have time for you right now."

Hazel Hawthorne didn’t want Sharon Winters to see Raina Lowell, and she especially didn’t want her to find out about her relationship with Aiden Xavier. She could only block Raina at the door, but to her surprise, Raina refused to back down and started grabbing and tearing at Hazel’s clothes.

"You lied to me! You have no intention of divorcing Aiden!" Raina Lowell gripped Hazel Hawthorne’s clothes tightly. But Hazel was no pushover; she wasn’t about to let someone bully her without fighting back.

Hazel Hawthorne grabbed Raina Lowell’s hair in retaliation. "I have been very tolerant of you. Don’t test my limits, or you won’t get anything good out of this. If you want to be with Aiden Xavier, then let go and get out of here right now."

But Raina Lowell was in no state to listen to Hazel Hawthorne’s words. The two started fighting at the door. Sharon Winters and the maid heard the commotion and came running, shocked by the scene. But Sharon was different from the maid.

The maid tried to separate the two and then called Aiden Xavier.

Sharon Winters, on the other hand, charged right in and joined the fight, helping Hazel Hawthorne take on Raina Lowell. She didn’t know Raina; she was just protecting her friend.

At that moment, Aiden Xavier was in a meeting and didn’t answer his phone at all.

The maids watched the chaotic scene at the door, unsure of who to stop, and just looked at each other in dismay.

Suddenly, Hazel Hawthorne noticed something was wrong with Raina Lowell’s expression and immediately let her go.

"Sharon, let go," Hazel Hawthorne said sharply.

Startled, Sharon Winters immediately released Raina Lowell.

Raina Lowell’s face was pale. She clutched her chest with one hand, her eyes still glaring at Hazel Hawthorne with fury. Her lips moved, but before she could speak, her eyes suddenly closed, and her entire body fell backward, collapsing to the ground.

It was only then that Hazel Hawthorne remembered Raina Lowell had a congenital heart condition. She quickly shouted for someone to call an ambulance while she immediately tried to contact Aiden Xavier.

But of all times, Aiden Xavier was still in his meeting, his phone switched to silent.

’Damn it, why is Aiden’s phone unreachable right now of all times?’

Hazel Hawthorne couldn’t reach Aiden Xavier, and she couldn’t just leave Raina Lowell lying on the ground. ’If Raina dies here, I’ll be a murderer!’

The ambulance would take at least forty minutes to arrive. Hazel Hawthorne had a maid help her get Raina Lowell into her own car and, without hesitation, drove her to the hospital.

Time was of the essence, and she floored it.

She might not like Raina Lowell, but she didn’t want her to die in front of her.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Sharon Winters was pale with fright from Hazel Hawthorne’s driving speed. When they reached the hospital, she had barely gotten out of the car before she ran to a nearby lawn and threw up violently.

Hazel Hawthorne had called the hospital ahead of time, so doctors and nurses were already waiting at the entrance.

Not until Raina Lowell was wheeled into the emergency room did her tightly wound nerves finally begin to unwind.

Meanwhile, Aiden Xavier had just stepped out of the conference room when he saw over twenty missed calls from Hazel Hawthorne.

He thought something had happened to Hazel and immediately called back. "What’s wrong?"

"You finally answered. It’s not me, it’s Raina. She had a heart attack and is in the ER right now, they’re trying to save her."

"How did you end up with Raina?" Hearing that it wasn’t Hazel who was in trouble, Aiden Xavier suddenly let out a breath of relief. Only then did he ask, "How did Raina have a heart attack?"

"It’s too complicated to explain over the phone. You should just come to the hospital first."

Hazel Hawthorne waited outside the operating room for a long time. She didn’t know what Raina Lowell’s condition was, nor did she know how she was going to answer Aiden Xavier’s questions when he arrived.

’I can’t just say that Raina had a heart attack because we got into a fight, can I?’

Beside her, Sharon Winters was also a nervous wreck, constantly standing up, sitting down, and pacing back and forth. "Hazel, she’s not going to die, is she? I didn’t even hit her that hard."

"If she dies, won’t we become murderers?" Sharon Winters was so anxious she was on the verge of tears.

"Please don’t let her die! I’m still so young, I don’t want to be a murderer! I’m not married yet, I haven’t become Director Shaw’s apprentice yet... I don’t want it to be a life for a life!"

Sharon Winters’s frantic muttering nearby only made the tense atmosphere even more stressful.

Hazel Hawthorne couldn’t help but pull Sharon Winters down to sit. "Calm down. She’s not going to die."

Aiden Xavier had just stepped out of the elevator when he heard Hazel Hawthorne’s words. He asked grimly, "What did you do to her?"

*****