When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

###Chapter 45: Petty

Hazel Hawthorne dropped Sharon Winters off before driving home. She’d been tempted to call Aiden Xavier and demand to know why he didn’t believe her. But on second thought, why should she get hung up on whether Aiden believed her or not? Even if Raina Lowell woke up, she’d just find a way to pin the blame on her.

No matter what, she couldn’t win. It was better to just let things be. If Aiden Xavier was truly that incensed about Raina Lowell being "wronged" by her, then he should just hurry up and divorce her. She’d be happy to let the tragic lovers have their day.

Thinking this, Hazel Hawthorne suddenly felt that she was cutting a rather noble figure.

Hazel Hawthorne had barely stepped through the door when Aiden Xavier called to say that Raina Lowell was awake.

"Okay, she’s awake. What’s that got to do with me?" Hazel Hawthorne snapped. "Don’t tell me you expect me to apologize to Raina Lowell? Or did you just call to rake me over the coals?"

Aiden Xavier took his phone out to the balcony. Raina had just woken up and needed to rest, and he could hear Hazel Hawthorne yelling even through the receiver.

"I’m trying to talk to you calmly, can’t you do the same with me?" Aiden Xavier’s head ached. He had only called to put Hazel’s mind at ease, to keep her from blaming herself.

But not only was Hazel Hawthorne ungrateful, her attitude was atrocious.

"How am I supposed to talk to you calmly? Even if I did, would you believe me? Go on, believe Raina Lowell! I’m sure she said I pushed her, right?" Hazel Hawthorne continued her verbal sparring with Aiden Xavier, making it clear she was thoroughly pissed off with him.

No matter what Aiden Xavier said, her attitude remained the same.

Aiden Xavier glanced back at Raina Lowell lying in the hospital bed and said in a low voice, "Raina didn’t say anything when she woke up. In fact, she asked me if *you* were okay. Hazel Hawthorne, how can you be so petty? Are you really going to hold a grudge against a sick person?"

"I’m petty? I’m holding a grudge against a sick person? What the f—" Hazel Hawthorne was so angry she could barely speak. "Yeah, that’s right, I’m petty and Raina Lowell is so magnanimous. So why are you calling me? Just to mock me for being petty?"

Hazel Hawthorne’s emotions were running high. "I don’t even want to talk to you right now. Go be with your one true love, your childhood sweetheart, the woman you adore! Just stop bothering me, okay? I’m a petty person. I can’t stand to see it, and I can’t stand to hear about it."

With that, Hazel Hawthorne hung up. She angrily slammed her phone onto the coffee table, her whole body hot with rage. She glared at the phone, then put her hands on her hips and paced around the room, cursing Aiden Xavier from head to toe.

「At the hospital.」

Aiden Xavier finished his call and returned to Raina Lowell’s side. Seeing her pale face, a pang of pity struck him.

Raina Lowell forced a smile and looked weakly at Aiden Xavier. "Aiden, were you on the phone with Ms. Hawthorne just now? You don’t look very happy. Did you two have another argument?"

Raina Lowell slowly lowered her head, her voice trailing off. "Was it because of me? It’s only normal that Ms. Hawthorne doesn’t like me. Really, my heart condition acting up had nothing to do with Ms. Hawthorne. It was all my own carelessness."

"You mustn’t blame Ms. Hawthorne. I’m sure she feels very guilty inside."

Aiden Xavier was silent for a moment. "You don’t have to speak up for Hazel Hawthorne."

"Aiden, it was me. I was just so sad, so I wanted to talk to Ms. Hawthorne. If I hadn’t gone to see her, I wouldn’t be in the hospital." As Raina Lowell spoke, she looked as though she was about to cry, her pitiful appearance easily arousing a man’s protective instincts.

Aiden Xavier patted Raina Lowell’s head. "I’m not blaming her. I’m just worried about you. You know your physical condition better than I do. If it’s not important, you shouldn’t go looking for Hazel Hawthorne."

Raina Lowell slowly raised her head.

Aiden Xavier said gravely, "Even I don’t know what to do with Hazel Hawthorne sometimes. She’s the type who holds a grudge over every little thing. You should provoke her less. I’m afraid she’ll hurt you, understand?"

As if she understood, Raina Lowell nodded silently. "If I don’t go looking for her, can you spend more time with me? I get so lonely at home by myself."

Aiden Xavier grunted in assent, which Raina Lowell took as an agreement.

It seemed the matter of Raina Lowell going to their home to fight with Hazel Hawthorne was settled just like that. Aiden Xavier stayed with Raina at the hospital until he received a call from Fiona Forrest. He had no choice but to leave, first arranging for his secretary to hire a private nurse to look after Raina.

Seeing Aiden Xavier about to leave, Raina Lowell had no choice but to grab his hand. "If you leave, will you come back to stay with me tonight? I don’t like being in the hospital alone."

"I’ll try my best." Aiden Xavier gently removed his hand from Raina Lowell’s grasp and turned to leave.

Fiona Forrest had rushed over as soon as she heard from the household staff that Raina Lowell had come to the house to pick a fight with Hazel Hawthorne. When she saw that Hazel wasn’t saying a word about the incident with Raina, she grew angry.

She pointed a finger in Hazel Hawthorne’s face and said, "Is this all you’ve got? That bitch Raina Lowell is clinging to Aiden Xavier like a ghost that won’t leave. You’re his wife! Are you just going to stand by and watch Aiden and Raina carry on together?"

"Mom, Aiden Xavier has his own two feet. I can’t stop him even if I wanted to."

Fiona Forrest snorted. "It looks like I’ll have to find some time to meet this Raina Lowell. I want to see for myself what her real goal is, sticking to Aiden Xavier like this."

Hazel Hawthorne couldn’t help but say, "Maybe it’s because of love."

"Love? How much is Raina Lowell’s love worth? It’s your love that Aiden Xavier needs. If you put a little more effort into your relationship with Aiden, would he even have time to go out and be with other women?"

Hazel Hawthorne gave a helpless smile. ’No matter how much effort I put into Aiden Xavier, it would never be enough to compete with Raina Lowell’s place in his heart. Otherwise, after three years of marriage, some kind of spark would have ignited between them by now.’

Fiona Forrest was still lecturing Hazel Hawthorne when Aiden Xavier walked in through the door.

He happened to overhear Fiona Forrest’s words and subconsciously glanced at Hazel Hawthorne. But her face was blank; she didn’t even spare him a look, sitting obediently beside Fiona Forrest.

Aiden Xavier respectfully greeted, "Mother."

Fiona Forrest shot him a cool glance. "Hasn’t Raina Lowell died yet?"

Aiden Xavier was exasperated. "Mother, the doctors got to Raina in time. She’s not going to die that easily."

"I think she’d be better off dead. All she does by living is bring disaster to others. And you, what is wrong with you? What is Raina Lowell to you? Instead of staying home and protecting your own wife, you’re out there worrying about some other woman. Hazel Hawthorne is so gentle. If she gets into a fight with Raina Lowell, Hazel is the only one who will lose out."

’Gentle?’

Aiden Xavier glanced at the docile Hazel Hawthorne. ’Only in front of Fiona Forrest would she ever be this obedient.’

"Aiden Xavier, don’t make me warn you about this Raina Lowell business again and again. I’ve told you before, if you dare to get together with Raina, I’ll have her sent out of the country immediately, and I’ll make sure you two never see each other again for the rest of your lives."

"Mother, don’t interfere in Raina’s affairs. I have my own plans."

Fiona Forrest’s hostility toward Raina Lowell was impossible to dispel. Seeing her own son’s attitude, she was so angry her chest hurt. She clutched her heart, her rage uncontrollable. "I swear, you’ll be the death of me because of that woman."

Seeing this, Hazel Hawthorne quickly went to help Fiona Forrest calm down. "Mom, don’t be angry. It’s not worth ruining your health over. Aiden Xavier knows how to handle things, so just trust him to handle it. He’s a grown man. He knows what he should and shouldn’t do."

*****