When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

### Chapter 47: Sleepless Aiden Xavier

"What do you think you’re doing?" Aiden’s cool voice rang in Hazel’s ear. Drawn in by the gentle look on his sleeping face, she’d been compelled to do something completely out of character. Now that he was questioning her, Hazel’s mind went blank.

She struggled to pull her hand back, but Aiden wouldn’t let go.

They were so close Hazel could feel his breath on her skin. She averted her gaze and stopped struggling, letting him keep his grip on her hand. "I didn’t do anything. You’re the one holding my hand—what do *you* want?"

"Playing the victim? The pot calling the kettle black?"

"That’s ridiculous. I just woke up, and when I realized someone was beside me, I instinctively glanced over." Hazel felt a pang of guilt. She would never admit she’d wanted to touch his face; she rarely got a chance to observe him this closely, after all.

"It looks to me like you were up to no good. Now that I’ve caught you in the act, you’re trying to talk your way out of it."

"What am I making excuses for? I’m telling the truth. Aiden, can you stop with the delusions? Even if a man like you stripped naked and stood in front of me, I wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of sexual interest."

Hazel put heavy emphasis on the last two words, simply throwing Aiden’s own line back at him.

The phrase sounded instantly familiar to Aiden. It took him a few seconds to realize he was the one who had said it to Hazel earlier that night. He let out a soft chuckle. "You really hold a grudge, don’t you?"

"I can’t help it. I’m petty, and I hold grudges."

Hazel was completely oblivious to how close she and Aiden were in that moment. Nor did she realize that the expression on her face was more playfully petulant than genuinely annoyed, less like a complaint and more like she was being coy with him.

There was a hint of a playful pout in her voice. She struggled again, trying to pull free, but Aiden’s grip remained firm. She gave up. "Fine. If you don’t want to let go, then just keep holding on."

"You’re a woman who says one thing and means another. If I let go, how would I know you wouldn’t try something on me?" Aiden’s voice was low and tinged with amusement. He himself didn’t notice the fond look in his eyes as he gazed at Hazel.

Hazel, for her part, was completely unaware. Her eyes went wide as she huffed, "You’re so shameless."

"Go to sleep." Aiden had been busy all day. He’d rushed from a meeting to the hospital, stayed there until evening, and had then been called back by Fiona Forrest. Exhaustion was finally catching up to him, and he had no energy left for idle banter with Hazel.

Hazel struggled a few more times, but to no avail. She finally gave up.

She was tired, too.

In her drowsy state, Hazel felt as if someone was staring at her. But she was so exhausted that even opening her eyes felt like an immense effort. Her lips twitched, and her free hand came up to rub her face.

It was Hazel who woke Aiden. Just as she had warned, she was not a still sleeper. In her sleep, she had kicked the blanket and accidentally struck Aiden in the thigh.

Aiden was a light sleeper and woke easily.

He woke with a start and looked down to see Hazel’s leg draped over his stomach. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Aiden barely slept a wink the entire night.

In the morning, Hazel woke up to find Aiden wide awake, staring intently at her. Having forgotten she was sleeping with him, she assumed she was hallucinating. She instinctively reached out and pinched his cheek.

When Aiden didn’t react, she muttered under her breath, "How am I seeing Aiden sleeping next to me? I pinched him and he didn’t even make a sound. It must be a dream."

"It’s not a dream." The hoarse voice chased away the last vestiges of Hazel’s drowsiness.

Hazel’s eyes flew open. She stared at Aiden in shock, then reached out to pinch his cheek again, only for him to block her hand.

’So it wasn’t a dream!’

The dark circles under Aiden’s eyes were pronounced; he clearly hadn’t slept well. He stared blankly at Hazel, who was now fully awake with a start. She shoved him away, scrambled into a sitting position, and demanded viciously, "Why were you spying on me instead of sleeping?"

"If I could have fallen asleep, do you think I’d be staring at you?" Aiden rubbed his aching temples. Every time he’d been about to drift off, Hazel had either kicked the blankets or ground her teeth.

She’d kept him up all night.

"When did I tell you not to sleep? I told you to sleep on the sofa, but you’re the one who refused! You make it sound like I’m abusing you." Hazel shot back, completely oblivious that she was the true culprit behind his sleepless night.

Aiden didn’t even want to argue with her. He knew that without concrete evidence, Hazel would never admit she was the reason he’d been up all night.

So, quite unscrupulously, Aiden pulled out his phone to show Hazel the photos and videos he had secretly taken during the night. "This," he said, "is why I couldn’t get any sleep."

The photos weren’t so bad; they mostly just showed Hazel sleeping sprawled out like a starfish. But, despicably, Aiden had also recorded a video. In the video, Hazel was indeed grinding her teeth, occasionally muttering a few curses. If one listened closely, it was clear she was cursing Aiden.

The moment she saw the photos, Hazel lunged for Aiden’s phone. "How could you be so awful? Delete them!"

"Nope. I’m keeping this as evidence to make you admit it."

"Admit what?" Hazel, furious, tried to snatch the phone again. She ended up pressing her entire body against Aiden’s, her hands flailing as she reached for the device.

"Admit that you’re the reason I couldn’t sleep last night." Aiden held the phone high above his head. Hazel was completely oblivious to how strange and intimate their position had become; her mind was solely focused on deleting the photos and videos from his phone.

"You could have just told me about it this morning! Did you really need to keep evidence?"

"Without evidence? Would you have admitted it? Hazel, don’t make me laugh. I know you. You’re too stubborn to ever admit you’re wrong."

Early that morning, the two battled on the bed over the phone for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Hazel lay panting on top of Aiden. He had led her on a wild goose chase, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t get her hands on his phone.

Exhausted but still unwilling to give up, she glared at Aiden’s phone. "What will it take for you to delete those photos?"

With her panting breaths, Hazel’s chest was constantly rubbing against Aiden’s. Her unintentional actions had aroused him long ago. The intensity in his deep-set eyes sent a shiver down her spine, but it wasn’t until she felt a distinct change in his body beneath hers that she suddenly realized just how intimate their position was.

She scrambled off him in a reflex, pulling the blanket tightly around herself with a defensive look on her face.

Seeing her defensive posture, Aiden calmly put his phone away and stated coolly, "I’m not deleting them."

Hazel gritted her teeth, but she didn’t dare make another move. She could only watch as Aiden took his phone and disappeared into the bathroom. A long while passed before he finally emerged.

Hazel couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. Her mind was replaying the scene from moments ago. After a long, awkward silence, she finally managed to choke out a pointless question: "Are you... all right now?"

"What would be wrong with me?"

Feeling guilty, Hazel said, "I hear men are... full of vitality in the mornings. You were in the bathroom for so long. You weren’t... taking care of a physical need, were you?" After a pause, she added, "I wonder who it was that said he wouldn’t have any reaction even if I stripped naked in front of him."

*****