When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

###Chapter 69: Absolutely Impossible

That one word—"Out"—sent the timid Secretary Quinn scrambling. From now on, unless Aiden Xavier called his name, he would absolutely not step foot in that office and risk being annihilated by one of his boss’s glares.

Meanwhile, Raina Lowell was far from finished at the hospital. She wanted everyone to know that Hazel Hawthorne was completely unworthy of Aiden Xavier. She wanted them to know that Hazel was the one clinging to Aiden, that she had used despicable means to force him into marrying her.

But she hadn’t expected Hazel Hawthorne to be far more difficult to drive off than she had imagined.

Any other woman would have likely crumbled under the pressure long ago and left Aiden Xavier on her own accord. But Hazel Hawthorne was the exception. Not only was she refusing to divorce Aiden, she even dared to flaunt her victory right in Raina’s face.

Raina Lowell was throwing a tantrum in her hospital room. When a call came from the paparazzo, she took the opportunity to chew him out. "You haven’t done a single thing I asked, and now you have the nerve to ask me for money?"

But the paparazzo was no pushover. He immediately retorted, "Ms. Lowell, I did exactly what you asked. Whether it worked or not, you have to pay me. Otherwise, I’ll go tell Aiden Xavier. You don’t want him to know you arranged all this, do you?"

At the mention of Aiden Xavier, Raina’s anger flared again. But he was using Aiden to threaten her. As furious as she was, Raina knew he had her cornered. At this point, she had no choice but to compromise.

"The money... I’ll wire it to your account tonight. And I don’t want to see you in Kenport ever again!"

"Heh heh, don’t you worry, Ms. Lowell. I get it. Just give me the money, and I’ll leave Kenport immediately. I’ll never show my face to Aiden Xavier, and your secret will be safe with me." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Raina Lowell angrily threw her phone onto the bed. Just then, Aiden Xavier pushed the door open and entered, giving her a confused look. Startled, Raina flinched. She quickly snatched the phone back up, the anger on her face instantly replaced by a smile.

"Aiden, you’re here! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I haven’t even made myself presentable." Raina’s face was pale; even when she wasn’t in the hospital, she had a bloodless, pallid complexion.

"I had some business nearby, so I stopped by to see you. The doctor says your wound is healing well. You should be able to leave the hospital in a few more days."

"Really?" Raina’s voice was faint, still sounding weak. Her gaze fell to her wrist. "Aiden... after I get out of the hospital, will you still be by my side?"

Secretary Quinn, who had followed Aiden in, tactfully backed out of the room, pulling the private nurse who was about to enter out with him and leaving the two of them alone.

Aiden Xavier looked at Raina earnestly. "Of course I’ll stay by your side."

"Then... why," Raina began to sob quietly, her voice laced with accusation, "why do you always act like you love me, but I can’t feel it? I’ve been thinking these past few days... are you only with me because my brother saved you?"

Whenever Raina’s brother was mentioned, Aiden would fall pointedly silent.

With tears glistening in her eyes, Raina looked up at Aiden. "If you don’t love me, just tell me. I won’t cling to you. I’ll go far away."

Raina was feigning a retreat in order to advance, once again trying to pressure Aiden into a divorce.

At this point, she could no longer tell if it was Aiden or Hazel who was unwilling to go through with the divorce.

"Hush, don’t let your imagination run wild. Once you’re better, I’ll take you home. As for the divorce, we’ll have to talk about it after I’ve handled my current affairs. I can’t give you a definite answer right now."

Aiden pulled a chair to her side. His large, warm hand enveloped Raina’s slender fingers, and he began to play with them absently. "I know that asking you to be with me like this is unfair to you, but my hands are tied. My marriage to Hazel... it’s not just about her and me."

Raina fell silent, her tear-filled eyes fixed on Aiden.

"You know my mother is very fond of Hazel. If I were to divorce her right now, my mother would definitely intervene, and she’d find out the real reason for the divorce."

Aiden’s gentle gaze did little to soothe Raina’s heart. "I don’t want my mother to think I’m divorcing just for you," he continued. "That would only deepen her misunderstanding of you. I hope that when we get married in the future, we can have her blessing."

His words, spoken with such sincerity and paired with his deeply affectionate expression, moved Raina to tears. She threw herself into Aiden’s arms. After a moment of silence, she asked uncertainly, "Do you really think so?"

"Of course. Everything I’m doing right now is for our future."

Raina was utterly satisfied, so much so that she felt the impulse to give herself to him right then and there.

Fortunately, Aiden stopped her.

Aiden had truly just stopped by on his way from a nearby errand. Raina, however, believed that for him to steal a moment from his busy schedule to visit her proved just how important she was to him.

Aiden left after half an hour.

Having been placated by Aiden, Raina’s mood improved considerably. She even looked at the private nurse with a smile, which in turn left the nurse completely stunned. In all the days she had been caring for Raina, she had never once seen her smile.

She attended to her patient with trembling caution, terrified that one wrong move would displease Raina again and earn her an inevitable scolding.

The moment Aiden was gone, the warmth in the hospital room seemed to vanish with him, leaving it cold and sterile once more. Raina idly played with her phone. Gazing at the gauze wrapped around her wrist, the corner of her mouth curled into a faint smile.

But then, the door to her room flew open without warning.

Fiona Forrest swept in, followed by her butler, her expression grim. The private nurse started to greet them but was immediately shooed out by the butler, who then stood guard at the door, barring anyone from entering.

Raina never expected Fiona Forrest to come looking for her. Aiden had protected her so well, after all. Fiona had tried to see her several times before, but Aiden had always stopped her.

Fiona looked at Raina in the hospital bed, then shot a cool glance at her wrist. "Raina," she said coldly, "it seems sending you away from Kenport all those years ago was a mistake."

Raina’s lips pressed into a thin line. She stared at Fiona Forrest, unblinking.

"Do you remember what you promised me before you left Kenport back then?"

Raina remained silent, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.

Seeing her pitiful, delicate act, Fiona Forrest remained unmoved. "You said," she continued icily, "that you would never return to Kenport."

Raina was intimidated by Fiona. She couldn’t help but shudder and quickly said, "Mrs. Xavier, I truly love Aiden. I just wanted to come back and see him."

"Just to see him?" Fiona stood beside the bed and planted her hands on either side of Raina, leaning in slowly. She enunciated each word with cold precision. "You’ve been back for half a month and have caused nothing but trouble. And you say you only came back to see Aiden?"

"I know exactly what you’re thinking. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again: I will never, ever accept you marrying into the Xavier Family and becoming Aiden’s wife!"

Raina looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. "Mrs. Xavier," she asked in disbelief, "you clearly liked me so much when I was a child. Why... why do you hate me so much now?"

*****