When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

###Chapter 98: She Really Likes You

"Hazel, we’re going back there right now! We have to teach that shameless pair a lesson and show them you’re not someone they can just push around. You still have me! I’ve got your back. I’ve never seen a wife catch her husband with another woman and just walk away."

"They’re the ones in the wrong! They should be the ones to leave, not us!" Sharon Winters said, her face flush with anger. "Hazel, you can’t let yourself be treated like this. Aiden Xavier is a complete bastard! Didn’t he say he was going to cut ties with Raina Lowell?"

Hazel Hawthorne thought about how Aiden Xavier had been treating her these past few days and how happy their conversations had been. Even though they often bickered and she frequently got mad, she had also been genuinely happy.

Sharon Winters grabbed Hazel Hawthorne and started to drag her back, but Hazel spoke up. "It’s fine. I’m not upset. I knew about it all along; I just didn’t let it bother me. I’m the one who couldn’t control my emotions. Let’s just go."

"What does that have to do with you? You’re clearly the victim here! Why would you say something like that?" Sharon didn’t understand what Hazel Hawthorne was thinking or how she could tolerate this. "This isn’t like the Hazel I know at all."

Hazel Hawthorne’s mind was in turmoil. She knew better than anyone that her special feelings for Aiden Xavier had grown wildly like weeds over the past few days. The secrets she had once suppressed deep in her heart were now on the verge of spilling out.

She grabbed Sharon Winters again. "Let’s just go. We can eat somewhere else. My treat. Come have a drink with me."

Seeing that Hazel Hawthorne was truly unwilling to go back, Sharon Winters didn’t press the issue further. However, she still felt indignant on Hazel’s behalf and spent the entire way ranting about Aiden Xavier and Raina Lowell, cursing Raina from head to toe.

’But what good would that do?’

It wasn’t that Hazel hadn’t thought about going back and asking Aiden Xavier what their interactions over the past few days meant, but she knew that if she asked, he would discover her true feelings.

A long time ago, she had asked Aiden Xavier if he remembered a little girl who used to silently follow them around when they were children. His answer was that he didn’t.

Since Aiden Xavier didn’t remember, she was even more reluctant to bring up the past. She would let bygones be bygones.

’The person I had a crush on in my youth will just have to be buried in my memories as time goes by. That’s fine too. The Aiden Xavier of today is just my husband in name only—it has nothing to do with my childhood crush, my memories, or my emotions.’

Hazel Hawthorne took Sharon Winters to a small tavern.

Sharon Winters stared at Hazel Hawthorne for a long time before voicing her confusion. "Why are you able to tolerate Aiden Xavier continuing to see Raina Lowell? You know she has ill intentions toward him. She’s probably just dying for him to divorce you so she can be with him."

"Why should I care what someone I don’t care about is doing?" Hazel’s retort left Sharon Winters speechless. Her best state of mind had been right after she married Aiden Xavier, when she was just herself, and nothing he did could affect her emotions.

Sharon Winters said, puzzled, "I can tell you like Aiden Xavier."

The moment the words left her mouth, Hazel Hawthorne immediately denied it. "I don’t like him."

Sharon Winters rolled her eyes. "We’re both women, and I’m not some naive girl experiencing her first crush. If you don’t like Aiden Xavier, why were you checking your phone all day? Weren’t you just waiting for him to contact you?"

"If you don’t like Aiden Xavier, why did you look so devastated when you saw him with Raina Lowell? If you really don’t care about him, why do you have to keep insisting on it?"

"A lot of the time, the more you insist on something, the more you’re telling people that you actually care a great deal."

Sharon Winters covered Hazel’s hand with her own. "Even though I don’t know what’s really going on between you and Aiden Xavier, I can honestly see that you like him. Since you like him, why hide it? If you don’t say how you feel, other people will never know."

"Some feelings can’t be requited just by confessing them. If you already know what the outcome will be, why bother saying it? Sometimes, saying it out loud won’t change the final result," Hazel Hawthorne said faintly. "I’ve never been willing to waste my time on romantic entanglements."

Seeing Hazel Hawthorne regain her composure, Sharon suddenly felt that anything more she wanted to say had lost its meaning. She looked at Hazel with heartache, thinking, ’So this is what it’s like to be married to a rich man. It’s not an easy life. Rich men are never faithful.’

Case in point: Aiden Xavier.

Hazel Hawthorne didn’t know how much she had drunk. She laid her head on the table, dizzy. Her phone vibrated continuously in her bag, but she was completely oblivious. She pulled Sharon Winters into a conversation, rambling nonsensically while Sharon listened quietly.

"Hazel, you sit tight and don’t you dare wander off. I’m going to take a call."

Looking at the unfamiliar number on her phone, she found the bar was too noisy to hear what the person on the other end was saying, so she took her phone and found a quiet spot.

Aiden Xavier’s voice came from the other end. Sharon Winters snorted coldly and said sarcastically, "Who are you looking for?"

"Where’s Hazel?"

Sharon Winters thought Aiden Xavier was a real piece of work and had no intention of telling him where Hazel was. "Mr. Xavier, I thought you’d forgotten you even have a wife, that you’re a married man. Weren’t you having a lovely dinner with Raina Lowell? Why are you looking for Hazel now? Go on, keep her company."

"Where is Hazel?" Aiden Xavier rubbed his brow. He had just dropped Raina Lowell home and immediately called Hazel. "I’ve been calling Hazel, but she hasn’t been picking up. Is she with you?"

"It’s none of your business whether she’s with me or not. I’m telling you, Hazel is my friend, and I absolutely will not stand by and watch my friend get hurt. Aiden Xavier, if you don’t like Hazel, then stop pestering her! Give her her freedom and let her go find her own happiness."

"What did she tell you?"

"Never mind what she told me. I’m telling you, you can’t just abandon Hazel and then go running to Raina Lowell’s side. Hazel likes you so much, and you’re hurting her like this. She’s going to be heartbroken." Sharon spoke with earnest gravity.

Aiden Xavier was stunned. He asked uncertainly, "You’re saying... Hazel likes me?"

"Yes! Hazel likes you a lot! She even mentioned that you don’t remember the little girl from your childhood, and she was sad about it for a long time. I mean, how can you be so heartless? You have a girl like Hazel and you don’t cherish her, but instead, you go chasing after some two-faced schemer."

"Tell me where you are. I’m coming over right now."

"Hazel told me not to say," Sharon Winters answered honestly.

Aiden Xavier didn’t get angry. He just went along with what she was saying. "Hazel must be very sad right now. Don’t you want me there to comfort her?"

Hearing Aiden Xavier’s words, Sharon had never thought a man could be so shameless. "Aiden Xavier, I used to just think you were a playboy, but now I see you’re just a scumbag. You just finished up with Raina Lowell, and now you’re coming after Hazel. Let me tell you, I will absolutely not tell you where she is."

"I won’t let you hurt Hazel again. If you don’t love her, then stay away from her."

*****