When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Who Do You Think You Are?

### Chapter 32: Who Do You Think You Are?

The waiter pushed the door open. Before Hazel Hawthorne even stepped inside, she was hit by the thick, pungent scent of perfume. The private room was dimly lit and filled with the boisterous laughter of men and women. Unused to the dim light, she squinted, her eyes scanning the room for Aiden Xavier.

By her estimate, there were at least ten women in the room, but she could only see a few men.

She saw a large group of women huddled together and instinctively assumed Aiden was in the middle of them. Just as she was about to step forward and rescue him, a flicker of movement in a distinctly quieter corner caught her eye. There was someone there.

She frowned slightly. Her intuition told her Aiden would be in the quieter spot.

So she ignored the noisy crowd and walked toward the quiet area, only to see a woman sitting on a man’s lap. The sight made her think she had walked into the wrong room, and she quickly pulled out her phone to check the message Aiden had sent.

She hadn’t.

’So this man couldn’t possibly be the Aiden I know, could he? Playing such a daring game with a woman in a bar?’

Driven by curiosity, she slowly approached. Just as she was about to tentatively call out Aiden’s name, the woman, whose back was to her, suddenly turned her head. Their eyes met. Upon seeing who it was, Hazel instantly felt that coming here was a complete joke.

"Ms. Hawthorne?" Raina Lowell’s soft voice only served to annoy Hazel more. She quickly composed herself, her expression returning to normal. Raina hadn’t expected to see Hazel here either. "Why are you here?"

Without even needing to ask, Hazel knew Raina must be sitting on Aiden’s lap. Without a second thought, she pointed a finger at the man sitting on the sofa with his eyes half-closed. "I definitely wouldn’t have come here alone. Naturally, Aiden called and begged me to come."

"Ms. Hawthorne, are you saying Aiden begged you to come?" Raina stared at Hazel in disbelief, as if she had just told a massive joke. "How is that possible? Ms. Hawthorne, isn’t it more likely that you wanted to see Aiden, so you’re using his drunkenness as an excuse to say that to me?"

Hazel’s mind was quick. A wry smile touched her lips. "Honestly, do you really think I need to do that?"

The lighting conveniently concealed the three of them. On the other side of the room, Julian Sterling, surrounded by women and having the time of his life, was completely oblivious to the fact that Aiden was already in deep trouble.

Raina carefully and gently straightened Aiden’s clothes. Even under Hazel’s gaze, she remained nonchalantly seated on Aiden’s lap, a clear display of their intimacy—a world Hazel couldn’t possibly enter.

Hazel was unmoved. Recalling that it was Aiden who had called her here, she was determined not to let the trip be for nothing. So, she walked right up to Aiden, raised her hand, and delivered a slap—not too light, not too heavy—to his cheek.

Aiden’s eyes flew open. Raina stared at Hazel in horror, her hands flying out to grab at Hazel’s clothes as she demanded, "Hazel Hawthorne, what gives you the right to hit Aiden? Who do you think you are?"

"Who am I? Isn’t it clear who I am? I’m Aiden Xavier’s legally wedded wife! And I’m going to wake him up right now and ask him whether he called me here, or if I came on my own." Hazel was not one to back down easily.

The sight of Raina sitting on Aiden’s lap had already filled Hazel with a bellyful of rage. She had only come to the bar to pick Aiden up at his own request. Who knew she’d arrive to such a spectacular scene?

Aiden opened his eyes and took a moment to get his bearings. Seeing Raina on his lap, he immediately pushed her away and staggered to his feet. He stared at the smiling Hazel. "When did you get here?"

"Aiden, I’ve been here for a while," Hazel said, crossing her arms over her chest with an imperious air. "But I don’t think I came at a good time. I must have interrupted something."

Aiden rubbed his temples. Spotting Raina, who shouldn’t have been there, sobered him up instantly. He wasn’t entirely clear on the situation, but hearing Hazel’s mocking words, he turned to Raina. "Who told you to come?"

Raina tried to step forward and take Aiden’s arm, wanting to show Hazel how close they were. But Aiden’s next words left her completely humiliated.

Raina looked at her empty hand and the "you-shouldn’t-be-here" expression on Aiden’s face, feeling deeply hurt. "Aiden, wasn’t it you who asked me to come?"

"Didn’t I tell you to rest at home?"

Hazel stood to the side like a spectator at a play. Raina looked utterly pitiful, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with wronged tears, as if Hazel had committed some terrible crime.

She then fixed her gaze on Aiden and said bluntly, "Since Raina is here to pick you up, why did you have to call and insist that I come to the bar?"

The words were a double-edged sword. This was an absolute war zone.

Compared to the fragile Raina, Hazel’s attitude seemed incredibly forceful. She glanced at Aiden, and the words he’d said over the phone now seemed laughable to her. Thinking of the scene she’d just witnessed and Raina’s question of who she was to Aiden, she let out a cold laugh.

"Hazel, what’s with that expression?"

Hazel didn’t hold back. "Raina thought I was desperate to come find you. I explained to her that I only came because you insisted. She didn’t believe me and even questioned who I was to you. So I’d like to ask you, too. Who am I to you?"

’In truth, when I asked this question, I already had an answer in my heart. In front of Raina, there’s no way Aiden would admit I’m his wife.’ So she wasn’t expecting anything. She had already figured out how she would respond before Aiden even spoke.

She planned to thoroughly humiliate them both.

But to her surprise, Aiden’s response was completely unexpected.

He turned to Raina and said slowly, "Hazel is my wife now. And it’s true, I’m the one who asked her to come."

Hazel was dumbfounded. She seriously suspected she had misheard, because Raina had already lost control, tears streaming down her face.

"My god, this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone cry on command. It’s like a spring, just flowing nonstop," Hazel marveled, her words dripping with sarcasm.

Aiden shot her a glare. Hazel gave a helpless, amused wave of her hand. "It’s the truth."

’She was finally experiencing the profound truth of that old saying: *women are made of water*. Raina was the perfect embodiment of it.’

"Aiden," Raina sobbed, "if she’s your wife, then what am I to you? Didn’t you say you two were just a fake couple?" freewebnovёl.ƈom

Hazel maintained her smile the entire time. The more Aiden saw her smiling, the less he could figure out what she was thinking.

Hazel really didn’t have the patience to stick around for the rest of the show. "If I’d known Raina was here, I wouldn’t have bothered making the trip. I won’t disturb your little love fest. I’ll be on my way."

It was only after Hazel left that Julian Sterling, on the other side of the room, finally sensed something was wrong. He hurriedly pushed the women away. His eyes met Aiden’s, but before he could speak, Aiden demanded, "Did you tell Raina to come?"

*****