Free Web NovelChapter 37: Chapter 37: A Farcical Blunder
### Chapter 37: A Complete Misunderstanding
"Are you thinking about divorcing me every single day?" Aiden Xavier looked at Hazel Hawthorne’s desolate expression, unsure what was going through her mind. Her first words upon waking were about divorce.
Hazel Hawthorne’s face was blank. She didn’t know how much Aiden Xavier understood about last night’s events. She couldn’t just tear open her wounds for him to see. She wanted a divorce to protect the Xavier Family’s reputation before any scandal could break.
Even if a scandal did emerge later, as long as she divorced Aiden Xavier, it would have nothing to do with him. It would be a parting gift of sorts, a way to ensure she didn’t bring shame to the Xavier Family because of her.
Although Aiden Xavier didn’t treat her very well, Fiona Forrest had been quite good to her. After all, it was the Xavier Family that had extended a helping hand when she needed it most.
She couldn’t repay their kindness with ingratitude. For a prominent family, reputation was everything.
Aiden Xavier thought for a moment. Seeing Hazel Hawthorne struggle to speak, something suddenly occurred to him. "Do you not remember what happened last night?" he asked abruptly.
The expression on Hazel Hawthorne’s face changed instantly. "Last night... what happened..."
Aiden Xavier gave her a cool glance, finally getting it right for once. He knew what Hazel Hawthorne was thinking. "Are you trying to divorce me because of what happened last night? Are you worried I’ll find out and won’t be able to accept you?"
Hazel Hawthorne nodded, then immediately shook her head. Seeing Aiden Xavier’s confusion, she slowly explained, "I’m not worried about whether you’ll accept me or not. I just don’t want my problems to cause any trouble for the Xavier Family."
"What kind of trouble could there be? Is there any trouble I can’t solve?" Aiden Xavier was arrogant. In Kenport, there truly wasn’t a problem he couldn’t handle.
"Because I don’t know if they have any leverage on me. If they do, and it gets exposed later, everyone will know that I was... violated last night..." Hazel Hawthorne couldn’t control her emotions as she spoke.
Only then did Aiden Xavier realize they were on completely different pages. He thought Hazel Hawthorne was worried about causing trouble for him, but her "trouble" was not the kind he had imagined.
Even though Hazel Hawthorne was crying, Aiden Xavier couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. "Who said you were violated last night? It’s a good thing I got there in time and took you away."
Hazel Hawthorne was lost in her grief. It took a long moment for Aiden Xavier’s words to register. She grabbed his hand excitedly, asking uncertainly, "Aiden Xavier, what did you say? Are you saying I wasn’t violated?"
"You’re my woman, Aiden Xavier’s woman. Who would dare violate you?"
Hazel Hawthorne didn’t pay attention to his words. She was still thinking about last night. ’But I clearly remember... it felt like I was violated. And there’s a bite mark from a man on my earring.’
Seeing Hazel Hawthorne both crying and laughing, Aiden Xavier thought, ’A woman’s mind is truly hard to fathom.’ "I protected you. Don’t you think you should thank me?"
Still crying and laughing, Hazel Hawthorne nodded.
Aiden Xavier immediately asked, "So, are you still divorcing me now?"
Hazel Hawthorne shook her head and changed her tune. "We’ll talk about the divorce later."
Hearing this, Aiden Xavier was so exasperated he laughed!
She finally knew she hadn’t been violated last night; she was still untouched. And Aiden Xavier had rescued her without taking advantage of the situation. A wave of gratitude washed over her. But just as quickly, she remembered that the incident had happened at the bar.
If Aiden Xavier hadn’t told her to go to the bar, none of this would have ever happened.
So, in the end, the main culprit was still Aiden Xavier!
And so, with some color returning to her face, Hazel Hawthorne started pointing at Aiden Xavier. "If it weren’t for you last night, I wouldn’t have gone to the bar! And if I hadn’t gone to the bar, none of this would have happened! Where were you while I was getting hurt? You were off with Raina Lowell, whispering sweet nothings to her!"
"Hazel Hawthorne, have a conscience. I was looking for you all night. I nearly turned all of Kenport upside down."
"Oh, really?" Hazel Hawthorne didn’t believe him. "Even if you did look for me and rescue me, it was only because you didn’t want to owe me. If something had really happened to me, you would have felt guilty for the rest of your life."
Hazel Hawthorne’s expression changed faster than his ever could. Just a moment ago, she looked like she was thanking him for saving her life, and now she was pinning all the blame on him.
"I wouldn’t feel guilty. You knew perfectly well that a bar is a shady place, full of untrustworthy people. Yet you still dared to drink something a stranger handed you. If that’s not asking for trouble, what is?"
"I never go to bars! How would I know about all their tricks?" Hazel Hawthorne had never liked going to bars. "Of course, I can’t compare to you, a regular at bars. Leaving me there by myself was also irresponsible of you."
Hazel Hawthorne suddenly thought of Raina Lowell appearing at the bar last night. She added, "It’s because bars are so seedy that you don’t want Raina Lowell to go to one, right? You don’t want anything to happen to *her* there. So you insisted *I* go to the bar to pick you up and take you home. Is that what this is all about?"
Aiden Xavier never would have imagined that Hazel Hawthorne’s mind could connect completely unrelated things into a perfectly coherent, seamless narrative.
"That must be it!" she declared with absolute certainty.
"I really want to crack open your head and see what kind of mush is inside."
Aiden Xavier couldn’t even be bothered to explain things to Hazel Hawthorne. "I’ve already called in sick for you at Sterling Group. Just rest at home for the next few days. Go back to work when you’re feeling better."
Hazel Hawthorne didn’t ask who had changed her clothes. ’If it was Aiden Xavier,’ she wondered, ’how am I supposed to face him?’
The two of them left the hotel, one after the other. She quickly got into Aiden Xavier’s car, crossed her arms over her chest, and asked, "That man from last night... did you catch him?"
"You want to find him?"
"I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life. If I find him, I’ll make him wish he were dead! I’ll make sure his family line ends with him!"
Aiden Xavier glanced at her and said coolly, "I hope you get the chance to meet him."
Hazel Hawthorne muttered something viciously under her breath. Catching her little movements out of the corner of his eye, Aiden Xavier couldn’t tell what she was saying but found it somewhat amusing. She was nothing like the frightened Hazel Hawthorne from last night.
Last night was probably the first time he had ever seen Hazel Hawthorne so scared, so terrified, and so fragile.
He remembered that after she was given the sedative, even in her sleep, her nerves were stretched taut. The slightest noise would startle her awake, and she would cry while resisting his touch.
He had known Hazel Hawthorne for three years, and besides when her mother passed away, he had never seen her cry.
At all other times, Hazel Hawthorne was always smiling.
He drove Hazel Hawthorne to her doorstep. She opened the car door, but just as she was about to get out, she suddenly turned back and said to Aiden Xavier with the utmost seriousness, "Although the danger I was in last night is inextricably linked to you, I’m still very grateful that you were able to temporarily set aside Raina Lowell to come and save me."
Those words... No matter how many times Aiden Xavier replayed them in his mind, he felt they were loaded with meaning.
It was as if they held a hidden message.
On the surface, she was thanking him, but it also seemed like she was reminding him that wherever he and Raina Lowell were, danger would follow her. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
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