Chapter 189: A SHOCKING NEWS
"It’s unexpected that someone like you is listening to a rumor." Hazel sat down on a bench in the corridor. She texted Ranon that Rafael was here so he could come quickly.
Let Ranon deal with him because she was too lazy to respond to him.
"Not really. The rumor has been around since Mr. Leighton announced your engagement." Rafael sat down next to her. "I saw you visit Ms. Olivia. Do you know her?"
Hazel tried to keep it cool. "I think that’s none of your business." She closed her eyes to indicate that she was done talking to him, but Rafael decided not to see the hint and kept talking.
"How do you know her? Are you two close?" Rafael waited for her answer patiently, and when Hazel opened her eyes, she found him grinning at her. "Do I annoy you?"
"I prefer a silent company." Hazel smiled.
"Oh, my bad." But Rafael didn’t show his remorse. "Can I ask you one more question?"
"No."
He asked her anyway.
"Do you know River? How do you know her?" Rafael tilted her head. He watched her closely to gauge her reaction to the mention of River’s name.
Hazel didn’t expect this question; she was caught off guard, but she didn’t show anything on the surface. However, she wondered how Rafael got this information.
"Do you know River?" Instead of answering his question, she asked him back.
"Yes, I know her. She is a close friend of mine." Rafael looked happy when he talked about her, which Hazel missed seeing.
"In that case, why don’t you ask her? If you were her friend, she would tell you how we met." She didn’t even answer the question.
Rafael chuckled. "You are being mean to me." He didn’t look offended. "That’s a smart way to deflect the answer. See? The rumors are wrong about you."
Thankfully, Ranon came before Rafael could pressure Hazel even more. He went straight to her and didn’t even spare the other man a glance until he greeted him first.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Leighton. I don’t expect to see you here." He then proposed having lunch together so they could talk about their business ventures.
"I am afraid I have to decline." Ranon helped Hazel to stand up. "My wife can’t be out for long. She is already tired from the whole journey here."
Rafael’s smile didn’t falter with the refusal. "Oh, right, it is inconsiderate of me. Let’s talk about it later."
"Sure, we can make an appointment for that."
It was a subtle thing, but by saying that, Ranon made it very clear that they were only business partners, not some type of friend who could meet casually.
Rafael got the hint, but it changed nothing for him.
"Have a safe journey back." Rafael waved at them as they walked away.
Once they were out of Rafael’s earshot, Hazel murmured at Ranon. "This is the second time you used my pregnancy as your excuse."
Earlier, he used it to get Deryl so Hazel could meet with Olivia.
"Hm. You and the baby are my favorite excuse now."
***
Aubrey just put Bryer to sleep. She was exhausted. There were dark circles under her eyes. She didn’t look like the woman she used to.
Right now, her hair was tied up on top of her head into a messy bun, there was no makeup, and she had been wearing the same shirt for three days straight. Her baby was a little bit fussy, especially now when he had a fever.
Unlike what others assumed, Aubrey was very attentive to her baby. She managed to do almost everything related to her son on her own.
Meanwhile, Arthur still didn’t allow her to go out. She also couldn’t find a way to contact Arlo. Did he even try to see his son? She waited for him, but there was no sign of whether or not he would come to get her and their baby.
Was this the man that she had risked everything for? She felt stupid to even fight River over him now. But, as much as she started hating Arlo, she couldn’t resent her baby.
It’s weird, but she loved her son.
"You need to take a bath; you are smelly." Elise walked past Aubrey on her way to her bedroom. She always spoke as she pleased, and Aubrey was aware of that.
She had gotten used to this side of her mother, but something snapped in her when she heard such criticism.
"Can you shut up?" Aubrey stopped walking and turned around to face her mother. Exhaustion had turned into anger.
"What did you say?" Elise faced her daughter too. She smirked to see the anger in her eyes. "Are you angry with me, or are you venting on me because you can’t do it with your father or Arlo?" Her smile was harmless, but her words were not. "You misplaced your anger on me."
"Can you act like a mother once?! Will it kill you if you care about me once?!"
Elise didn’t even flinch when she heard Aubrey shout at her angrily; she had this calmness that made Aubrey want to rip her face so she could show some emotions.
"Why do you treat me like this?! Am I not your daughter?!"
Aubrey was under pressure, and the stress affected her body. She struggled to produce milk for her baby, which made her even more depressed.
"Say something!" Aubrey walked closer towards Elise. "Why do you hate me so much?!"
"I don’t hate you. It’s your expectation that hurts you." Elise didn’t take a step back when Aubrey was right in front of her. "You expected me to love you and coddle you. When did I give you any indication I will act like that?"
"Arrghh!" Aubrey screamed in frustration. She didn’t know how to retort to that. She was livid, but she didn’t know to whom her anger was directed. She was at a loss.
She wanted other people to feel the pain she currently endured so they would know how much it hurt.
"If you are done with your anger, take a bath; you are very smelly."
Elise scrunched her nose and then took a step back, as if Aubrey’s body odor really bothered her. She then turned around and left.
But Aubrey had lost all reason when she came after her mother and grabbed her hair. She yanked it down and caused Elise to stumble.
However, to her surprise, her mother was steady on her feet and managed to get her balance before she fell. Instead, she twisted Aubrey’s hand and slapped her face.
"That’s for sobering you up." Elise backhanded Aubrey this time. "That’s for ruining my hair. I just got my hair done."
Elise raised her hand again, ready to deliver the third slap, but she stopped herself when she saw the look in Aubrey’s eyes.
Her daughter was scared of her.
Elise was always indifferent, but from the way she moved, Aubrey was sure her mother knew self-defense. She grew up in a family of assassins, after all; thus, the movement was rather familiar.
"If you are angry, vent out your anger to the right person. Take revenge if you want." Elise stretched out her hand and caressed Aubrey’s red cheek, the spot where she slapped her a second ago. "Make them feel your pain, but you have to know what you are capable of doing."
Elise wiped her hand on Aubrey’s shirt and grimaced to see how unkempt her clothes were.
"But on a serious note, take a bath first. It can help you clear your mind."
***
The past month was uneventful. The divorce proceeding between Laurel and James would be wrapped up soon, despite Denzel’s intervention and James’s harassment.
They had a prenup that made the division of assets easier.
However, Carl’s legal proceedings were still ongoing, and he was currently in a rehabilitation center. He kept asking for Laurel, and there were a few times when she was about to give in, but she steeled her heart and stopped herself.
Hazel’s involvement had never been mentioned. It was Yara and Nolu who answered the investigation.
Meanwhile, Olivia returned to the McKenna family so there would be people who took care of her, but Hazel guessed it wouldn’t take long before she ran away again.
Everything was far away from being peaceful, and Hazel was enjoying her pregnancy moments before she met with the baby.
She was scheduled to have a C-section ten days from now, and Ranon had been busy preparing everything.
"It’s a good thing you don’t go to work." Hazel ate her ice cream as she watched Ranon prepare a big bag to be taken to the hospital. "Or else, you will not have time for this."
Despite the chaos out there, Hazel was safe and sound with her ice cream because Ranon took care of everything.
She was afraid she would get used to this. It was so nice to have someone take care of you. However, her peaceful moment soon would shatter...
"I will always make time for this." Ranon folded small clothes for their baby.
"How is it with your father? He has been calling me nonstop. I wonder why he has not come."
Ranon was about to answer when he received a phone call from Ares, which he picked up because he called from an emergency number.
His face changed when he heard the news.
"What happened?" Hazel asked after he hung up.
"They found a dead body under the river near the factory."