Chapter 203: THE CANDY SHOP
Ares felt there was something different about Hazel when he saw her. There was this cold and calculated aura that emanated from her, but it disappeared a second after she realized he was there.
Her smile was harmless, but his gut feeling told him there was something that had shifted. If Ares could tell this, Ranon should be able to.
However, that man refused to make his stance clear.
"Hi, Ares. Long time no see. Did you come to see Ashlyn?" Hazel greeted Ares a little bit too cheerfully, as he had caught her murderous aura earlier.
The change was not very swift, but if you didn’t pay close attention, you would think that you were seeing things.
"I hope you don’t bring toys; she has a lot. We don’t know where to put them."
"No, I don’t, and I feel bad."
"Oh, don’t be. Laurel caused so much trouble by bringing too many toys." Hazel made a face. "Will you stay for dinner?"
"No. I have something else to do. I am going to leave."
"Okay. Be careful. Come here often; Ranon needs to be distracted from the baby from time to time." Hazel waved at Ares and then walked past him.
Even though the conversation was pleasant, it was artificial. Once they were no longer facing each other, their expressions changed drastically.
Ares stared at Hazel’s retreating back with a distrustful look.
On the other hand, Hazel went straight to the guest bathroom because she knew Ranon would be in their bedroom with Ashlyn. She needed to readjust her emotions and control her expression.
"Shit."
Hazel slumped on the cold tiles of the bathroom. She felt slightly dizzy because she was still bleeding after giving birth.
Initially, Ranon didn’t let her leave the apartment, but he must have seen something in her eyes, and he relented. Hazel was unsure how much Ranon knew and what he was thinking about this matter.
More so, without her problem, he had a lot on his plate, too. Denzel had been pestering him nonstop to return to the company, and the pressure from the boards was depressing.
Hazel knew all of that from all the emails they sent him, the voice calls, and the messages, which were endless.
Yet, Ranon simply enjoyed his new role as a father. He was unfazed by his surroundings, unless Ashlyn demanded his attention.
There was a knock on the door. "Are you inside?" Ranon’s voice sounded from behind the locked door. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I am fine. I want to clean up first."
"You can use the bathroom in our room."
"I wanted to pee so badly. I didn’t think I could make it." What a silly excuse, but Ranon stopped asking, and then left after telling her that dinner was ready.
"Okay, I will be there soon." Hazel heard Ashlyn’s laughter. He must be carrying the baby; Renna would be very sullen whenever she didn’t get a chance to take care of the little one.
It was perfect. This family was perfect. Ranon was someone you would want as a husband and a father.
If only Hazel could forget about her vengeance and embrace her role as a mother, living this life without looking back, it would be great.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t.
The pain of the bullet that pierced her chest, the suffocation under the water, the coldness that seeped into her skin, and also the dead body in the morgue—all of those things haunted her.
And now she learned the McKennas and the Barlowes had joined hands to destroy the Lozens. Many Lozen people were being hunted down; they were either forced to change their loyalty or be killed.
Those people were the ones who worked with River for years; they were like brothers and sisters to her. They taught her everything that she needed when she was still learning. They covered her back when they were on a mission.
There was no way Hazel could turn her back and pretend to be a happy family without doing anything.
Pushing herself from the cold floor, Hazel went to the sink and turned on the faucet. She let the water run through her fingers as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked awful. Her eyes were dull.
She hated herself.
But when she walked out of this bathroom, she needed to put on a happy face. She was tired of doing that.
"Get yourself together." Hazel splashed water on her face. Her emotions were all over the place.
***
"Tell me, is that true?" Olivia grabbed Lyle and pulled him to the empty corridor, cornering him to get the answer out of him. "We joined hands with the Barlowes to eliminate the Lozens?"
It was a huge affair; people were talking about it. It was not like they kept it a secret, so obviously, sooner or later, Olivia would learn about it.
She had been staying in her bedroom ever since she was discharged, as she was forced to return to the family house.
It was the darkest period of her life, but this time she didn’t give in to the temptation to know how Marcus was or what happened to him. The indifference scared even her.
But this evening, she learned about what happened to River and the change in power in the underworld. Right now, the McKenna family had risen their status; they were leading the industry with the Barlowes backing them up like they did to the Lozens.
"If they betrayed the Lozens, they can betray us too!" Olivia was furious. She felt a fresh pain in her heart when she learned that River had died. It had been confirmed, and the result was absolute proof that she would never come back.
"They need us."
"The same way they needed the Lozens?" Olivia mocked the statement. "It is so naïve for you to believe that."
"Look, Olivia. I don’t have a say in this matter. This decision was made by Dad and Kyle." Lyle was the youngest sibling, and even though he contributed a lot to the family, the real deal was still their father and the first child. "I am flattered if you think they value my opinion much."
"Dad killed Elise?" Olivie gritted her teeth. She was not close to Elise, nor did she care about her on a daily basis.
However, the fact that their father killed Elise sealed the deal. There was no coming back from this.
"Yes," Lyle confirmed that. There was no point in lying right now. Olivia would learn about it; even if it weren’t from him, someone else would explain the situation to her. It was not a secret after all.
Their father made sure everyone knew that the McKennas and the Barlowes took charge now.
"Olivia, whatever you think you are going to do to confront Dad and Kyle, don’t." Lyle was very stern. "This is not a situation where you can be stubborn."
"I will not do anything." Olivia looked defensive. "It’s not like I am close with the Lozens. I have never gotten along with River well, let alone that spoiled brat Aubrey."
Lyle couldn’t tell whether she was telling the truth or not, but he took her word as it was.
"Good." He looked at his sister. "Are you okay now?"
Lyle was not talking about her physical well-being, but about how she coped with everything. Her miscarriage, the event that happened in her apartment, and the legal proceedings.
Lyle himself had recovered wonderfully, even though he couldn’t take a mission yet. Their father had been very pissed about it. Lyle had injured himself in such a critical moment, as Kyle had also been injured and out of missions for months to recover.
"I am fine." Olivia didn’t want to talk about it. She waved him goodbye and went to her bedroom again. She tried to call River’s number, but it was not active.
She tried several times until she gave up and then called Hazel’s number instead. She didn’t pick up, but after the fourth attempt, her annoyed voice sounded from the other end.
"If I don’t pick up your phone, it means I am busy or I don’t want to talk to you."
"I have not yet congratulated you on giving birth to your daughter," Olivia retorted. "There is something I want to ask you. Can we go out for a coffee?"
Hazel knew what she wanted to ask; she agreed because she could also gain some information from her. "Only if you are the one who pays."
"I am broke. I am out of a job. How could you ask me to pay?" Olivie sneered.
After some back and forth, they agreed to meet a week from now. Hazel decided on the place, and when Olivia wanted to reject that, she reminded her this was the least she could do after she saved her life.
"Damn it."
That was all Olivia said before she hung up the phone.
Currently, Hazel and Ranon were eating their dinner, while Ashlyn was with Renna. He heard all of their conversation but didn’t say anything.
It felt like there was a tacit understanding between them. They knew a certain thing, something that they shouldn’t know, but they didn’t say it out loud.
"The dress for tomorrow arrived this afternoon; it’s in your closet," Ranon informed her.
But from the living room, they heard breaking news. The news anchor reported that a huge fire occurred in a candy shop.
They stated that the incident was caused by a short circuit in the shop.
"Candy shop?" Hazel’s eyes hardened.