When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 17: Your Business Trip Is That Important?

Ever since Aiden Xavier agreed to have a child with Fiona Forrest, Hazel Hawthorne had felt cursed. Although she knew it was just an expedient measure on Aiden’s part, her fear grew with each passing day.

As a newcomer to the company, Hazel Hawthorne was experiencing office life for the first time. Separated from Aiden Xavier’s world, it felt as though her own life was finally beginning.

Sharon Winters was the first person Hazel met when she started working at the Sterling Group. The two of them got along quite well. Sharon liked to gossip, but since she disliked Aiden Xavier, she never paid attention to any gossip about him.

That was why Hazel Hawthorne and Sharon Winters had become friends.

Sharon Winters saw Hazel Hawthorne’s phone ringing nonstop on her desk. Since Hazel had been called to the director’s office and hadn’t returned for a while, Sharon figured it might be important and took the liberty of answering it for her.

The deep, pleasant voice on the other end of the line instantly made Sharon Winters picture a tall, powerful, and handsome man. But when he abruptly shouted Hazel Hawthorne’s name with anger, it shattered Sharon’s fantasy.

"Hazel Hawthorne, you’re getting bolder. You won’t even answer my calls anymore."

Aiden Xavier’s furious voice came clearly through the receiver. Sharon jumped in fright and quickly explained, "Hazel was called away by the director. I’ll tell her you called when she gets back."

Aiden Xavier was stunned for a moment. He had been calling for ages, and it wasn’t even Hazel who had answered.

After a moment, Aiden Xavier hung up without another word. Confused and speechless, Sharon Winters glanced at the contact name—"Do Not Approach."

’Do Not Approach? Doesn’t that just mean The Grim Reaper?’

Still shaken, Sharon put the phone back in its place, deciding to tell Hazel the moment she returned.

"That ’Do Not Approach’ guy just called you a bunch of times. From the sound of his voice, he seemed really angry. Maybe he needed you for something urgent."

Hazel calmly sat down and took a sip of water. She gave Sharon a composed glance. "I’ll call him back later."

The director had called her into the office. After asking about her experience over the first few days of her internship, she had arranged for Hazel to accompany her on a business trip to Freyburg tomorrow.

so soon. Unsure

to leave work,

her things, she saw her phone and suddenly remembered

had called at three in the afternoon;

so long, he’s probably forgotten about it. I might as well not bother

Aiden

phone with the other. "My boyfriend’s about to pick me up. We could give you a lift if it’s on

lived in was too high-end; mentioning it would reveal that her background wasn’t so

out in the suburbs, so it’s probably not on your way." Hazel finished packing

do you have a car? If

a car

subway during rush hour is a killer. Usually, my boyfriend drives me whenever he

boyfriend is really good

you have a boyfriend?" Sharon linked her arm through Hazel’s. "You’re so pretty," she said with envy, "I’m sure

lips into a smile. "I

she did have a husband. Not that it made much of a difference whether she

was just a

all pretty decent. I’ll have him introduce you to one of them

a relationship before Aiden Xavier found her and shoved her straight into

distance and immediately let go of

After a moment, she turned and walked toward a different parking lot. She stared at the "car to get around

was currently driving belonged to Aiden Xavier. He didn’t own anything cheap. Hazel didn’t know the exact value of this car, but one look at the emblem told her

all, when is a Porsche ever

buy a cheap car to use

for some reason, Hazel lifted her leg and kicked the front of the car, cursing under her breath.

Just as she was about to get

else would be calling her