When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 30: Who Dares to Make You Angry?

Hazel Hawthorne disliked flippant men, and Julian Sterling struck her as exactly that—the type to hit on any random person he saw. Besides, after marrying Aiden Xavier, she had become immune to handsome men. When she saw someone who looked like Julian, she naturally superimposed Aiden’s image onto them.

To sum it up in one sentence: handsome men were all scumbags, all flash and no substance. The more handsome a man was, the harder he was to control, and the more of a player he tended to be.

Hazel left the balcony, mentally blacklisting the spot. The company wasn’t her private domain, after all. She had to be more cautious to avoid unknowingly offending someone and getting stabbed in the back.

Hazel didn’t dwell on her encounter with Julian Sterling. She went to and from work as usual and spent her time at home alone as usual. The only difference was that Aiden Xavier had been showing up at home a lot more recently, which made her, a woman long accustomed to solitude, feel thoroughly uncomfortable.

Hazel thought carefully about when Aiden Xavier’s behavior had started to change.

It was probably after Fiona Forrest told them to have a child, and Aiden agreed without a second thought.

An inexplicable fear crept into Hazel. This fear stemmed from the possibility that Aiden was actually developing feelings for her.

Hazel hoped she and Aiden could eventually part on good terms, and she didn’t want any emotional entanglements with him. Deep down, she felt he had far too many romantic scandals. She couldn’t even count the number of women she’d had to deal with for him on both hands.

Falling in love with a man like Aiden Xavier would surely mean a lifetime of exhaustion.

Her father, Harrison Hawthorne, was a prime example. He had a mistress while he was married. The man her mother had loved her entire life ended up marrying that mistress less than a month after her mother passed away, and he even had a secret daughter with the woman.

She could never truly feel the pain of her mother’s betrayal, but she had witnessed firsthand a man’s heartlessness. It made her question the very idea of unwavering love.

She believed that steadfast, unwavering love existed in the world, but she also understood it was a one-in-a-million chance. Her mother hadn’t found it, and she didn’t believe she would either.

All Aiden Xavier saw was Hazel Hawthorne’s distance. Even when he appeared before her, she would only offer a faint smile, just like when they had first gotten married—polite and respectful, but with nothing to say to each other, merely maintaining the facade of a married couple.

understand the reason

needle at the bottom of the sea. One second, she could be laughing

the business world, but when it came to relationships, he couldn’t figure out a woman’s

retreating figure. When she didn’t look back, he suddenly felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. He didn’t even

had turned down a chance to be with

be busy with their tasks, but they kept stealing glances at him, quickly looking away whenever they thought

given the cold shoulder

while, Aiden stood up with a

her cold shoulder.’ He knew Hazel was unhappy at the Sterling Group and had planned to ask if she wanted to work at his own company. But her indifferent attitude

part. He couldn’t be expected to grovel and beg her to come

leaving, Aiden drove

in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He exuded an air of elegant laziness, a faint smile playing on

Young Master Xavier’s bad side?" Julian was all smiles, not looking in the least bit serious.

cool glance. "You

a teasing, punch-worthy tone,

has the

Thinking of Hazel’s recent strange behavior, he frowned, briefly considering whether he should ask this veteran player for advice.

clever guess. "It

Lowell was

to use that term to describe

he was always incredibly generous with

to do with

Raina, who else could it

person you

Julian. "Don’t tell me it’s