When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 32: Who Do You Think You Are?

The waiter pushed the door open. Before Hazel Hawthorne even stepped inside, she was hit by the thick, pungent scent of perfume. The private room was dimly lit and filled with the boisterous laughter of men and women. Unused to the dim light, she squinted, her eyes scanning the room for Aiden Xavier.

By her estimate, there were at least ten women in the room, but she could only see a few men.

She saw a large group of women huddled together and instinctively assumed Aiden was in the middle of them. Just as she was about to step forward and rescue him, a flicker of movement in a distinctly quieter corner caught her eye. There was someone there.

She frowned slightly. Her intuition told her Aiden would be in the quieter spot.

So she ignored the noisy crowd and walked toward the quiet area, only to see a woman sitting on a man’s lap. The sight made her think she had walked into the wrong room, and she quickly pulled out her phone to check the message Aiden had sent.

She hadn’t.

’So this man couldn’t possibly be the Aiden I know, could he? Playing such a daring game with a woman in a bar?’

Driven by curiosity, she slowly approached. Just as she was about to tentatively call out Aiden’s name, the woman, whose back was to her, suddenly turned her head. Their eyes met. Upon seeing who it was, Hazel instantly felt that coming here was a complete joke.

"Ms. Hawthorne?" Raina Lowell’s soft voice only served to annoy Hazel more. She quickly composed herself, her expression returning to normal. Raina hadn’t expected to see Hazel here either. "Why are you here?"

Without even needing to ask, Hazel knew Raina must be sitting on Aiden’s lap. Without a second thought, she pointed a finger at the man sitting on the sofa with his eyes half-closed. "I definitely wouldn’t have come here alone. Naturally, Aiden called and begged me to come."

you saying Aiden begged you to come?" Raina stared at Hazel in disbelief, as if she had just told a massive joke. "How is that possible? Ms. Hawthorne, isn’t it

A wry smile touched her lips.

the other side of the room, Julian Sterling, surrounded by women and having the time of his life,

straightened Aiden’s clothes. Even under Hazel’s gaze, she remained nonchalantly seated on Aiden’s lap, a clear display of their intimacy—a world

Recalling that it was Aiden who had called her here, she was determined not to let the trip be for nothing. So, she walked right up to Aiden,

horror, her hands flying out to grab at Hazel’s clothes as she demanded, "Hazel Hawthorne, what gives you the right to hit Aiden?

And I’m going to wake him up right now and ask him whether he called me here, or if I came on my own." Hazel was not one to

of rage. She had only come to the bar to pick Aiden up at his own request. Who

moment to get his bearings. Seeing Raina on his lap, he immediately pushed her away and staggered to his feet.

her arms over her chest with an imperious air.

there, sobered him up instantly. He wasn’t entirely clear on the situation, but hearing Hazel’s mocking

step forward and take Aiden’s arm, wanting to show Hazel how close they were. But Aiden’s next words left

at her empty hand and the "you-shouldn’t-be-here" expression on Aiden’s face, feeling deeply hurt. "Aiden, wasn’t it you who asked me to

you to

like a spectator at a play. Raina looked utterly pitiful, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with wronged tears, as

and said bluntly, "Since Raina is here to pick you up, why did you have to call and

sword. This was an

the phone now seemed laughable to her. Thinking

with

I explained to her that I only came because you insisted. She didn’t believe