When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 85: A Suspicious Aiden Xavier

On the way, Hazel Hawthorne sat in the passenger seat, engrossed in her phone. The paparazzi had just exposed a new scandal about a popular actress, and she often read such news to kill time when she was bored. Just as she was getting to the good part, Aiden Xavier spoke.

"Hazel, this is the first time since we got married that we’ve gone to see Mother on our own initiative, isn’t it?"

Hearing this, Hazel calmly put down her phone. She felt like Aiden was testing her, but she had no proof. In the three years they’d been married, they had only ever visited the Hawthorne or Xavier families when their parents insisted.

Going back on their own like this was truly a first.

"Is it so strange? Even if we’re a fake couple, we still need to keep up appearances. We don’t want Mother to get suspicious." Hazel glanced at Aiden. "You know how smart she is."

"Is that so?"

"Of course. Or did you think I have some other motive? Go on, tell me what you think. If you’re right, I promise I won’t deny it."

Aiden Xavier snorted. Hazel was acting too strange.

First, she brought him a cake on her own, and now she wanted to visit his mother at the family home. What was she up to? Aiden had never seen Hazel act like this. He decided not to dwell on it and focused on driving.

Aiden stopped talking to her, which Hazel was perfectly happy about.

The drive from the office to the family home took about an hour.

Fortunately, Hazel had contacted Fiona Forrest in advance. Delighted to hear they were coming, Fiona had the maids prepare a dinner with all their favorite dishes.

For Fiona Forrest, as long as she saw Aiden Xavier and Hazel Hawthorne appearing as a loving couple with a stable relationship, she could rest easy. As for Raina Lowell, she had already warned the woman. If Raina dared to make another move, Fiona would do as she promised.

send Raina away

rushed over when she saw Hazel get out. Hazel, in turn, took Fiona’s arm, and the two chatted as they walked into the house. Left behind, a stunned Aiden Xavier stood there for a few seconds before silently

Forrest genuinely liked Hazel, especially compared to Raina Lowell.

on the side sofa, bored, flipping through a newspaper while Fiona Forrest chatted

topics women discussed always gave

shifted slightly when Fiona mentioned Raina. "Has Aiden been

replied to Fiona, "Very rarely. Aiden’s been

It won’t be easy for her to give up on Aiden so quickly, so you still need to be on your guard. Don’t

I’ll say

replied in a low voice,

turn back to Hazel, satisfied. "Aren’t you two trying for a baby? How is that going? It’s been over half a month, and I haven’t heard any

We’ve been married for three years and haven’t even held hands. Our relationship is more chaste than a middle-school romance.’ Of course,

with these thoughts, her verbal reply left

instantly looked up at her, only to

Hazel had been extremely resistant whenever the topic of children came up, but

say, ’No need to thank me for getting you

not talk

her as a "bitch." Hazel had to agree—Raina wasn’t just

protective he was of Raina. Fiona was Aiden’s mother; she could curse Raina, and Aiden wouldn’t

Aiden, who remained impassive and looked for all the world like a well-behaved little

Forrest, even Aiden had no

goodbye to Fiona Forrest, Aiden Xavier could no longer tolerate Hazel’s strange behavior all day. He was determined to find

in the car was stifling. Kenport had been muggy lately; scorching sun in the morning gave way to overcast afternoons, but the rain never came. The oppressive heat

AC, which

especially during dinner. Eventually, she had watched him switch it to silent mode so their cozy dinner