When the Contract Marriage Ended, He Stayed

Chapter 89: Taking Up the Mantle

"You!" Yvette Hawthorne was so furious she was rendered speechless. She knew Hazel Hawthorne was calling her an idiot.

"See? You’re speechless. Looks like you agree with me. It was only because my mother got sick that your mother was hired as our maid. And what a great job she did—great enough to sleep her way right into my father’s bed." Hazel Hawthorne’s blunt words were another vicious slap in the face to both Jessica Clarke and Yvette Hawthorne.

Furious, Yvette Hawthorne burst into tears. She hiked up her skirt and stormed upstairs. A door slammed violently. Unfazed, Hazel Hawthorne remarked coolly, "So you can do it, but you can’t stand to have anyone talk about it?"

"Hazel!" Harrison Hawthorne finally snapped, shouting his daughter’s name in a rage. "She’s your sister, and that’s your mother! How can you speak to them like that?"

"Is there a problem with how I’m speaking? You should have known what my attitude would be when you asked me to come back. The best solution would have been to keep them out of my sight. Otherwise, believe me, I have plenty more nasty things to say."

Hazel Hawthorne stared fearlessly at Harrison Hawthorne. In her heart, ever since he had married Jessica Clarke right after her mother’s passing, Harrison Hawthorne no longer deserved to be called her father.

And discovering they had a daughter together only made it that much harder to accept.

Harrison Hawthorne was helpless against Hazel. So what if she was his daughter? She was also Aiden Xavier’s wife—the Young Madam of the Xavier Family. If he offended her, he could forget about seeing a single cent from them. Harrison knew full well that he needed to depend on Hazel.

Jessica Clarke stood to the side, weeping. Harrison could only comfort her and tell her to go check on Yvette.

Once the two eyesores were gone, Hazel settled down, sitting quietly in the living room. The household staff knew how formidable she was—definitely not someone to be trifled with. Even Harrison Hawthorne didn’t dare cross her, so they were all exceedingly cautious in her presence.

Upstairs, Yvette Hawthorne was throwing a tantrum in her room. Before Jessica Clarke could even say a word, an object hurled by Yvette smashed at her feet. She bent down, picked up the stuffed doll, and quietly walked over to her daughter, placing it back where it belonged.

you know Aiden is here. Why are you throwing a fit? It’s not like you don’t know

saw her attitude—it’s like she doesn’t even consider us family," Yvette raged. "Why

speak! You know how protective Hazel is of her mother’s memory, yet you still say something like that? Do you actually want to make her angry? Hazel is Aiden Xavier’s wife now,

that?" The mention of Aiden only made Yvette angrier. "Back when Hazel didn’t want to marry him, I could have been the one to marry Aiden! If she hadn’t suddenly

must have done it on purpose! She didn’t want me to marry Aiden,

liked me. She just has to ruin my life.

Yvette’s mouth again. "You can’t say

been standing at the doorway for who knows how long, suddenly spoke up.

Jessica was about to explain, but Hazel held up a hand to stop her. She glanced at Yvette and said flatly, "I hear

supposed

speaking, she let her gaze travel up and down Yvette’s form, her eyes filled

utterly humiliated once again. She wanted to strike back, to

mother was a homewrecker. Are you planning to follow in her footsteps? Though... I imagine you’ll have a hard time stealing Aiden from me. After all, he’s not my father—he

take it anymore. She rushed right up to Hazel,

you say something

back. The instant Yvette raised her hand to strike, Hazel caught her wrist tightly with her right

all her strength into it. The slap wasn’t light. Yvette’s cheek immediately reddened and swelled. Harrison Hawthorne and Aiden Xavier, drawn by the sound, arrived just in time to see Yvette clutching her face, her eyes brimming with tears. Harrison immediately rounded on

are you doing? Why would you strike your sister

was just teaching her not to follow her mother’s example and spend her life plotting to seduce other women’s