CHAPTER 243: A TRIUMPHANT LOOK ON HIS FACE

Aubrey didn’t expect that Hazel would slap her. She was stunned. And for a moment, she couldn’t say anything and only stared at Hazel with confusion, and then the pain crept in.

"Why are you being so quiet?" Hazel raised her brows and slapped Aubrey again. She didn’t even hold back.

From Aubrey’s perspective, it shouldn’t be this serious, but Hazel was venting out a speck of her exasperation.

It took Aubrey two seconds to understand what Hazel meant by the slap, and she started to yell at her.

Seeing this, Hazel wanted to roll her eyes. Aubrey didn’t change much. She was still that drama queen, from what she remembered about her.

"Miss, are you okay?" From outside, Darren called for Aubrey. He couldn’t barge in recklessly, since it was a woman’s bathroom. "Miss?"

He was hesitant to enter, but before he could decide what to do, the door swung open, and Hazel walked out. She eyed Darren. She knew this man. They had gone on one mission together.

But now he was reduced to being Aubrey’s bodyguard? What a pity. He was quite talented and had good intuition.

"Move," Hazel said coldly. "You’ve blocked the way."

Darren didn’t move for a while, but then he side-stepped. Only then did Aubrey also walk out of the bathroom, holding her cheeks.

"What do you think you are doing?! How dare you slap me?!" Aubrey looked like she was about to cry, and she wasn’t acting because her cheeks were stinging.

Hazel wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying. She looked over her shoulder and then gave Aubrey a cold look, which made her stop ranting for a second.

"I should have done more than only slapping you for what you have done," Hazel said.

The words left Aubrey speechless; she felt as if she were talking to River instead. There was something in Hazel that reminded her of her half-sister.

"This is not a threat, but a warning for you. I will ruin your life and everyone responsible for the downfall of the Lozens. Especially those two people who were standing on the Aspen Bridge that night."

Aubrey felt a chill creep down her spine when she heard that. She couldn’t tell whether Hazel was acting or not. It felt real; it sounded real. The emotions that Hazel displayed were so raw.

It was as though Hazel were speaking on River’s behalf.

"The downfall of the Lozens is not my fault," Aubrey said with anger. She wanted to ruin the McKennas and the Barlowes, too.

Aubrey felt a confusing mix of emotions. Why did she feel as if she was working together with Hazel towards the same goal, yet they seemed to be on opposite sides?

"That’s your fault, and you will pay for that."

After speaking those harsh words, Hazel turned around to leave, but Darren blocked her path. He looked outraged by the threat she had made against Aubrey.

"Scram!" Hazel glared at him, but he didn’t budge. "Touch me, and I will make sure it will end badly. You don’t want to mess with the Leightons, or I will ruin you the way I ruined your master’s leg."

There was no doubt that Darren had known about Hazel and what had happened that night. He held an important position in the Barlowes, enabling him to learn more about it.

"Let her go," Aubrey said. She didn’t even realize that her voice was trembling because the way Hazel spoke felt so real.

Aubrey knew Hazel intended to create a conflict between the two of them so Darren wouldn’t be suspicious that she was looking for Hazel to conspire behind Arlo’s back.

But it felt too real.

How could Hazel act as if she were River? Aubrey felt her stomach churn to think that those words were the words that River would likely say to her.

"Let her go!" Aubrey raised her voice at Darren. She couldn’t hold herself back. Her whole body was trembling. She was genuinely scared; it was not just an act.

Reluctantly, Darren took a side step and let Hazel walk away. "Are you okay, Miss?" He approached Aubrey.

"Yes. Fine." Aubrey waved her hand as if she were trying to dismiss Darren’s concern. But she looked so pale, as if she had just seen a ghost. "I want to go back."

And when Aubrey returned, the auction was over. The highlight of that night, the tiara, was sold to Ranon Leighton.

***

"What toy is this? Mr. Leighton shouldn’t have bought this toy for Ashlyn," Renna said as she took the tiara from the baby’s hand. It was sticky with Ashlyn’s drool because she kept trying to put it in her mouth. "But it looks real."

Hazel just came out of her bedroom with a towel on her head. She just washed her hair and saw that Ashlyn was pouting. She stretched out her arms to get the tiara from Renna’s hand.

"It’s real. That’s a real thing," Hazel said casually as she plopped down on the sofa. "Ranon bought it last night from the auction."

Renna was alarmed when she heard that. She didn’t know much about tiaras, but she knew about the charity event. She would bet with all the money she had that this tiara cost an exorbitant amount of money.

"What? Mr. Leighton shouldn’t have let Ashlyn play with it." Renna saw the man play with the baby before he left for the office, and put the tiara by her side, telling Renna to pay close attention to Ashlyn while she was playing with the tiara.

Thankfully, the tiara didn’t have sharp edges, and the cut was blunt on the edges, so it wouldn’t cut your skin.

"I know. I have told him that." Hazel stretched out her arms to get her baby. Ashlyn started fussing. She was hungry and upset because Renna took the tiara away.

"I don’t understand him." Renna shook her head.

"I couldn’t agree more with you," Hazel said. She started to breastfeed Ashlyn, and the baby started to make noises as usual. The little one stared at her while patting her breast, and somehow, it brought a smile to her lips.

A family.

That was what Ranon suggested. He wanted to make their living arrangement a permanent thing. Would it be that bad if she decided to stay? It was not like Ranon would be an obstacle when it came to her revenge, especially when they aimed for the same thing.

Would it be that bad to stay?

Hazel kept repeating the same question in her head as she stared at her baby. Ashlyn pulled away her head and then babbled as if she was talking to her mother, before she clamped her mouth and ate again. Ashlyn would repeat the whole thing whenever Hazel was breastfeeding her.

Ashlyn looked adorable, especially when her little fist hit her breast. Hazel wondered what her baby was thinking or what she was saying.

At the moment, Ashlyn already had a bunch of hair on her head. Without a doubt, she took after Hazel—down to her curls, brown hair, and eyes.

"Ma... ma... maa..." Ashlyn babbled, and Renna freaked out, which startled Hazel and pulled her out of her deep thought.

"What?" Hazel looked at Renna with confusion.

"She said ’Mama’!"

"She did?" Hazel didn’t really pay close attention because her mind was somewhere else. But Renna looked very ecstatic, since she and Peni had been trying to coax the word out of Ashlyn for months now.

"Yes!" Renna approached Hazel and Ashlyn, encouraging the baby once more. "Say ’Mama’... ’Mama’..."

Hazel waited, but Ashlyn latched onto her breast instead. She glanced at Renna but chose to ignore her completely.

"Maybe she will say it later," Hazel said. She tried to comfort Renna because she looked disappointed as if she was the one who was being addressed by Ashlyn, while Hazel didn’t pay much attention to that.

And when Renna was about to give up, Ashlyn pulled her head away and stared at Hazel for a second longer.

"Ma... maa..." She babbled and then laughed.

"Ah!" Renna was on cloud nine. "She calls you! She can say "Mama" now! That’s her first word." Renna looked like she had just won a lottery. "She said ’Mama’ first, then later she would say ’Dada’!"

Of course, Ashlyn would say that word first since Renna and Peni had determined on it.

Renna’s sudden joy startled Ashlyn. She pouted her lips and stretched out her hand to Hazel. As Hazel was holding her, she couldn’t reach out with her hand, so she leaned over and let the baby touch her face.

Ashlyn patted her cheek and laughed while babbling the new word she had just said.

Hm. Cute. Hazel thought.

Later that night, Ranon learned that Ashlyn had said her first word, and he couldn’t help but smile. He kissed Hazel’s forehead, as if to congratulate her for this milestone.

However, he couldn’t witness it himself because Ashlyn was sleeping when he came home. The baby didn’t wake up again in the middle of the night, so Ranon missed his time with his daughter and their "late-night conversation."

"Is your offer still up?" Hazel asked while the two of them were lying down, with Ashlyn sleeping in the middle of the bed.

Hazel didn’t look at Ranon. Her eyes focused on Ashlyn. She nudged her chubby cheeks and let the baby wrap her little fingers around hers.

Ranon lifted his head and stared at her for a while. Of course, he knew what Hazel was talking about.

And when Ranon didn’t answer her, Hazel shifted her attention and saw the triumphant look on his face.