Chapter 22: [XXII]

The next day, when Lucy and Bob came to visit Hazel, she was still fast asleep. She was woken up by the doorbell ringing, so she went to open the door groggily and went back to lie on the bed.

Lucy looked around and asked, "Where is Zac?"

"Asleep in his room," she replied in a daze. After getting off the Ferris wheel, they went to see a movie and didn't come home until midnight.

"I just saw that he isn't in the room. He must be out." Lucy paused and added casually, "You two didn't sleep together?"

Upon hearing Lucy's words, Hazel became wide awake, scared. While she was thinking about how to answer, she suddenly heard Bob's voice. "You didn't have a fight with Zac, did you?" he asked.

"No, we are completely fine." Hazel quickly came up with an excuse. "I don't really sleep well at night. I either snatch the quilt from him or kick him out of the bed. Because of that, he can't sleep well beside me and it has affected his work. So we decided to sleep separately on most days. We sleep together on weekends."

Hearing her explanation, Lucy looked at her and mumbled, "Hazel, since you two are living with each other, it is more or less inevitable to have some conflicts between the two of you, but you have to overcome that. Sleeping in different beds will have an emotional impact on both of you." She said that sincerely.

"I know, mom!" It was so embarrassing for her to discuss this topic with her mother. Luckily for her, her mother didn't live in there, otherwise, she would probably force them to sleep in the same room.

Lucy didn't say anything more. After all, she had only come to invite Hazel and Zac to have dinner with Hazel's aunt.

"Call Zac right now to see if he has time."

"Okay." Hazel nodded and took up the phone from the bedside table. Just as she was about to make the call, she heard the door open. It was Zac. He came in with breakfast in his hands.

When he saw his mother-in-law and father-in-law, he quickly put down the things in his hands and went to pour them some tea, "Uncle, aunt, have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, we have." Lucy smiled and winked at his husband. Bob took the hint and coughed. "We are a family now. Can you change the way you call us?" he said.

Zac was very happy to hear that they had finally accepted him as their son-in-law!

"Dad, mom!" He immediately corrected himself.

Hazel glanced at her mother and father by her side, and she felt a mixture of both joy and sadness. She was happy that they didn't get mad at her for "acting first and reporting afterwards", and at the same time, she was worried about how she would face them when they got divorced in the future.

Zac seemed to have read her mind and gave her a mysterious smile.

After they left the apartment, Zac drove his car to a shopping mall first. He bought two bottles of French wine and a fruit basket.

Etiquette was always very important to Chinese people. Since it was the first time he, the son-in-law, was going to visit his wife's relatives, it would be inappropriate for him to come empty-handed.

Bob and Lucy looked at each other and nodded with satisfaction. It made them happy to see that their son-in-law was thoughtful and sensible.

The moment they arrived at the Harkin Palace, they immediately heard Hazel's excited voice. "Wow! What a beautiful house! Did you rent or buy it?"

"Of course we bought it. It's a 100 square-meter apartment. It cost more than 700 million dollars, and we paid it in full," Hazel's aunt Wendy said. She wanted to show off her daughter's wedding room, so she decided to cook their meal by herself instead of going to a restaurant.

With a smile on her face, Hazel set her eyes on the man next to Finney. The man was about thirty years old, with a square face and single eyelids. Even though he had a rough set of features, he looked quite agreeable at that moment.

"Finney, is this rich, handsome man my cousin-in-law?" she asked with a smile.

"His name is Antony Jiang." After introducing him, Finney looked at Zac and said, "By the way, Hazel, who is this handsome man?

Is he your exclusive model?"

"No, he is not. His name is Zac, your cousin-in-law," she said. The introduction was very simple yet direct.

Zac felt quite satisfied at her words, and a smile appeared on his face.

Wendy led them upstairs while continuously praising her son-in-law. "Our Antony is just thirty years old, but he is already the CEO of a listed group, and he has thousands of people under his control. I plan to ask them to register one of these days and hold the wedding ceremony on national day."

Since Antony was such a good son-in-law to have, there must be a lot of women chasing after him, and Wendy wanted her daughter to tie the knot with him before he could get seduced by another woman.

Bob smiled. "I see that Finney has found herself a good husband. Now you and my brother can relax."

"You're right." Wendy smiled so happily that her eyes narrowed into a seam. Then, she glanced at Zac and Hazel and asked, "Have Hazel and this man gotten settled too? Are they going to get married?"

"They already got their marriage license last month. Zac is now my son-in-law," replied Bob with a smile.

"Really? Then our family will have double blessings this year," exclaimed Wendy when she squinted her eyes for a while. She then led them to visit the three rooms and the balcony before leading them back to the living room.

Once they were settled in the living room, Finney came and served the chopped mango. Hazel took another piece of mango for Zac. Then, she smiled and said, "My cousin-in-law's mansion is so large. But I'll be satisfied if I have a 60 square-meter house."

Zac stroked her nose in a pampering manner and said, "You're easy to please."

Wendy looked at them and said with her eyebrows raised, "Haven't you bought a new house yet?"

"No, we are working hard on earning enough for a down payment." Hazel smiled again.

"What about a car?" Wendy pouted.

"We haven't gotten one yet either," Hazel said, shaking her head.

Wendy patted her thigh and stared at Zac with dissatisfaction. "You don't have a house or a car. How could you marry Hazel? It's like asking for a free service."

Zac had been acting obsequiously and cautiously this whole time. He had immediately noticed that aunt Wendy was extremely sly the moment he entered the room. Hazel didn't expect that aunt Wendy would be so rude to Zac. So she immediately jumped to Zac's defense and said, "Aunt, we are still young, and we are both working hard for money. We can just rent a house and take the bus while we don't have our own house and car. Besides, the housing price in Yang City has gone up! How can two young people like us who have only been working for a short time afford to buy a house? We have to take it step by step!"

"Are you an idiot?" Wendy sighed. "Don't you know what a house means? You can only have a home when you get your own house. Did you know that even birds make a nest before asking for another bird's hand in marriage? How could a man marry a woman without buying a house first? How is he qualified to get married? He was being irresponsible and selfish when he married you. He even hoped that you would be selfless and willing to live a hard life with him. Only a fool like you would be fooled!"

Bob patted her on the hand and said, "You are right. Since they got married, they need to have their own house. Not only was it unsafe to rent a house, but they are also giving easy money to others. So, over the past two days, I have been talking to Lucy. If Zac's family is in trouble, we can give them the money for the down payment. We will buy them the house first so they get settled down."

Wendy snorted and thought, 'Luckily, Finney found a president for herself. If he were a poor man, I would've done everything I could to get them to divorce. A poor man without a house or a car would have no right to be my son-in-law.'

"Bob, anyway, you can't raise your daughter for nothing. You must uphold the bride price. According to the standard of our tradition, you should at least ask 500,000 dollars from him, or adopt him into our family." She paused and looked at Hazel. "Hazel, have you forgotten what you have promised to our family?"

"Of course not." Then Hazel shrugged.

Hearing Wendy mention the past, Lucy felt unease sweep through her.

Back then, because she couldn't have another child, Bob's parents were against his marriage with her. They did everything possible to break it off. Even though Hazel was quite young, she was bestowed with sensibility.

She was a considerate child. In order to make the family accept her mother and her, she even agreed to change her last name. She also swore that no matter who she married, she would maintain the surname and make sure her kids would have it.

"Wendy!" When Lucy was about to speak, she was stopped by Bob. In a firm voice, he said, "About Hazel's issue, I will deal it with Lucy. We will sort it out in Zac's parents' presence. But at present, we are here to talk about Finney."

He made it clear to everyone that he didn't want other people putting their nose in his daughter's business.

Wendy rolled her eyes at him and said, "I'm doing it for your sake."

Listening to her aunt's words, Hazel sneered in her heart. She knew very well that people like her aunt cared about nothing but money. Human beings had no value at all! She held Zac's hand and said, "There is a beautiful garden here. Let's get a breath of fresh air, shall we?"

"Okay," Zac replied with a smile. It was indeed suffocating in here.

Antony also stood up. His condition seemed worse than Zac's. His mother-in-law was indeed a scary woman. "Finney, let's go with them."

Finney nodded, and the four of them left the room together.

In the garden, they sat around a round table, enjoying the fresh air. Hazel took a deep breath and giggled all of a sudden. Seeing the look on other's face, she explained, "You rich people have your fun. And allow us poor people to have ours. We don't have money. But as long as we are happy, nothing else matters. Don't you think so?"

Holding her by the shoulder, Zac's eyes brimmed with tenderness. "It's my pleasure to marry a woman like you."

Antony looked at them with admiration and said, "Lovely! I love to see women who don't value money too much."

"Antony, but if every women became like me, then men like you who are tall, handsome, rich would lose their advantages." Hazel was teasing him now.

"That's true," Antony smiled, with an indescribable shimmer on his face.

Finney sighed and said, "I am glad you are optimistic. However, you have to be mentally prepared for what is to come. Your wedding won't be so smooth."

Hazel smiled and patted on Zac's shoulder. "How many siblings do you have?"

"One twin brother," replied Zac.

"Twin brothers?" Hearing that, Hazel was a little shocked. She wanted to know more so she probed, "Does your brother look exactly like you?"

"Not really." Zac shrugged.

"Do you have any photos? If so, take them out so that I know if he is as handsome as you." Her curiosity was piqued. If little brother was such a cold and strong man, then she was curious to know how the elder brother might be.

Zac gently flicked her forehead. "Is this what you want to talk about?"

Hazel coughed and pretended to be serious. She then said, "Since you have a brother, you could come here and take care of my family. Would it be too much if my family adopted you as their son-in-law?"

"Okay." With a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, Zac continued, "But I don't think you can afford me."

Hazel passed him a challenging look and said, "Why not? I will feed and take care of you."

"That's a good suggestion." Zac gave a thumbs up in approval.

"Okay, that's settled!" Then she turned to Finney and said, "Look, the problem has been solved."

Finney laughed and said, "It is not your place to make the decision. When you give birth to a baby, the two families will surely quarrel over the surname. If grandma and grandpa come to know that the baby is not titled with their family name, they are bound to be angry."

Anthony joined and said, "I have a solid solution to this dilemma. You could give birth to a few more kids. Half of them should be titled with your family name and the other half with his. That would sort it out!" Hearing that, Hazel could not help but chuckle.

They had no idea this marriage was temporary. She would divorce after the Spring Festival. She had to deal with her relatives first in case her parents would go back and her grandparents would keep on nagging her.

Zac's smile deepened. He put his thin lips close to her ear and caressed her soft hair. Slowly, he whispered, "Honey, I like this suggestion."

"Really?" With a smile, she secretly pinched him on his arm, turned around and whispered in his ear, "I have something better to say."

"What? I am all ears." His fingers ran through her hair and continued to play with it.

"This will happen but only in an imaginary world!" Her voice was so low that only the two of them could hear.

He blinked and tucked her hair behind her ear. He was determined to turn this imagination into reality.

At the sight of them, Finney thought they were flirting with each other, so she covered her mouth to snicker.

On the other hand, Antony was sitting there in silence, his thick eyebrows frowning, as if something was bothering him. Hazel noticed that his face had become dark when aunt Wendy criticized Zac. It seemed as if he was the one who had been criticized.

She wanted to ask Anthony why his mood was off, but decided against it.

Soon, they got back to the apartment.

Just when she was going to take a nap, her phone buzzed, taking away her peace. 'Who would call me at this hour?' she wondered.

Seeing the caller ID, she was surprised. It was Hanson!

They hadn't seen each after the encounter at Bella's show.

Although she often thought of that night and his confession, she wouldn't act on it. After all, he was someone else's now.

Even if she hated Sunny, she would never be the woman to spoil their marriage.

She went to the balcony, making sure no one was around.

"Hello, Hanson." She tried her best to sound calm, but her nervousness was evident.

"Hazel, I wanted to know if you were free now. At the moment, I am downstairs. Would you like to come out and have a cup of coffee?"

She hesitated for a moment but in the end she said, "Okay."

She herself had no idea why she had agreed to it! After putting down the phone, she took a deep breath, walked to the mirror, combed her hair and applied a layer of transparent lip gloss.

When she was about to open the door, a voice spoke from behind. "Where are you going?" Zac demanded.

"I... I am going to the supermarket to buy some fruits." Hazel was an awful liar. She always got caught. Presently, guilt was clawing through her. But somehow, she consoled herself saying Zac had no business in her matters.

"Do you want to me accompany you? You could use another pair of hands," Zac suggested, a teasing smile playing around his lips.

"No, thanks." She shook her head and hurried out.

Zac wasn't suspicious at all. Lazily, he slouched on the sofa, hoping to take a nap. But before he closed his eyes, his eyes fell on the purple leather bag. She had forgotten to take it. 'What a silly girl!' he thought to himself.

Knowing she would feel like an idiot at the supermarket, he caught hold of the bag and rushed outside.

When he reached downstairs, he saw the slender figure not far away.

Just when he was about to call her, something stopped him. The presence of a man left him stunned. Words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Hanson came out of the Lamborghini which was parked at the corner. His smile was as charming as the sunlight.

"Hanson, have you waited long?" She smiled sweetly.

"I would wait for years if it meant I could see your beautiful face." He opened the car door in a graceful manner.

Seeing her disappear inside the car, Zac couldn't help but clench his fists. Once the car was out of his sight, he turned around and brutally punched the old tree next to him. The green branches trembled. Sand and leaves began to shower on his shoulders. Even though he was hurt, he didn't feel any pain. In short, the scene that had unfolded before him left him numb.

Not far away, another pair of eyes witnessed this scene.

'Oh my God! Is my daughter cheating on Zac?'

Lucy put her hand on her forehead and almost fainted. She couldn't wait to discuss about this to her husband.

'We were so busy testing Zac that we didn't even think about our daughter!' she thought with disappointment.