Chapter 4: CHAPTER 4
"Oh my God, I don't believe it! After being kicked out of the Black family, Hazel hooked up with Mr. Woods. And they've had two kids already"
"Mr. Woods, are these children yours? What is your relationship with Hazel Haynes?"
"When did you two get together?"
"Mr. Woods, is it true that Ms. Haynes is about to take over the Haynes Group as the new chairwoman?"
The reports were crowded with the popping flashbulbs and the swimming mics.
Hundreds of securities quickly formed a human wall.
Tristan, who had never been a big fan of interviews, nodded slightly at the crowd of reporters: He was going to answer their questions today.
"Ms. Haynes and I are close friends. Thank you for your concern,"
This one sentence was enough for the reporters' imagination.
Hazel and the two boys entered the cemetery under the protection of Tristan and security.
Today was the funeral of Hazel's grandfather, and she felt it necessary for her children to bid a proper farewell to him.
Six years ago, after she divorced Chase, she gave birth to twins, two boys and she adopted a girl.
The girl was supposed to come with Hazel, but the poor kid was not in good health, she has been suffering from leukemia and it was not appropriate for her to attend such an occasion.
So, Hazel brought her two sons.
She and Tristan stopped at Zac's grave and made three deep bows.
"Kids, bow to your great–grandfather."
The babies obeyed their mummy and bowed deeply, just as Hazel and Tristan had done.
A warm family of four.
"Is that man Mr. Woods? Tristan Woods?"
"Oh, dear, he's not secretly married to that lousy woman, is he?"
"This is shocking, I can't believe that Mr. Woods would accept such a woman…"
This scene was irritating Amara and Lyra, not to mention the other ladies present.
Tristan Woods was nearly every woman's fantasy.
He was born into a wealthy family, and he had grown into a handsome young man with a promising future! Tristan Woods was no less influential than Chase.
Yet now it was Hazel, the woman kicked out of the Black family, who hooked up with Tristan.
How could she get so lucky?
What was so charming about her to be with such a fine man?
"Hazel, em, whose children are they?" asked Chris as he looked at the two boys in shock.
"They are my children, dad," answered Hazel as she turned to the boys. "Aiden, Arthur, this is your grandpa."
"Nice to meet you, Grandpa!" Two boys called out together.
What the…
All the others were thunderstruck by this shocking news.
Amara and Lyra were also freezing, their hearts pounding in horror.
These two boys looked so much like Chase. Especially their eyes. They were basically small versions of the man.
Chris still looked incredulous. "And… who's their father?" he asked with a serious face.
Deep down, he was so worried that Chase was the father! After all, Chase was now Lyra's fiance.
Yes, Hazel was also Chris's daughter, but unlike Lyra, Hazel grew up abroad with her mother. It wasn't until Hazel was 7 years old after her mother died that she was brought back to the Haynes family.
Therefore, there was no deep bonding between Hazel and Chris.
"Hazel, I'm not trying to blame you. But you should at least tell your own family about being pregnant and giving birth to two kids!" Chris did not look pleased when finding he was a grandfather now. Instead, he looked angry.
Chris believed that if Chase was the father, then Hazel must have meddled in Lyra's love life. Even if Chase was not the father, Hazel was very likely to use the boys to seize more shares of the family inheritance.
All in all, this was no good for Chris.
Hazel kept her head down and didn't say anything.
She just wanted to take the kids to see her grandfather off for the last time. As for the other things, she didn't want to explain too much.
By this time, Tristan had taken a step forward and reached out. "Hi, Mr. Haynes. I'm Tristan! I'm Hazel's close friend."
When Chris heard this, he gave Tristan a glance subconsciously, and the next second, his nerves were settled,
Chris never met Tristan Woods in person, but the young man's reputation was well–known, even for him.
Hence, if Tristan was the father, he could finally be relieved. Hell, he could even celebrate this.
"Oh, hello! So, you and Hazel? The kids?"
Tristan paused for a few seconds, then he replied politely, "Hazel and I are very close friends. So I wanted to be here with her and the kids on this grieving day."
One could argue that his answer was a little too "official" because he neither admitted that he was the father nor denied it.
As a matter of fact, influential person like Tristan all did things like marrying secretly or having a secret child. That happened a lot.
However, Chase, who was standing aside, felt so upset, as if the vessels in his heart were suddenly blocked.
Chase tore his tie loose subconsciously as his handsome face became cold.
He and Hazel had merely broken up for six years, but it appeared to Chase that Hazel's kids must be at least five years old.
In other words, right after Hazel had divorced him, she threw herself into another man's arms. Or maybe she had long cheated on Chase while they were still married. No wonder she could walk away without looking back. No wonder she could leave the 100 million dollars alimony behind.
It turned out that she had found herself a new person to latch on.
Chase should have known that. Wasn't she always a scheming woman? If she could somehow sleep with him nine years ago, then, of course, she would have been able to seduce Tristan again.
"How shameless!" thought Chase. He was cursing fiercely in his mind.
That just cost him the last of his patience. Without saying anything to anyone else, he strode away, ready to leave.
"Chase? Chase!" Lyra called out when she saw Chase leaving.
Amara elbowed her daughter on the shoulder, gesturing for Lyra to go after Chase.
Thus, Lyra hurried to leave the cemetery and ran after Chase.
The group of reporters saw Chase getting out, and they immediately swarmed over. "Mr. Black, what do you think about the relationship between your ex–wife and Mr. Woods?"
"You lived with your ex–wife for three years, but she failed to get pregnant! Do you think the boys your ex–wife brought over today could be yours or Mr.Tristan?"
"When are you and Ms. Lyra getting engaged? Mr. Black?"
Chase had been disturbed without the harassment of the reporters. So he was even more furious right now. His bodyguards quickly stopped the reporters from getting any nearer.
"No interviews today!"
Then the bodyguards escorted Chase into a car
"Chase! Chase…" Lyra followed out, but before she could get in, Chase's car pulled out of the parking lot.
Reporters turned to Lyra at once. "Ms. Haynes, when are you and Mr. Black getting engaged?"
"What do you think of your sister being the new chairwoman of the Haynes Group?"
Lyra had never been exposed to reporters like this. She froze and stammered, not knowing what to do or say at all.
Amara, worried about her daughter, dashed over in time. Seeing that Lyra was surrounded by the press, she stepped forward hastily. "Sorry, sorry, we can answer any of your questions today!"
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