บท 8: Warm my bed
At that moment, Hazel took it upon herself to bargain with the venders by the roadside.
"Sir, it's already noon and look at your vegetables. The leaves are turning yellow and the stems are withering. If you don't sell it at 1.5 per kilogram, no one would buy it. Besides, the governor has already sent his men to patrol around the streets," she urged with her arms crossed. Back then, Hazel was used to bargaining for her ingredients in the wet market, so this came naturally for her. Hearing her latter words, the street vendor sighed. "Fine. Deal."
Hazel grinned, displaying two dimples on the sides of her cheeks. Zac resisted the urge to snort. He didn't expect her to be so stingy that she actually put some effort in convincing the man to cut the price in half, but he liked a woman who valued her money. As long as she was willing to cooperate with him, he would definitely give her a considerable compensation for her time with him.
Hazel picked up three kilograms and gave the seller twenty dollars. The seller handed her 18.5 dollars, three dollars more than what she should've gotten. She handed him the extra. "You gave me an extra three dollars, sir," she explained kindly.
The man smiled. "There's not a lot of people who are as honest as you, you know."
"Honest money attracts honest customers," she stated.
Zac's lips twitched, satisfied with her doing.
They finally walked past the wet market. Even if it was already the afternoon, the place was packed with different people. Zac didn't step forward. Seeing this, she had to go in and buy it herself. Hazel later walked out with bags of meat, bamboo shoots, and clam. She was even carrying a tray of eggs.
Zac thought that she couldn't cook to save her life, given that he had only seen her eat noodles and buns at home every day. He decided to get back at her for insulting his abilities.
However, the events right after they got home turned out far different from what he imagined.
There wasn't any screaming, flying pans, or panicked running. In fact, Hazel was very methodical when it came to her cooking.
Although he was a tiny bit disappointed, he couldn't help but admire the serious look on her face as she was panfrying her food. He knew that once she put her mind into it, she would do her absolute best. It was a trait that attracted him the most.
Soon enough, two plates of dishes and one bowl of soup were placed neatly on the table.
When Zac tasted them, his eyes widened momentarily. They were very delectable. In fact, it even suited his very picky taste buds.
Hazel smiled. "Do you like it?"
"How do you know my taste?" he asked.
"I don't, but I'm talented enough to make a guess." She winked.
"About what?" Since they knew each other, they only had dinner together once or twice. He was curious as to how she was able to guess what he liked.
Taking a sip of her soup, Hazel cleared her throat. "The first time we had noodles in a restaurant, you ordered the waiter to prepare bland noodles with mushrooms and cabbage. In fact, you even asked him not to put too much of the soy sauce. That means you're not a man who likes too much flavoring. When we were at the wedding banquet, you specifically chose fresh dishes. That's why I prepared bamboo shoots and clams to align with your taste."
Zac's eyes twinkled in surprise. He was impressed.
Hazel may look like a fool, but she was actually very observant. He liked her.
"Turns out marrying you wasn't so bad after all." He finally smiled. There was something about his smile that erupted a fire inside her heart. Her lips twitched in response.
She lowered her gaze. "Well, you're a bad husband."
"Why?" He smirked.
"I, not only have to clean your room and wash your clothes, but I also have to cook for you. I've suffered a lot."
"Actually, you can just do one thing." He flashed a playful smile.
"And what is that?" She turned towards him.
"Warm my bed." Hazel almost choked at his words. She coughed so hard that her face turned beet red. With tears in her eyes, she glared at the culprit next to her.
'There was no way in hell,' she thought to herself.
Without even patting her back, Zac continued to eat his meal. It was as if it never happened or he couldn't care less with her reaction.
Her eyes flashed with fury. Not only was he a rascal, but it seemed that he was also a cold-blooded animal. The woman who's fated to marry him must be incredibly unlucky in her past life. She gritted her teeth. Once her time was up, she would divorce him not a second later.
They finished their lunch in uncomfortable silence.
After tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, she took out her notebook she used to keep account of all of her income and expenses. Hazel was used to writing down every penny that she spent.
"These are the expenses we've incurred in the past few days." She placed the notebook in front of him. "I'll pay your accommodation fee, but the rest of the expenditures will be split into two. I'll pay for it now, but you have to pay it back when we're divorced."
However, before she could add anything more, the man took out his credit card and placed it on top of her notebook. "Swipe it yourself. There's no password, and it doesn't need any signature," he said coldly, as if he couldn't care any less what the amount was.
Her jaw clenched.
"Hell no," she refused, shaking her head. "We're not relatives or even friends for that matter. I won't take your card."
'We're not relatives or friends?' Zac snorted at the thought, raising his thick eyebrows. "From what I know, you're my wife, aren't you?"
She gritted her teeth, glowering at him. "I'll max out your card if I'll take it," she warned spitefully.
"I don't care. In fact, it's your loss if you don't try to max it out during our agreement." He shrugged, crossing his arms.
Hazel's eyes widened.
It sounded like Zac didn't care about what she did. In fact, he even encouraged her to use his card in the first place!
Did he even know the value of money at this point?
She stuttered, trying to get a hold of her tongue.
What the hell was the man thinking?
"Since you insist, I'll keep it for you. Don't worry. I won't spend an extra penny using this," she stated firmly.
Since he was so generous, she would keep it. Maybe then, this could also prevent him from backing out of their agreement.
Hazel placed the card and her book in their room. When she came out, she heard someone ringing her doorbell.
"Hazel, are you there?"
"It's us. Open the door."
She was very familiar with their voices. In fact, they belonged to her two best friends–Mandy and Eva.
They were best friends since they were kids. They all went to the same high school together, and they even chose the same college to study in. Although they had different jobs now, they still lived in the same city.
Mandy was an anchorwoman in Yang City Satellite TV. When she heard about Hanson's engagement, she immediately called Eva and ran to Hazel.
On March 31, Hazel had told them that she would be declaring her love to her dream man. They were worried that she must be devastated with the news of his engagement.
As soon as they entered the door, Eva observed Hazel. Seeing that she was fine, she felt relieved.
Zac sat on the sofa of her living room.
At the sight of him, Eva smirked. "No wonder you don't look devastated," she teased.
"No! He–" Before Hazel could explain, Mandy jumped in excitement. "Thompson! You're Thompson!"
Hearing the name, Hazel and Eva were startled. They all knew that Mandy had been infatuated with Thompson for four years. He was her hero, but she didn't even know his true name.
Zac pursed his lips. He had only used that name once. How did this woman know?
Mandy's shoulders sagged in disappointment at the lack of his reaction. She had looked for him for so many years. She didn't expect that he didn't know her at all.
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