It was late afternoon after the mortuary house picked up Zac's body.
Hazel walked out of the hospital with the others.
"Where do you live? My driver will give you a ride!" Chase said. His voice was kind of hoarse because Hazel had not spoken to him once before this.
Hazel smiled politely and shook the car keys in her hand. "Thanks, but I drove here myself."
The indifferent look on her face made it look like she was simply being polite to a total stranger.
Yet Lyra took it that Chase was hitting on Hazel. Her face fell, and quickly, she held Chase's arm affectionately, saying, "Hazel, why don't you move back in with us? At least, you don't have to be alone, and…"
"It's easier for me to stay in a hotel. Bye!" Hazel waved politely and headed for the underground parking.
Soon, a silver Bentley pulled out of the parking lot, and it roared off while in front of the crowd.
"It seems that my sister has been living a good life these years! She could enjoy such a rich life without any help from the family."
Chase did not reply.
During the six years when Hazel had been gone, for various reasons, Chase did not marry Lyra. Moreover, with these six years, he realized that Lyra was simply not the one for him.
The only reason that he did not break up with Lyra was because of the promise he made when they were kids. The Haynes family was a wealthy one, but it was nothing compared with the Blacks. However, the elders of both families were close friends because of the incident that happened long ago. That was why the Black family had always been taking care of the Haynes family.
Except for that, there was another crucial reason. Fifteen years ago, Chase and a little girl were kidnapped.
They kept each other company for a few days until Chase found a chance to escape, leaving the little girl behind. Before escaping, he promised her that he would come back and rescue her.
However, things didn't go as planned. By the time he came back with a rescue team, the girl had disappeared, and the kidnappers were gone. Three years later he found out that the girl was Lyra.Ever since then, he swore that he would love and protect this girl for the rest of his life.
"Hazel has always been striving since she was just a kid. She is smart and good with men, too. See her fancy lifestyle and car? She must have hooked up with some wealthy man again. Unlike her, Lyra, you are always stupid and innocent, and people all try to take advantage of you." Amara seemed to be praising Hazel, but it was not hard to recognize what she was implying.
"Mom, what are you talking about?"
"Oh, I just want you to learn from Hazel. Do you see how good she's been doing? Girls like her are never for us to be worried about wherever she goes. There aren't many girls as smart as her anymore."
Chase somehow was a little upset. "Amara, Lyra, I must go now. I have an important meeting tonight."
"Yeah, sure. Drive safe, alright?" said Amara with a flattering smile, afraid of offending her daughter's promising husband–to–be.
Chase said nothing more, turned around, and got into a car…
Having watched Chase's car disappear, Lyra stamped her foot in anger. She complained, "It's all your fault, Mom! You should never have put that bitch Hazel in Chase's bed nine years ago. Chase never mentions marrying me again. And now that Hazel's back, what are we gonna do?"
Amara gritted her teeth grumpily. What her daughter complained about was what Amara regretted the most.
She had it all well–designed nine years ago.
First, she had Hazel drugged. Then she sent the girl straight to Chase's room, convinced that Chase was too drunk to do anything.
After that, Amara informed a group of Paparazzi, suggesting they write a drama about how Hazel threw herself in her brother–in–law's arms. Amara did so because she was expecting that once Hazel had brought dishonor to the family, the girl would be disowned .
Yet she did not expect that her plan would backfire.
Chase actually slept with Hazel.
And then things got out of her hands. Under the pressure of Zac Haynes and Nancy Black, Chase ended up getting married to Hazel.
Thinking of this, Amara said, "I did it for you, silly girl. Damn it, all because of your grandfather! That old man has always favored that Hazel. Well, now that the old man's dead, let's see who can protect her this time around"
"But mom…" Lyra was still worried.
Even though Chase had been good to her for years, she could see the frigidity in his eyes.
The man seldom smiled ever since he divorced Hazel.
Over the years, he had totally become a workaholic. Sometimes it took one months for Lyra to see him around once.
"Don't worry. That idiot Hazel is just as stupid as that dead mother of hers. We are falling out with her right now. now. Not until she gives up her share of the inheritance first…"
Fifteen days later, it was Zac's funeral.
It was drizzling rain. All members of the Haynes family had arrived at the cemetery except for Hazel. On top of that, the finest people in the city also showed up to pay their respects.
Not to mention the reporters that were gathering outside the cemetery.
After all, Zac Haynes was quite a big shot in the city. So, of course, his funeral was well– focused.
"I heard Zac willed the eldest daughter of the Haynes family to inherit the Haynes Group."
"Oh, my god, that girl is really shameless. She seduced her brother–in–law nine years ago and forced her sister to leave. Then she became the one marrying into the Black family instead of her sister, and now she's the chairwoman of the Haynes Group. That's impressive!"
"Ha! So what? She's just a scheming woman. She was kicked out by the Black family, wasn't she? Such a woman is simply disgusting."
Amara was overjoyed when hearing the whispers of the crowd. Trying hard to maintain the sad look on her face, she said, "May I have your attention, please? First of all, I'd like to thank you all for coming to Zac's funeral, and…"
A reporter cut in, "Mrs. Haynes, is it true that Hazel is going to take over the Haynes Group as the new- leader?"
Amara paused before replying, "I'm not gonna be disturbed by other things on this extremely distressing day. But for a company as big as the Haynes Group, one man's word alone can't take effect. We need a board meeting to pick the right executive director."
"Mrs. Haynes, why isn't Hazel here on such an important day?"
"Ha, that's the question you should ask her…"
While she was saying, outside the cemetery suddenly came the sounds of engines.
A stretch limo was making its way into the cemetery, followed by a fleet of Mercedes.
"Look at that license plate. It seems to be Mr. Tristan's car!" The reporters went all excited and rushed towards the Rolls–Royce.
Yes, that car belonged to Tristan Woods.
There were two well–known wealthy young men in the city. One of them was Chase Black, and the other was Tristan Woods.
He was the first son of the business mogul in the City, and he also ran an entertainment company called Starlight Media. Several new top stars in the showbiz were all artists under his company's control.
Unlike Chase, who kept a low profile, Tristan had always been a man of publicity.
The doors of the Rolls–Royce were opened slowly, and Tristan stepped out first.
"Wow, it's really Mr. Woods!" The press swarmed forward like flies smelling blood.
After Tristan got out of the car, he turned to the other side and helped a woman who was dressed all in black. out of the car like a real gentleman.
"Is this…? Wow, it's Hazel Haynes!"
"You gotta be kidding. What is Woods doing with a woman like her?"
As they were all astonished, two adorable kids came out one by one wearing tiny black suits.
The boys should be at the age of 5.
And it was like a bomb, igniting everyone's interest.