Since Hayden had discovered the fact that Joseph was the man that she had encountered six years
ago, every bit of her profound detestation and loathing these past few years for the guy whom had
completely altered her fate was redirected to him. Her affection and favorable impression that she had
developed for him during their interaction recently were engulfed by hatred that had been devouring her
throughout all these years.
Upon laying her eyes on Hayden’s resentful and sullen expression, Alayna immediately knew that she
was not fooling around this time. She knitted her brows in contemplation, and after a few moments, her
eyes glinted as an idea had popped up inside her mind.
“I have an idea, Hayden.”
“What is it?”
“Your marriage with Edison is still valid on paper, right? Do you want to consider asking for his help?”
As soon as Hayden heard Edison Godfery’s name, her expression froze slightly. She shook her head
firmly after pondering over the thought, “Nah, I don’t want to burden him with my trouble.”
She had already given him a lot of troubles during her stay overseas, so it was not right to ask for his
help anymore now that she had come back.
Alayna sighed worriedly, “I know nothing that I say will make you change your mind since you always
have an obstinate personality and is as stubborn as a mule.” She patted Hayden’s shoulder and
continued, “Just know that I will always be by your side no matter what, and feel free to reach out to me
anytime when you bump into trouble.”
Hayden stared at Alayna gratefully as her moving words had allayed her anxiousness and made her
heart eased up a little.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine now. By the way, what is up with your WeChat Moments these days?
Are you seeing someone?”
Alayna’s eyes darted around the room when she was suddenly put on the spot. “That’s impossible. Oh
right, it just hit me that I still have a contract that was not issued yet, so I’ll head back to my room now.”
As soon as she finished her sentence, she immediately made an expeditious retreat into her room to
avoid the burning question.
Hayden could not help but to smile as she stared at her back figure disappearing from her sight.
Freddie and Stella landed three days later after flying back from their shoot abroad. They had managed
to avoid the horde of fans in the airport by taking the green channel to the exit.
Hayden had come to pick them up from the airport, and as soon as Stella had caught sight of her, she
ran frantically and threw her whole body at her mom, her silvery giggle echoed in the airport.
“Did you have a lot of fun, Stella?” All her worries and anxiety had dissipated instantly when she laid
her eyes on her beautiful daughter.
“Of course, we had so much fun!” Stella hugged her neck tightly and pecked her on the cheek while
asking softly in a mysterious manner, “Why did you leave so suddenly, Mummy? Did you plan it out
with Joseph and Noah to leave me alone by myself?”
Hayden was startled by the information as she asked uncertainly, “What, did they leave earlier as
well?”
Freddie gave a discreet cough and chipped in to change the subject of the conversation, “The car is
here, let’s get in first.”
To celebrate the success of wrapping up the shoot for the first episode of the show, Freddie’s agency
had prepared a dinner banquet. All the guest artists and behind-the-scenes crew that had starred in
and contributed to the show’s progress were invited to the party. Hayden was naturally on the guest list
as well as Stella’s guardian.
The banquet was not a formal occasion hence the atmosphere was more relaxed and everyone whom
had attended was cladded in casual outfits. Hayden and Stella were enjoying themselves as well, the
two of them feasting on all the scrumptious food and tasty drinks comfortably.
Stella was carried by the director in his arms to be introduced to the others in the middle of their meal
as Hayden watched from afar.
Her innocent and angelic face was beaming with a radiant smile, and her demeanor which was full of
humor and vibrancy had made it hard for Hayden to capture the similarity between her and Joseph’s
features. However, it was apparent that they were cut from the same cloth when she had quieted down,
her striking features looking very similar to his.
Hayden’s heart suddenly swelled with uneasiness from the realization and she instantly gulped down a
mouthful of water to calm her restless mind.
“Hayden.” A husky voice rang behind her, and it had given her a jolt which had made her heart race
again just when it had finally managed to calm down, her hand clasping the glass in her hand tightly.
Joseph whom was decked out in a black suit strode towards her and stopped when he had reached
beside her. He shot his gaze towards Stella whom was faraway side by side with her.
With a glass of red wine in his hand and another hand thrusted casually in his pocket, he asked
nonchalantly, “Why did you leave Maldives without saying a word?
“It’s nothing, an emergency came up at home.” Hayden was suddenly thrown into a state of nerves as
she had developed inexpressible antipathy and repugnance towards him after knowing the truth. It was
as if her self-defense mechanism had been triggered and it had forced her to stay away from him.
“Is it about the house? Or is it because of me?”
Hayden’s brows wrinkled after hearing his unexpected question.
Joseph looked unperturbed while showing perfect composure as he brought his glass to his lips to take
a sip, “Or is it because of me that you are looking for a new house?”
Hayden’s heart did a complete somersault and was suspended in her throat as she was taken aback
by his shrewdness. Did he find out about the real reason?
“I heard that you are rushing to move out from my place, but you don’t want to go back to Alayna’s
hence you are occupied by the matter, am I right?”
Hayden let out a huge sigh and nodded, “Yeah, I couldn’t be staying at yours forever.”
“Do you need any help?” Joseph offered unexpectedly instead of pressing her to stay longer.
A flash of astonishment flashed through Hayden’s eyes, but she shook her head after giving it some
thought, “Thanks for the kind offer, but I can handle it.”
Joseph was certainly still in the dark about the real reason of her moving out and why she was
preoccupied with the house. She dared not ask for his help when it was devised for her future as she
was afraid that he would find out that it was a scheme against him.
Hayden’s unhesitating rejection and distaste in her tone had caught Joseph’s attention in a swift. He
turned his head to look at her, his eyes blazed intently into hers, “Do you have something on your
mind?”
Hayden became dazed for a second and stared at him in confusion as she could not believe what she
had heard.
Joseph frowned in regret after realizing he had spurted out things that were out of his norm. The
atmosphere between them had turned awkward suddenly.
After a while, Freddie paced towards them while waving his hand. He was cladded in a cream-colored
long pants and a light blue T-shirt, his face brimming with a brilliant and youthful smile. As soon as he
had gotten closer to them, he handed a glass of fruit juice to Hayden at once.
“They are planning to hit the karaoke later, do you want to join in the fun, Hayden?”
“Huh? No thanks.” Hayden shook her head vigorously as she continued, “I need to look after Stella so I
couldn’t go to those kinds of places.”
Joseph’s expression eased up a little upon hearing her reply.
After throwing a quick glance at Joseph, Freddie winked at Hayden playfully with his kittenish
demeanor and said solicitously, “I knew it. I will send you back when all of them switch to a second
place later.”
“Alright, thanks.” Hayden smiled as his playful manner had affected her.
Joseph felt agitated when he saw her smiling at another guy, his face darkened slowly as he gripped
his glass tightly.
...
After dropping Stella off at her kindergarten early the next morning, Hayden arrived at ST Hotel to start
her first day as an official employee.
She was overwhelmed with mixed emotions after she had changed into her official name tag. This was
what she had always wanted right from the start, but now that she had gotten her hands on it, it turned
out to be a hot potato to her. She was perturbed by her future as she had the feeling that she should
not stay at ST Hotel any longer. Perhaps she should seek for other job opportunities to get herself
prepared.
Everything was going well after she had started her new position at work, plus she hardly had any
chances to bump into Joseph. Her assistant, Jeff, knocked on her door one day during noon to bring up
the induction celebration to congratulate her for her new position.
“Ms. Downey, we have prepared a party for your induction tonight. Can I confirm with you that you will
be able to attend tonight?”
While she was dithering over whether to attend the party, her phone rang suddenly. She took a glimpse
at the caller ID and hurriedly picked it up.
“Hello.”
“…”
“What?”
Hayden’s face instantly turned ashen as she said nervously, “I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
Before she had even hanged up the phone, she grasped her bag and rushed out from her office hastily.
Jeff was left puzzled as she could not manage to stop her tracks, “What’s wrong, Ms. Downey?”
“…”
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