The scariest part about Cleveland was that he was able to pinpoint your weakness even after knowing
you for a very brief amount of time. To top it off, he was able to relentless attack that weak spot openly.
Just earlier on, he had mocked her relationship with Joseph, commenting that the root of the problem
was never her sister. In fact, the basis of their relationship was already shaky from the start, so that’s
why they could be easily separated.
At the same time, Hayden couldn’t stop rolling her eyes as she couldn’t suppress bouts of laughter as
she mocked herself for having her eyes on an oblivious guy. And she was even thinking to change this
part of him.
In the end, the two of them didn’t want to take a step back. They were neck to neck when it came to
spouting vicious and deprecating words.
The situation persisted until Joseph appeared and they were stopped by Elizabeth.
“When you see your beloved man having such a good relationship with his ex-fiancee and her family,
do you feel aggrieved?”
“You can shut up now.” Hayden swept her gaze over Cleveland, “If I have known that you are
connected to Addison, I would never have given you my attention in Guangdong.”
This family was evil-hearted.
Cleveland raised his eyebrows, looking unconcerned as he continued to tease, “If you want, I can help
you to turn the tables.”
“How so?”
Before she could get her answer, Joseph was done exchanging greetings with Cleveland’s mother on
the other side, and he was now heading towards them.
“Why are you here?”
Joseph stood in front of them, and his aura was really impressive.
Hayden answered with some annoyance, “Do I need to tell you everything about my whereabouts?
Don’t forget that I am not working in the hotel anymore.”
“You have been frozen, not by resignation.” Joseph corrected her with a cold face.
“After my tenure of being frozen ends, I will resign anymore. It doesn’t make a difference…”
Joseph was about to launch into a rage but the corner of his eyes caught Cleveland. He then tried to
defuse his rage as he grabbed Hayden’s arms, “Come with me.”
“Wait a minute.” Cleveland’s voice sounded behind Joseph, “Joseph, where are you planning to bring
someone else’s girlfriend to?”
Girlfriend?
Hayden’s expression changed drastically as she shot an astonished look at Cleveland.
This man had a look of nonchalance on her face. He didn’t even hesitate to spout such outright lies.
“If you are just joking, I will pretend not to hear anything.” Joseph glared at Cleveland with an unfriendly
expression.
“Stop being in a hurry, I never said that she is my girlfriend.”
Cleveland looked strangely calm, “It’s just that Freddie had told me that she is his girlfriend.”
Hayden felt a jolt of shock in her heart. Cleveland was really a cunning and devilish fox.
He was trying to not attract any troubles to himself as he diverted everything risky to others.
As expected, Joseph’s face darkened almost instantly. Without taking into account the onlookers, he
dragged her into a rest room without any room for argument. After slamming the door, he hurled her
onto a sofa.
Hayden’s spine crash to the sofa and it made her take in a breath involuntarily. She raised her head
while trying to get her messy hair in order, “What are you doing?”
“I remember you telling me that Freddie and you are just siblings. Nothing more.”
Joseph placed his palms firmly onto the armrest of the sofa and trapped Hayden. His domineering
demeanour really struck fear and restlessness into her heart.
Hayden swallowed hard and explained with much difficulty, “We really are siblings, and even if we are
not that, what does it have to do with you? We have already broken up.”
“I-Never-Agree-To-That.”
He articulated those words with force, not planning to give Hayden any chance to refute.
He was bent over her, casting a shadow on Hayden’s face. There was a fragrance floating in the air,
and her brain suddenly conjured Addison’s wretched face in her imagination.
Her face immediately darkened, “Give me some space.”
Her fragile hands pressed against his chest as she said with frustration, “I don’t like how you smell right
now.”
Joseph noticed the disgusted look on her face and suddenly realized something. Without saying
anything, he straightened himself and sat down beside her, looking considerably calmer.
“What about Cleveland? How did you know him?”
“I knew him on the plane when I went on an outing.” Hayden sounded very disengaged.
A flash of arrogance flashed in Joseph’s eyes as he warned, “He’s never one to approach someone
without a reason. You better leave him alone.”
“So do you think that your ex-girlfriend doesn’t have any ulterior motive by approaching you?”
Hayden looked like she had a lot to say before coming at him with another question, “Do you really
think that she is selfless when she saved Noah? Do you really think that all she thinks is about you?”
Joseph frowned, “There must be some hidden truth within that incident. I am investigating it.”
“Of course I know that you’re investigating it.”
Hayden’s gaze slowly lost its glint, “There is nothing that can blindsided you, yet your first instinct is to
doubt me. Am I right?”
She never doubted Joseph’s intelligence and judgmental skills. After that matter, he naturally would
dispatch someone to investigate the details thoroughly. He’s not a fool, and since she could discover
some anomalies in that matter, it was not possible for him to miss that.
Therefore, she never worried that the truth would be forever sunken into the depths of the ocean.
By plunging their relationship into such an awkward state was his way of resolving that matter.
“What happens after you are done with your investigation? You know that it is not a coincidence for
Addison to appear in the back kitchen, so what do you plan to do? Are you really willing to accuse her
of meddling with that matter?”
Hayden lowered her head as she ironed out the creases on her evening dress with her hands. She
took in a deep breath and answered with her back straight, “Of course you won’t. Just solely based on
the fact that you would take care of Addison and her mother’s dignity, you won’t suspect her.”
Cleveland’s words that painted a picture of him as close to Addison’s mother like real mother and son
told me only one thing. No matter what Addison did, she would forever be forgiven by Joseph.
Joseph was always sentimental when it came to Addison, yet he was very sensible when it came to
Hayden.
That was the difference.
Joseph felt more and more agitated as he raised his head lightly and directed his gaze on this woman,
“My relationship with Addison is not that complicated, you don’t have to use that as an excuse to vent
your anger. It’s my fault for blaming you without getting the whole picture of that incident, but I still have
something I want to ask you.”
“Whatever you want to ask.”
“If there comes a day when something happens to both Stella and Noah, who would you save first?”
“You should ask yourself the same thing.”
Hayden refuted him without any reservation, “Who would you save?”
“Noah.” Joseph answered without a second thought.
Despite knowing full well what answer Joseph would come up with, at the moment Hayden heard it with
her own ears, she still felt a sudden coldness washed over her. It was as if her whole body was
confined to the deep freeze section of the fridge.
“Your question alone is cruel in nature. I don’t care whether you would take my word for it, but I really
see Noah like my own son. Despite that, this question is put me in between a rock and a hard place.”
Hayden stared at Joseph with an emotionless and distant look, “But you are different from me. You are
so straightforward and decisive. I bet you never see Stella as your own daughter since the beginning.”
There wasn’t any trace of resentment when she spout those words. She was trying her best not to spill
the truth just yet. She wondered if Joseph had known that those two were his biological children, would
he regret himself for asking such a question?
Perhaps, he would be speechless for some time or even felt frustrated, but she couldn’t bear the
consequences of telling him the whole truth just yet, at least not now.
“No matter how I am doing with Freddie or with Cleveland, or just any men, it has nothing to do
anymore. I have said again and again, we are now separated.”
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