Chapter 122



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“We have arrived.” Joseph’s deep voice echoed in the car. Hayden came to her senses and looked around the familiar surroundings of the apartment complex. She was distracted. She felt the dinner was very surreal.

“Thank you.” She said and turned to shake Stella’s shoulders, “Stella…”.

The little girl yawned, but continued to sleep like a little piggy. She couldn’t be woken up.

“Allow me.” Joseph said as he unbuckled his seat belt. He got out of the car before Hayden turned him down and opened the back door of the car. He easily carried Stella in his arms.

“Come, I’ll help you carry her up.”

Hayden was stunned and then walked to the front.

Alayna’s apartment was on the twentieth floor. The elevator was slow and they could hear each other’s breathing in the small elevator enclosure. Stella leaned against Joseph’s shoulder as she slept soundly. It was as if she was hugging the person she trusted the most.

Hayden looked at them and wondered if the blood calling caused a strong connection between them. Was that the reason his daughter seemed to be so close to Joseph? Just because Noah was close to her?

“Didn’t you say you got your house back, why are you still here?” Joseph’s voice brought her back to herself.

She pulled herself together and said, “That house is in the Jinshui Village area and it’s a big old villa. I stayed there with Stella one night, but it was too cold and creepy. So we went back to Alayna’s house.”

Initially, she had thought that, if Benjamin still couldn’t recover his memory, she would let him stay there with them. At least it would be livelier with him around, but Joseph had decided on his own to let Benjamin stay at the hotel. Besides, she wasn’t in the habit of hiring servants, so she had temporarily put aside the decision to move into the villa.

“Did the reporters come again?” Joseph thought about the time a reporter came when Freddie was staying there.

“They came several times.” Hayden laughed when the subject was brought up, “Then when Alayna came back from her business trip, she yelled a couple of things at them and they didn’t come back after that.”

In the elevator a small bell rang and the door opened. It was late and there was no one in the hallway.

Hayden pulled out the key and opened the door. He looked into the room, his actions becoming more deliberate.

Joseph carried Stella gently toward her room and placed her on the bed.

After they closed the door to Stella’s room, Hayden thanked Joseph, “Thank you for bringing us back so late at night and for carrying Stella.”

“That’s the second time.” Joseph said.

“Huh?” Hayden was puzzled.

“This was the second time you thanked me after you got out of the car. Do you like thanking people a lot?”.

Hayden lowered his face and avoided her gaze. “It’s polite to thank someone. It would be rude if I didn’t.”

“Or can I take that to mean you’re being polite?”

Hayden was stunned as he looked up and said, “Polite? Isn’t it nice…to be polite?”

Joseph’s gaze darkened and he asked, “Are you still pretending to dodge what happened this afternoon?”

Hayden tensed. He felt as if he had dodged it all day, but, in the end, he still had to face it, even though he knew it wasn’t easy for him to escape. But she couldn’t explain her emotions, she didn’t know what she was dealing with. Was it a momentary impulse or was she overcome by emotions? It was not something she could easily understand.

“I…” She sounded very troubled. It was as if she was traumatized. Finally, she raised her head and asked boldly, “I’d like to know what you’re thinking.”

It was as if she had given the ball back to him.

The living room lights were off and the only light there was barely illuminated the apartment. Their expressions were obscured and could not be described simply.

Hayden continued to sit on the couch even after Joseph had left. He kept glancing at the door and then at the clock on the wall. He calculated the time and guessed the moment when Joseph exited the elevator and then when he left the building.

His manly scent still lingered in the apartment and what he said to her in his attractive voice still rang in her ears, “You’re the only woman I’ve ever met with whom I can consider marriage.”

She did not answer him.

Then he said at last, “No matter when it comes to relationships or work, I’m used to high efficiency. I know that women think differently from men, so I can give you as much time as you consider, but don’t take too much time.”

Just as she was stunned, the door to the master bedroom opened slightly and Hayden looked in. He saw Alayna in her nightgown as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame and quipped, “I heard that loud and clear, what are you planning to do?”

Hayden’s face immediately flushed and avoiding Alayna’s gaze he said, “What, I have no intention.”

“You still won’t admit it?” Alayna pounced on her and pressed Hayden against the couch as she demanded, “Say quickly, what happened in the afternoon? We are adults, tell me what the two of you did in the afternoon.”

Hayden couldn’t help but laugh and then yelled for help, “Okay, okay, okay, I’m telling you, get off me, hahaha, get off me…”.

There was nothing they couldn’t tell each other. They talked for half the night and the coffee table was full of peanut shells.

Alayna asked as she nibbled on a peanut, “You’ve done what you had to do, why don’t you give him the reason? He had already expressed himself so clearly, so what are you waiting for? Don’t ever back yourself into a corner in a relationship…”.

“I know.” Hayden frowned, “It’s just that I’m worried about…”.

“What are you worried about?”

“I’m worried about Stella and Noah….”.

“You don’t think you’re worried about anything? Stella and Noah were born because of you. Wouldn’t it be nice if they were all with Joseph? Tell me now if you like Joseph.”

“I…”

“Do you like him or not? There are no other options.”

Hayden pursed his lips and said, “Yes.”

“Then that’s it! It’s enough that you like him. Besides, because of Joseph’s attitude towards you, you have nothing to worry about if you tell him the truth and he tries to get custody of your son. When you’re married, what’s his is yours and vice versa.”

Alayna always thought clearly and handled things quickly. What she was saying made sense, but it wasn’t so easy to apply it to herself.

It was late and after Hayden said a couple more things, she hurried Alayna to sleep. She washed up too and went to bed, but she tossed and turned because her mind was still tormented with everything, as if they were all tangled up. It seemed like a knot that couldn’t be undone.

She was sure she liked Joseph, but inside her other emotions were complicated.

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