Chapter 227



Instantly, he felt cold from head to toe. The last trace of warmth in Joseph’s eyes vanished. He looked at Hayden with his icy gaze.

Coldness covered his expressionless face and he said, word for word, “Say it one more time.”

“I can say it another ten times, and I won’t change my mind. If you dare hurt Edison, hurt me too.” Hayden said firmly. His look had shown his disappointment in Joseph.

She even began to doubt how it was possible for her to fall in love with such a mean guy like him. He was a deep minded, pretentious and proud man. He even treated human life like roadside weeds.

Joseph clenched his fists until his joints creaked. His words burst from his teeth: “Your friendship is touching, this is an ordinary friend. You are very good at acting.”

Hayden frowned and made no attempt to defend himself.

Joseph thought she had nothing to say, and sneered, “But don’t you think it’s ridiculous to threaten me with yourself? Who do you think you are?”

Although she knew that most of his words were due to anger, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed in him. She looked him straight in the eye and asked him without any hope, “I’m curious too, who am I to you?”

“You’re just a temporary sexual partner.”

Reality was always cruel. Her sharp words pierced his heart like a knife. She clenched her fist tightly, expecting to punch him in the face. However, she realized she didn’t have the strength to do so. This was the man she was sincerely treating with all her heart, but he was treating her like a ‘sex partner’.

She had always been proud of her self-esteem, but he trampled on it. He embarrassed her openly where everyone could see how ashamed she was.

“Joseph Beckham, I expected too much from you. Besides that, I also had some misunderstandings about your personality earlier.” Edison’s voice rang out at just the right moment, his words breaking the stalemate. He unbuttoned his suit quite naturally and his face suddenly changed. As quick as lightning, he hit Joseph with a punch right in the face.

Joseph let out a pained, choked grunt, his whole body fell to the floor along with the table and chairs beside him.

His bodyguards saw the situation and came over to help him up, but Edison’s people also knew how to defend themselves. Soon they began to fight face to face. The fighting skills of the two groups were equal.

While the sound of tables, chairs and benches breaking continued, making the scene become a complete chaos. On the other hand, Hayden could not react to the sudden change in the situation. Before he could stop them, Joseph and Edison’s people had started a big fight.

Edison was an extreme sports enthusiast. His fighting skills and endurance were much stronger than normal people, and he soon got the upper hand.

Joseph took another punch. Accompanied by a heavy punch, it knocked over a lamp that was half the height of a human being, causing him to fall to the ground in an awkward posture.

“Joseph!” Addison screamed and stepped in front of him. She yelled to Edison, “I called the police! My brother and the police will be here soon.”

When she saw that it was a woman, Edison’s fist stopped in mid-air. His gaze shifted between Addison and Edison. At the end, he flashed a cold smile and said, “I’ve never hit a woman.”

Joseph squeezed his chest and said nothing for a long moment.

Edison was teasing him because he had tried to threaten Hayden.

Edison even knew about these things. Hayden and he could talk about anything, even such personal things. Edison wiped his hands on the towel on the table, and then he saw Hayden’s pale complexion. A trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

She must have been very frightened to see such a scene.

“Hayden, let’s go.” His tone showed his concern for her. He held her by the shoulders as he spoke to her.

The corner of Hayden’s eyes rested on Joseph to check his condition. However, he saw the anxious expression on Addison’s face. She seemed so gentle and concerned for him. It was the kind of tenderness she couldn’t master. At first, she just wanted to check on his injuries, but now… she gritted her teeth, turned away and didn’t look back.

The French restaurant was a mess after the fight. It looked like a battlefield mess, with all those split tables, broken chairs and benches strewn everywhere.

It was impossible for Edison to leave without bringing his bodyguards. Therefore, Hayden wasn’t surprised by him with his bodyguards and didn’t ask much about it. He followed him straight to the car.

In the car, Stella was sitting quietly eating pudding and watching cartoons.

Stella was truly an innocent child. Children were those who could always live in their own world without any interference, no matter what was going on outside.

“Since you didn’t finish your food, I’ll take you somewhere else to eat.” Edison seemed unfazed by the incident now. His attention was focused on the food she hadn’t finished.

Hayden had lost his appetite, so he shook his head and said, “Okay, I’m full. Take Stella to my aunt’s. I have to go back to the office later, I have to talk to the designers about sample clothes in the evening.”

Edison didn’t say much. He merely said, “Okay.”

Then he told the chauffeur to drive.

After that day, Hayden and Joseph didn’t get back in touch or see each other for half a month.

Hayden was busy making sample clothes for Green Lemon Clothing’s first opening day. He changed more than a dozen types of fabrics and the mills that made the garments. However, none of them met Hayden’s expectations. She was not satisfied with any of them. However, she was very picky about the quality of the fabrics and craftsmanship. This resulted in production not meeting the schedule on time.

In the end, Edison helped and contacted an Italian fabric manufacturer. They agreed to cooperate with Green Lemon Clothing on an initial project. They would provide the necessary fabrics. And as for the craftsmanship, thanks to Dante’s tireless efforts, he managed to improvise with the machines and factory facilities.

Half a month later, Green Lemon Clothing’s first store opened its doors as planned.

The store was in the Starfish Mall. It was an excellent location. To celebrate the grand opening, and they were sent many baskets of flowers that were placed at the door. Most of the flowers were from Hayden’s former colleagues from the ST Hotel.

The fact that he had broken up with Joseph was no longer a secret. Therefore, it was not in their best interest to show up and join the grand opening. They sent baskets of flowers to express their blessings and Hayden understood them.

Edison was the first to arrive and brought a bouquet of flowers. He had come earlier to congratulate her on the opening of the new store, but returned and stayed a long time, Lorraine had urged him several times to leave, until Hayden could stand it no longer. Hayden also urged him to leave.

Finally, he left and hurried off to attend to his own business.

Just after dismissing Edison, Hayden saw a figure dressed in navy blue standing by the door. After taking a clear look, she was stunned for a moment.

That person had entered, carrying a very discreet but luxurious navy blue gift box. He handed it to Hayden with a smile on his face, “Miss Downey, congratulations on opening a new store.”

Kevin looked at her with a smile and said, “You didn’t expect me to come? Just look at your expression, you look a little uncomfortable.”

Hayden frowned and denied, “I just thought you’d be too busy taking care of Alayna and wouldn’t have time to come. Don’t overthink it.”

“I’m not overthinking it.”

Kevin followed Hayden and walked around the large tent. He asked nonchalantly, “But I’m quite curious, who is Stella’s biological father?”

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