Chapter 31



Hayden initially thought that Joseph simply didn’t want to bother her, so that’s why he asked her to leave him. It was only when she had swung the swing a few more times that she realized Joseph sounded like he was grinding his teeth when he said, “Hayden, I said let go of your hand.”

She was quick to let go and ask startled, “Wha…what’s wrong?”

Joseph stomped hard on the ground to gain control over the swinging motion of the swing. His expensive leather shoes left two visible marks in the sand on the floor as the swing stopped its motion.

She turned around and glared at Hayden, “Did I say I wanted to sit on this swing?”

“Didn’t you say it’s not safe? I thought you wanted to try this swing for Noah.” Hayden still hadn’t realized his mistake and responded nonchalantly, “Besides, to get along with a child, you have to get used to playing with his favorite toys. Don’t tell me you never spend time having fun with Noah?”

“Those are the reasons you think I should sit here on this swing with you?”. There was a hint of anger in Joseph’s eyes as he looked at Hayden unhappily.

Hayden was still very distracted as she studied Joseph. Suddenly, the smile on his face seemed to freeze.

He was dressed in a sharp looking suit, but he was sitting in a swing with colors that contrasted sharply with his appearance. She was too focused on dealing with her feelings to the point that she had forgotten her usual cold and distant demeanor.

“About that… ahem…. ahem… I suddenly remember that I have to rush to work now. I’m… I’m leaving now.” Hayden pretended to look at the time on his watch before taking a few steps back and running away.

As he watched her walk away from him, Joseph felt his anger slowly dissipate and an unusually warm glow appeared on his face. With no one around him now, his slender fingers hooked into the ropes of the swing, and at that moment he was all smiles.

Hayden didn’t stop jogging until he was outside the school grounds, and when he was finally at the school gate, he only stopped to catch his breath. She was clutching her chest as if she had just escaped by the skin of her teeth.

She was really scared. If she had stayed a second longer, she was sure she would have been cut to pieces by Joseph’s murderous stare.

“Miss Downey, are you here alone?”

She looked up to find Violet, who had just gotten out of a van. Violet was folding her arms and approaching her with an unfriendly disposition.

Hayden furrowed his eyebrows and remembered her forceful way of questioning Stella, so he immediately felt a sense of disgust towards her. He merely nodded in her direction and mumbled a perfunctory reply before reaching out to hail a cab.

“You should know by now that I’m getting married to Joseph soon, right?”. Violet wasn’t going to let Hayden off the hook just yet.

Hayden could only reply, “Rumors are flying everywhere in the company. It would be weird if I didn’t hear about it.”

“As long as you know.” Violet adjusted her hair as she lifted her chin arrogantly.

“Although it’s not official news yet, we’re going to hold a press conference very soon. My marriage to Joseph is going to be a much-publicized news story in the nation. Therefore, if any unscrupulous person wants to blatantly intervene, they will have to face the wrath of the nation. Perhaps in the end he may not only not get what he wants, but he would also suffer losses.”

“You’ve been thinking too much, Miss Kidman.” Hayden decided to feign ignorance in an attempt to allow both parties to end this conversation peacefully, “I don’t understand what you are trying to say…”.

Violet was not planning to pursue this peacefully, however, as he rudely interrupted her, “I’m telling you to get as far away from Joseph as possible.”

In the six years she had known Joseph, she had never seen him harbor feelings for any woman. She used to think that this side of him would benefit her, as he had never really been interested in women and this would allow her to cling tightly to the throne of the future ‘Mrs. Beckham’ and she would get everything she ever wanted without worrying about him changing his mind.

However, this woman in front of her was somehow able to goad Joseph into volunteering to find a school for her daughter. The whole thing was more than puzzling.

When Violet declared her true intentions, they no longer had to keep up appearances.

Hayden took a deep breath as he clenched his fists. He said with obvious displeasure, “Miss Kidman, I advise you to take back your words.”

“What’s wrong?” Violet snorted coldly, “Are you feeling guilty right now?”

“Do you really believe that all the women who appear alongside Mr. Beckham are trying to cement themselves as his partner or gain some advantage?”

“Yes I do, who knows what nasty idea you would come up with just because you saved Noah? Let me be honest with you, you’re just a management trainee at the hotel, there’s no way you’d be able to send your daughter to the Blue Castle Bilingual Kindergarten. You are only doing this in order to be closer to Joseph. Don’t think I’m oblivious to your intentions. I’ve seen too many women like you.”

Hayden’s expression darkened as he saw that Violet had such a dirty mind and blurted out such vicious words, he replied with another question of his own, “Women like me?”

“I mean a shameless one like you, who only knows how to climb the social ladder only by using men.” Violet curved the corner of her lips and laughed coldly with obvious sarcasm, “I’m warning you. Keep your hands off things and people that don’t belong to you in the first place. You have to think of your daughter’s safety as well.”

Hearing this, Hayden increased the force of his fists, “Miss Kidman, you’d better watch what you say. I have never had any ill intentions toward Mr. Beckham. It’s all unsubstantiated assumptions on your part.”

Violet wanted to retort to Hayden, but a familiar figure suddenly entered her field of vision out of the corner of her eye. She immediately sketched a smile and turned around, “Joseph, what took you so long?”

“Something came up.” Joseph shot her a cursory glance before averting his gaze to Hayden. He then offered, “I have some business to attend to at the hotel, do you want to go together?”

Given that he had just received an ultimatum from Violet, if he accepted her invitation without reading the atmosphere, it would be blatant provocation on her part.

Hayden didn’t want to cause any fuss, so she shook her head vehemently, “Okay, I’ll call a cab.”

Joseph didn’t insist on giving her a ride, so he got in the car with Violet and headed for the hotel.

As they drove, Violet couldn’t help but study Joseph’s expression and discovered that he was in a good mood. She suspected something had happened at the Kindergarten, so she tried to figure out what it was, “Joseph, even though Miss Downey saved Noah’s life, don’t you think you’ve treated her too kindly?”

Joseph kept looking out the window at the passing scenery and replied weakly, “Oh, yeah? You’re thinking too much about that.”

“Miss Downey’s daughter, she’s in the Blue Castle Bilingual Kindergarten thanks to your arrangement, isn’t she?”.

Hearing that, Joseph’s face turned icy. He looked at his chauffeur and issued a cold command, “It seems Magnus has been hiring staff according to lax standards. You can go to the finance department to round out your salary, and today will be the last day you work for me.”

“Mr. Beckham.” The chauffeur was nervous, “I’m in a bad way, I…”

“It was me who asked you.” Violet tried to explain, “I was just asking him for no real reason, why must you have this reaction? It just further proves that you’ve been worrying too much about Hayden.”

“I said.” Joseph looked at her impatiently as he continued with distaste. “That you’re thinking too much.”

“Is that so? It’s just that I feel like…”

“What’s it to you that I care about her?” Joseph shot her a warning look and added, “If you insist on pursuing this subject, you can get out of the car too. You’ve been asking too many questions lately.”

Hearing that, Violet could only keep quiet as she bit her lips. She couldn’t help but clutch at the purse on her lap. Even her knuckles turned white.

Her instincts told her that Hayden was no pushover.

.

.

.