Chapter 51



When Alayna said in a calm tone that she must have taken a liking to him, Hayden felt as if there was a piece of rock inside his body, and it hit the ground after hearing Alayna’s words. His mind was completely blown when he thought about it.

How could it be?

“Besides, there is no friendship between men and women. Joseph is the young president of the ST Group. A busy man like him acted like he had nothing to do and helped you take care of your daughter, I can’t find any other reason to explain his actions except that he liked you too. It’s as simple as that.”

“It’s because Noah likes the food I make.”

“Then surely he plans to let you serve him all your life.”

“That’s impossible.”

Alayna ignored Hayden’s words and laughed sarcastically at his denial, just like a winner feeling smug about his victory. She didn’t care at all about the loser’s sentiment or her explanation that she wasn’t in a good mood today.

Hayden couldn’t sleep that night. He kept thinking about Alayna saying she had taken a liking to him and the interactions they had had during that period of time.

He got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. As he passed through the living room, he saw the brand new tea set on the table. He remembered that the cups that were at home before were a little cracked, so he told Joseph to hold on while he drank, the next day, he brought him the new tea set.

Not only this tea set, Joseph always brought something for her during this period of time. The things he brought almost took up every corner of her apartment.

Hayden held the cup in his hand as his heart beat in disarray.

…

The next morning, Hayden received a text message from Joseph on his way to work.

“[I’ve taken Stella to school. Don’t worry].”

She harshly typed a ‘thank you’ as she was squeezed into the subway. The corners of her lips slowly drooped into a smile she didn’t even realize.

Alayna stayed at Hayden’s house after returning from her business trip. Joseph didn’t even bother to evade her and came over often for dinner.

The first day, Alayna asked him a lot of questions about his family background. Hayden felt uncomfortable listening to her conversation in the kitchen, to the point that she wanted to come out of the kitchen and hit him over the head with a spoon to shut him up.

Fortunately, he wasn’t home every day. He had his own design studio and led a busy life, but he found it relaxing to be able to eat at home at least once a week.

During the night, Hayden closed the door to Stella’s room.

Alayna was resting on the couch. She put on a face mask while fiddling with her phone. When she saw Hayden leave the room, she immediately got up and asked, “I heard my assistant gossiping in the studio today, saying that Joseph and Violet are getting married, is it true?”

“Yes.” Hayden looked calm as she took a sip of water.

“Wow.” Alayna frowned, “Then why is he coming on so strong every day, isn’t he cheating on you?”

“What part of him did you think he was doing that? Besides, I already told you I’m just his subordinate. You’re the one who doesn’t believe me.” Hayden rolled his eyes at Alayna, but as soon as he turned away, slight disappointment appeared on his face.

After calming down, he tried to rationalize his thoughts. He was getting married soon, how could he have feelings for her?

Alayna was about to ask something when Hayden’s phone rang. She glanced at her screen and hung up straight away.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“It’s just advertising.”

After saying this, Hayden took the laundry out of the washer onto the balcony to dry. It was obvious she was feeling dejected.

The phone on the table lit up again as she received a text notification.

Alayna got up from the couch and was able to see part of the message’s contents.

“[The engagement party will be held this Saturday. Don’t forget, Hayden. Kingsley and I are…].”

As soon as he saw Kingsley’s name, he narrowed his eyes. If he remembered correctly, wasn’t this the name of Hayden’s ex that Hayden accidentally revealed to him when they went for drinks?

So the person who sent this message? Must be that shameless friend of Hayden’s who snatched her boyfriend!

Hayden came out of the balcony after finishing hanging up her clothes. When he noticed that Alayna was still sitting on the couch, he reminded her, “Why haven’t you taken off your mask? It’s almost dry.”

“Never mind.” Alayna folded her arms and sat up stiffly, “Come here, sit down.”

“What do you want?” Hayden laughed at her serious countenance, “Don’t try to play a joke on me in the middle of the night.”

“What’s this?”

Alayna pulled out a red invitation card and placed it on the small table. After reading the text, she found this on the nightstand, under a stack of magazines. It must have been a few days since she received it.

The invitation card had an unsightly sheen to it that made Hayden frown, “How did you figure that out?”

“I was looking for a magazine, but found this instead. If I remember correctly, wasn’t the boyfriend here the scoundrel who dumped you for your best friend?”

Alayna couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the mention of Kingsley, “I thought they were getting married. I was dumbfounded when I opened this bright red invitation and realized it was only for a commitment ceremony How much exactly do you want to get married?”

Hayden said helplessly, “That’s your problem.”

“The question is, what do you plan to do?”.

“I don’t plan to attend.” Hayden clearly expressed his attitude.

“Why?” Alayna rose from the couch, “This is a great opportunity to seek revenge. I’ve thought about it, I would custom make you an evening gown myself and make sure you look extremely captivating. I must make that scumbag regret his actions and break up with that woman, admitting that he is blind.”

“You don’t have to, it’s all in the past now.” Hayden shrugged as if he didn’t care. “How they’re living now has nothing to do with me, I don’t want to go see them.”

“If you say that, it means you still hold a grudge against them, aren’t you suffocating? That man hasn’t given you any explanation about the things that happened six years ago.”

Hayden was in a complicated mood when he mentioned this. Of course, she felt suffocated. If Kingsley hadn’t cheated on her, she wouldn’t have become a surrogate mother.

“Besides, I’ve already promised by pretending to be you.” Alayna blinked feeling self-righteous.

“You promised what?” Hayden’s face stiffened. He spotted his phone on the table and quickly turned it on to glance at it.

Michelle’s message was followed by a reply, “[Ah, you’re the one who called me? I thought it was an insurance agent, since you called every day. I got the invitation, of course I would go. After all, it is my best friend’s wedding, I will be there on time].”

“Alayna!” Hayden was angry. He grabbed a pillow from behind him and threw it towards Alayna.

“Anyway, I already made a promise. It doesn’t matter anymore, besides, if you don’t want to attend, you can call her anytime.”

Alayna took off her face mask and got up barefoot from the other side of the couch. He ran to her room and tried to tease her as he muttered through the door, “That little bitch must have thought you wouldn’t dare go. If you don’t go, you’ll be the one humiliated.”

Hayden was so angry she couldn’t say anything, and a message popped up on her phone, “[I’ll wait for you then].”

He could literally see Michelle’s smug face through the phone screen.

Hayden pressed the phone and suddenly changed his mind. He looked toward Alayna’s room and shouted, “Who says I’m not going? I’ve decided to go now, so you’ll have to start getting my evening dress ready.”

.

.

.