"Then why is your brow so furrowed you could kill a fly with it? And you still say you’re fine," Hazel Sinclair said, sounding a little annoyed.
"Is it about money? Did someone bully you? Just tell me. I’ll help you."
Leon Sterling unwrapped the gauze on her arm, then began cleaning and treating the wound with antiseptic.
The sting of pain made Hazel Sinclair slap his shoulder. "Be gentle! That still really hurts."
"I must have done something to upset you, so now you’re trying to torture me to death with this antiseptic," Hazel Sinclair grumbled.
Leon Sterling looked up at her after she hit him, then said with a smile, "No, it’s not you. It’s my own problem."
"Then tell me." Hazel was determined to find out what was wrong today. "What kind of problem?"
"You didn’t cheat on me, did you?" Hazel Sinclair asked, her voice feigning shock.
Leon Sterling kept his head down, applying ointment to her wound and wrapping it with fresh gauze.
"Answer me. You haven’t rekindled things with Serena Sinclair, have you?" Hazel leaned in to ask.
"What does this have to do with Serena Sinclair?" Leon Sterling asked, confused. ’What does our business have to do with an outsider?’
"Isn’t she the one you could never forget?" Hazel said.
’The one I could never forget?’
’Who said that? How come I’m the last to know?’
"She’s not the one I could never forget," Leon Sterling said, shaking his head.
"If she wasn’t the one, then why did you specifically ask for her by name when you came to the Sinclair Family for the marriage alliance?" Hazel added sarcastically, "You made it seem like if it wasn’t her, you wouldn’t have gone through with it at all."
"Serena Sinclair and I went to the same school, and she helped me once," Leon Sterling explained. "When the marriage alliance came up, I figured since we went to school together and I knew her, I might as well choose her."
Hazel looked at him skeptically. "Really?"
"Really."
After finishing with her arm, Leon Sterling stood up, then squatted in front of Hazel and began rolling up her pajama leg.
"Besides, none of the other wealthy young women in our circle were willing to marry me. Only your Sinclair Family showed any interest. I figured that with the Sinclair Family’s help, the company would surely reach new heights."
"I wasn’t willing to pass up that opportunity."
He never expected what happened next, which led to him marrying Hazel Sinclair by a twist of fate.
Hazel nodded after hearing his explanation.
In her head, she viciously cursed the System. ’It must have given me a fake book!’
’That fake book has ruined me.’
Once the wounds were treated and he’d packed everything away, Leon Sterling wrapped his arms around Hazel, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
The scent of roses that clung to her soothed his anxious heart.
’It’s alright,’ he thought. ’From now on, I’ll make sure the word ’divorce’ never leaves her lips again.’
Hazel raised a hand and patted his back comfortingly, again and again.
Once she had him placated, Hazel picked up the first-aid kit and left the room.
She flopped onto the sofa and went back to scrolling through videos. She wasn’t getting any clips of handsome men, but her feed started showing her risqué videos of beautiful women.
But Hazel watched them with just as much interest.
After a leisurely day, Hazel was up at eight the next morning, sitting at her vanity to do her makeup.
Once her makeup was done, she chose a pink dress from her wardrobe. Catching her reflection in the mirror, Hazel was very satisfied.
’This pretty look should leave them with a good impression.’
When Leon Sterling, who was standing by the dining table, saw Hazel with her makeup on, he was a little stunned.
’So beautiful.’
"Are you going to work today?" Leon Sterling asked, handing her a pair of chopsticks.
"Yep," Hazel replied, taking the chopsticks.
"Okay." Leon didn’t try to stop her from going to work this time. Instead, he made a mental note: he had to get his studio up and running. ’Once I make enough money,’ he thought, ’I’ll buy her a piano and a violin.’
After breakfast, Hazel left the house.
Biking to the new company would make her late, so Hazel called a cab.
When she arrived at the Hyperion building, she walked inside and said to the receptionist, "I’m here to see Chairman Kendrick, Evelyn Kendrick."
The receptionist asked professionally, "Do you have an appointment? It’s very difficult to see our Chairman without one."
’So I need an appointment.’
Hazel nodded and immediately pulled out her phone to call Evelyn Kendrick.
The call connected quickly, and Evelyn Kendrick’s voice came through the phone.
"You’re here?"
"Yes, I’m at the front desk of your company," Hazel replied.
"Alright. I’ll have my assistant come down and take you to handle your onboarding," Evelyn said before hanging up.
A few moments later, the elevator doors opened, and a man in glasses stepped out.
He walked up to Hazel and habitually pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Are you Miss Sinclair?"
"Yes," Hazel confirmed.
"This way, please."
The two took the elevator upstairs. The assistant helped Hazel complete her onboarding paperwork, then led her to the livestreaming studio.
After a quick word with the studio supervisor, the assistant left. Evelyn Kendrick was nowhere to be seen.
Hazel stood where she was, watching the others do their makeup. No one paid any attention to her.
The supervisor glanced up coolly and asked, "You get in through Assistant Lawson?"
Hazel was confused. ’I was hired by Evelyn Kendrick, what does some assistant have to do with it?’
’Besides, does an assistant even have that much power? Enough to get someone a job here?’
"No," Hazel denied.
The supervisor sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. "People who get in through the back door never admit it."
"It doesn’t matter if you got in through Assistant Lawson. I’m the one in charge here," the supervisor said. She then looked away from Hazel and addressed two other streamers. "Are you ready? It’s time to go live."
"We’re ready."
No one told Hazel what to do. She was being isolated.
Hazel wasn’t annoyed, though. She just found a spot and started playing on her phone.
But she’d only been on her phone for two minutes when the supervisor’s voice rang out.
"Is playing on your phone what you do during work hours?"
"Shouldn’t a new hire be observing and learning, instead of just slacking off?"
Hazel put her phone away. "Then what are my duties?"
The supervisor scoffed. "You’re a rookie. If I let you touch anything and something goes wrong, can you afford to pay for the damages?"
Hazel asked again, still patient, "So, what should I be doing today?"
"Do I have to spell everything out for you? Is that the kind of attitude you bring to a job?" Instead of answering, the supervisor used the opportunity to lecture Hazel.
"Try to be a little more observant, will you? Can’t you see the streamers are out of makeup? Why don’t you go get it?"
Hazel took a deep breath and asked, "And where are the products kept?"
"You ask this, you ask that. Can’t you look for it yourself?" the supervisor continued to nitpick.
Anyone else would have gotten angry and stormed out by now, but Hazel didn’t.
Her voice grew impatient. "So you’re telling me to go get them myself?"
"What do you think? You’re the only one here with nothing to do."
"And you’re not idle?" Hazel shot back. "If you’re so busy, why are you standing here picking on me?"
"Are you trying to get fired, talking to me like that?" The supervisor hadn’t expected such a direct retort and was starting to get angry.