Chapter 153 Anna's Loss

Chapter 153 Anna's Loss

"Your bag." He reached out and handed her the beautiful, fashionable handbag.

"OK." She lowered her head, took the bag, and turned to leave.

Alexander awkwardly scratched his head too—he seemed to have gotten a bit... carried away just now.

The car quickly disappeared into the night. Liam emerged from the corner, took a long drag of his cigarette, and strode away. She should give up now.

Meanwhile, after making her Nth call to Bruce, Hazel finally got him to come over at midnight. Bruce hadn't expected this damn woman to be so persistent.

If she hadn't threatened to wait all night if he didn't come out tonight, he wouldn't have bothered. Of course, it wasn't because he felt bad about Hazel staying up all night—he just didn't want more gossip at the company about him hooking up with some rich girl.

"Did you need something?" Bruce asked coldly, his eyes showing undisguised distance and indifference.

Hazel didn't mind. She held out the cake in her hand. "I heard you like cakes from Sunshine Wheat Bakery. This one doesn't have much cream, so don't worry about calories. Here."

Bruce looked down at the small plate-sized cake in her hand and paused, frowning slightly. "How did you know I like cake?"

"Finding out what you like isn't hard." He'd mentioned it on social media. She'd seen it after work and remembered.

Bruce took the cake from her but felt a bit disappointed. Still, he said, "Thanks."

"Too bad this restaurant is closed. Their steak is pretty good." She shrugged with a regretful expression.

"What exactly did you want from me?"

Seeing his unenthusiastic expression, Hazel awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair and laughed. "I was just bored and wanted to hang out with you. The night is beautiful, isn't it?"

Bruce smiled faintly. "I don't think we're close enough to be friends, and I don't want to be friends with you anyway."

His bluntness made Hazel feel awkward again. She'd thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out what she'd done to offend him. From her first day at the Wilson Group, she'd noticed Bruce seemed to dislike her, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.

"Did I offend you somehow?" She didn't think she had.

Hazel thought her willingness to admit mistakes and change was a good quality, so as long as she knew why someone disliked her, she'd try to fix it. She thought being friends with Bruce would be nice—after all, he and Anna used to be a couple everyone envied.

Bruce glanced at her. She probably didn't know what she'd done to offend him. Hazel hadn't actually offended him directly, but she'd offended Charlotte, and anyone who went against Charlotte was going against him. So Hazel had indirectly offended him.

"It's late. You should head back. I'm leaving too." Bruce turned and got in his car.

Hazel opened the car door and got in too. "Why don't you drive me home? Consider it payback for the cake."

"You really know how to calculate. My time is worth more than your cake."

Hazel laughed, her smile so pure it seemed wrong to taint it. But to Bruce, it was the ugliest thing. Honestly, Hazel hadn't really hurt Charlotte or done anything terrible. Maybe his protective feelings for his sister ran too deep, so he couldn't forgive those who'd tried to harm Charlotte.

Charlotte was his only blood relative left in this world. He couldn't be careless.

After thinking, he stepped on the gas and said coolly, "This is the first and last time." Not just because of Hazel, but because he didn't want to see anyone from the Wilson family, not even their plants.

Hazel secretly felt pleased. Just because you say it's the last time doesn't mean I'll let you have your way.

This Bruce wasn't very warm to her, but he wasn't bad-hearted either. Not bad at all.

They chatted sporadically on the way and soon arrived at the Wilson Villa. His voice was flat. "We're here."

Hazel came back to her senses, unbuckled her seatbelt, and got out. But Bruce handed the cake back to her.

Hazel felt uncomfortable and asked, confused, "Why?"

"I don't like cake."

She didn't believe him. "You're lying. Didn't you say online that you like cake, especially from Sunshine Wheat Bakery?"

Bruce showed a faint smile. "I don't like it. Anna used to like it, so I wrote that."

"Okay." She nodded and took the cake back graciously. "In that case, I won't insist. I like this stuff too, so I'll eat it myself."

Bruce nodded slightly. "I'm going." He turned and drove back the way he came.

Ever since seeing Hazel's cake, Anna's image kept appearing in his mind. She used to love that greasy stuff too. She said it was sweet, sweet to the heart.

He shook his head, pushing Anna's image out of his mind. Better not to think about the past anymore.

Hazel carried the cake into the Wilson Villa and saw Anna still discussing business with Alexander. She frowned—why wasn't Anna leaving yet at this late hour?

"Alexander, do you want some cake?" She walked over and put the cake on the table.

Alexander looked up at her. "Where were you so late?"

"Bruce asked me out for dinner, so I came back late. He gave me this cake too. We had a great time today." She smiled sweetly and removed the packaging, revealing a rose pattern made of cream that caught all three of their eyes.

Alexander frowned slightly but said nothing more, looking at the faint sadness on Anna's face as a warm smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Anna, you have some too. Bruce said it's really good." She quickly cut a piece, put it on a plate, and offered it to Anna.

Anna smiled slightly but didn't take the plate. "I won't have any. I'm on a diet lately."

"Since neither of you wants it, I'll just put it in the fridge." She took a bite, her smiling face hurting Anna's heart.

Anna couldn't believe Bruce would buy a Sunshine Wheat Bakery cake for Hazel, especially with her favorite rose pattern. Were he and Hazel dating?

"Alexander, I'm heading back. It's too late." Anna packed up her computer and left hurriedly, her retreating figure almost looking like she was fleeing.

Seeing Anna leave, Alexander's expression turned cold too. He glanced at her coolly. "Hazel, that was too much."

Hazel's hand holding the spoon froze. The cake that had tasted so good a second ago suddenly became tasteless.

What had she done wrong? Anna and Bruce had broken up long ago. She hadn't done anything wrong.