Chapter 218 087
“HAZEL!”
The twins didn’t wait for confirmation.
They were already halfway across the living room before she even stepped fully inside.
Hazel barely had time to brace herself before two little bodies collided into her at once.
“Hey! Hey! Easy!” she laughed, staggering backward under their combined weight. “Are you two trying to knock me over?”
“You are back!” Gabriel shouted into her shoulder.
“You actually came back!” Gaddiel added, as though there had been real doubt.
Hazel pulled back just enough to look at them properly. Her eyes softened instantly.
“It has been five days,” she said.
“Exactly!” Gabriel protested.
“That is almost a month,” Gaddiel added dramatically.
Hazel burst into laughter.
“Do you two even understand what weekly boarding school means yet?”
They both groaned.
“We are still trying,” Gabriel admitted.
“It is confusing,” Gaddiel said. “Why can’t you just go to school like normal people and come back every day?”
“Because,” Hazel said patiently, brushing invisible dust from Gabriel’s hair, “it is a weekly boarding system. I stay there during the week and come home on weekends.”
“That is cruel,” Gabriel declared.
“It builds character,” she countered.
“We don’t need character,” Gaddiel said seriously. “We need you here.”
Hazel’s expression flickered for a split second with affection, gratitude and something deeper, before she masked it with a playful scoff.
“You two survived without me.”
“Barely,” Gabriel said.
“Barely,” Gaddiel echoed.
Behind them, a quieter presence entered.
George. He was back.
He rolled Hazel’s medium-sized suitcase in with steady composure, shutting the door gently behind him.
Hazel turned immediately.
“Thank you, George,” she said warmly.
“You are welcome, Hazel,” George replied with a slight nod.
That was when Hazel noticed her.
Wendy.
Standing just a little behind the couch. And observing.
Hazel’s gaze sharpened, not a friendly one, but curious.
So this was her.
The much-talked-about Wendy.
The mysterious girl her brothers had apparently been competing over all week— a detail their father had found amusing enough to mention during his last phone call on Tuesday evening.
“Apparently your brothers have discovered rivalry,” he had said dryly. “Over the butler’s daughter.”
Hazel had laughed at the time.
Now, seeing Wendy in person, she understood.
Wendy stepped forward politely.
“Welcome home,” she said gently.
Her voice was calm and balanced.
Hazel studied her briefly, the neat posture, the composed eyes, the faint confidence that didn’t feel forced, her warm voice.
She was pretty. Not loud-pretty, but quietly striking.
“Thank you,” Hazel replied with an easy smile. “You must be Wendy.”
Gabriel and Gaddiel froze.
They exchanged a quick look. Hazel noticed that.
Oh, this was going to be entertaining.
“Yes,” Wendy said. “And you must be Hazel.”
“The one and only,” Hazel replied lightly.
George cleared his throat gently.
“I will take this upstairs,” he said, gesturing to the suitcase.
“No, I have got it,” Hazel insisted, moving toward it.
But George had already lifted it.
“It is fine,” he said firmly.
Hazel smiled. “Thank you.”
The twins were still hovering around her like loyal bodyguards.
“So,” Hazel said, folding her arms and glancing between them. “What exactly have you two been up to while I was gone?”
“Nothing,” they both answered too quickly.
Hazel raised a brow.
“Nothing?” she repeated slowly.
“School,” Gabriel said.
“Homework,” Gaddiel added.
Hazel looked past them at Wendy. She simply smiled, diplomatic of her.
Hazel’s lips twitched.
“Right,” she said knowingly.
Gabriel coughed.
“So how was school?” he asked quickly, trying to redirect attention.
Hazel sighed dramatically and flopped onto the couch.
“It was fine. Classes are intense. My roommate snores. The food is questionable.”
“See!” Gaddiel exclaimed. “You should come back home permanently.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” she said.
“Why not?”
“Because life requires endurance,” she replied, tapping his forehead lightly. “And discipline.”
Gabriel flopped beside her.
“Did you miss us?”
Hazel looked at him.
Then at Gaddiel.
Then her voice softened.
“Of course I did.”
They both grinned.
“And Dad?” Gabriel asked.
“I spoke to him yesterday,” she said. “He says you two are behaving.”
They went suspiciously quiet.
Hazel narrowed her eyes.
“You are behaving… right?”
“Yes!” they said in unison.
Wendy couldn’t help but laugh softly.
Hazel’s attention snapped to her again.
“You are the famous Wendy,” Hazel said casually.
“Famous?” Wendy blinked.
“Oh yes,” Hazel continued. “I have heard about you.”
Gabriel choked.
Gaddiel’s ears’s eyes widened.
“What— what did Dad say?” Gabriel demanded.
Hazel smirked.
“That my brothers were suddenly very helpful at home. Very attentive. Very… competitive.”
The twins groaned loudly. Wendy’s cheeks flushed faintly.
“It wasn’t like that,” Gaddiel protested.
“It wasn’t competition,” Gabriel added quickly.
Hazel folded her arms again.
“Mm-hmm.”
Wendy stepped in smoothly.
“They have been helpful,” she said honestly. “Very helpful.”
Hazel looked at her carefully.
There was no mockery in Wendy’s tone.
No flirtation either, just sincerity.
Interesting.
“Well,” Hazel said finally, standing up. “As much as I would love to continue interrogating everyone, I need a shower. Boarding school air is not friendly.”
“Don’t take too long,” Gabriel said immediately.
“Yeah, we still have catching up to do,” Gaddiel added, his tiny voice reverberating.
Hazel shook her head, smiling.
“I’m not disappearing for another week just yet. Relax.”
She began walking toward the staircase, then paused. Turning slightly, she looked at Wendy again.
“It is nice to finally meet you,” she said.
Wendy nodded politely.
“Nice to meet you too.”
There was something unspoken in that brief exchange. Something like assessment, lingering curiosity. Maybe even the beginning of something neither of them could define yet.
George reappeared at the foot of the stairs.
“Your room is ready,” he said.
“Thank you,” Hazel replied.
Then she disappeared upstairs.
The twins remained standing there for a moment, staring after her like they feared she might evaporate again.
Finally, Gabriel exhaled.
“She is really back.”
“For two whole days,” Gaddiel said.
Wendy watched them quietly.
The house felt fuller now, and louder. Even warmer.
But somewhere beneath the excitement, beneath the laughter and teasing and reunion, something had shifted.
Hazel was home.
And somehow, that meant things were about to change.
Or wasn't that it?
The bar was louder than usual for a Friday night.
Music thumped in the background, glasses clinked, laughter erupted from scattered corners. But at their usual table near the back wall, the mood wasn’t nearly as light.
Charles sat forward in his seat, elbows on his knees, drink untouched in his hand. Marcus leaned back lazily, one arm slung over the chair, while Julian scrolled absentmindedly through his phone.
“I’m telling you,” Charles said, frustration clear in his voice, “this isn’t normal.”
Marcus raised a brow.
“What isn’t?”
“Amelia. She hasn’t picked my calls since yesterday. Not one. And she hasn’t replied my DMs either.”
Julian finally looked up.
“Maybe she is busy?”
“Busy?” Charles scoffed. “For almost two days?”
Marcus tilted his glass slightly.
“Delivered?”
“Yes, delivered!” Charles snapped. “Double ticks everywhere. She is online. She is seeing them.”
Julian exchanged a glance with Marcus.
“That is… odd,” Marcus admitted.
Julian tried to keep his tone neutral.
“Now I think maybe she really needed that rest, bro. You said it yourself, she has been stressed. Maybe she just wants zero disturbances.”
Charles’ head snapped toward him.
“So her fiancé calling is now disturbance?”
Julian lifted both hands defensively.
“I’m just saying. If she went there to clear her head, maybe she doesn’t want constant check-ins.”
Charles leaned back, clearly irritated.
“Constant? I’m not calling her every five minutes. You of all people should know that.”
Marcus coughed lightly.
Julian smirked.
“You called her how many times today?”
Charles hesitated.
“…That is not the point.”
Marcus chuckled. “Exactly.”
Charles rubbed his jaw, restless.
“You guys don’t get it. Something feels off.”
Marcus’ expression shifted slightly.
“What kind of off now?” he sighed.
“She is just… different. You know before she left, I told you guys her tone was off. Now she is not answering at all.”
Julian took a slow sip of his drink, squinting his eyes, he asked.
“Did you two argue before she traveled?”
“Hell no!” Charles almost chuckled at that question.
“Did you do something?” Marcus asked bluntly.
Charles frowned.
“Like what?”
Marcus shrugged.
“You know. Something.”
Charles rolled his eyes.
“If you are implying anything, just say it. Come on guys, I expect you two to understand better.”
“And that is what we are trying to do. The complaints are getting too much,” Julian retorted.
“I’m not implying,” Marcus replied calmly. “I’m saying sometimes women withdraw when they are processing something.”
Charles shook his head.
“Processing what? I funded that trip. I told her to rest. I have been supportive.”
Marcus and Julian both looked at him.
Then Marcus spoke carefully.
“Bro… you should chill about asking her for money for now. Maybe that is why she is avoiding your calls.”
Charles’ head jerked back.
“What?” he slowly asked.
Marcus shrugged.
“Just saying. Going with what happened at the restaurant before she traveled. You just have to chill.”
Charles let out a frustrated breath.
“But how does she know I want to ask for money?”
The table went quiet for half a second.
Marcus blinked slowly.
“You do want to ask for money.”
Charles hesitated.
“That is not the point,” he muttered.
Julian burst out laughing.
Marcus joined him.
Charles looked between them, offended.
“What is funny?”
Marcus leaned forward now.
“Come on, bro. You and I both know you do not call Amelia just to hear from her.”
Julian added, “You must really need something before calling her.”
“Or,” Marcus continued, grinning, “you are about to take her out on a date.”
“Or pay her a visit,” Julian said.
The two of them started laughing again.
Charles raised both hands.
“Okay! Fine! Enough!”
They were still chuckling.
“Yes, I have always asked her for money. Yes, sometimes I call when I need something. But that doesn’t mean that is the only reason I call.”
Marcus wiped the corner of his eye dramatically.
“We know, we know.”
Julian leaned back.
“Bro, relax. She is probably fine.”
Charles sighed deeply, finally taking a sip of his drink.
“But at least she should reply my DMs,” he said more quietly now. “So I can know she is okay.”
Marcus scoffed lightly.
“You are worried about her… or worried about losing access?”
Charles shot him a look.
“You men are annoying.”
Julian chuckled.
“Answer honestly.”
Charles didn’t respond. He knew the answer outright.
Marcus’ voice softened slightly.
“Look, if she is ignoring you, pushing harder won’t help. Let her breathe.”
Charles stared at his phone again.
“No,” he muttered. “Something is wrong, something is off.”
Julian shook his head.
“Don’t you think you are overthinking this?”
Charles opened their chat again, scrolling up and down as though a message might magically appear if he stared long enough.
“Maybe,” Marcus said slowly, “she is just tired of being available all the time.”
That landed heavier than expected.
Charles didn’t respond. Instead, he gripped his phone tighter.
“I just need her to answer once,” he said. “Just once.”
Julian glanced at him.
“You miss her?”
Charles hesitated.
“I don’t like being ignored,” he corrected, “especially when I'm sitting on hot bricks.”
Marcus laughed softly.
“That wasn’t the question.”
Charles looked away. Before he could reply, his phone suddenly pinged, rudely cutting him short.
The sound cut through the noise of the bar like a blade.
All three of them froze.
Charles looked down at the screen.
His heart jumped.