Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Precise Triggering

###Chapter 75: Stepping on a Landmine with Pinpoint Accuracy

"Are you using your brother to threaten me?" Aiden Xavier’s gaze turned frosty.

Raina Lowell knew full well how important Vincent Lowell was to Aiden Xavier, but aside from Vincent, she had no other way to keep Aiden by her side.

"I’m not using my brother to threaten you." Raina Lowell averted her gaze from Aiden Xavier’s; it was simply too intimidating for her to look at him directly. "I just don’t understand why you’ve suddenly started giving me the cold shoulder."

She had never understood Aiden Xavier, not since the day they met. When they were young, she had only been able to hang around him because Vincent Lowell and Aiden Xavier were good friends. After Vincent’s accident, she was sent abroad.

The official reason was for her medical treatment, but she knew perfectly well that there must have been some problem between the Xavier Family and the Lowell Family back then. Otherwise, the Lowell Family wouldn’t have gone bankrupt right after that.

Aiden Xavier was her only lifeline. She couldn’t afford to let him go. As long as Aiden was with her, she had to hold on tight and never let anyone snatch him away.

Aiden Xavier remained silent, indicating he wouldn’t be answering any more of Raina Lowell’s questions. "I don’t want to talk about us right now. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave. I’ll have Finn Quinn take you home."

Raina Lowell stood frozen in place for a long moment, not moving an inch. Just as Aiden Xavier’s patience was wearing thin, she suddenly became hysterical and shrieked at him, "I’m not leaving! You have to tell me, is Hazel Hawthorne the reason you don’t want to see me?"

"It has nothing to do with Hazel Hawthorne," Aiden Xavier replied without hesitation.

Raina Lowell let out a cold laugh. She didn’t believe him at all. Her intuition told her that Aiden Xavier’s change was because of Hazel Hawthorne. In the end, Hazel had still managed to carve out a place in his heart. "The more sensible I try to be, the easier it seems for you to treat me like a fool."

Hearing this, Aiden Xavier said coldly, "Stop making a scene with me."

Raina Lowell just wanted to pour out all her grievances at once. "Do you think I want to make a scene? I know full well that if I do, I’ll be the only one who ends up hurt, but I can’t help it! Aiden, can you please not treat me like this?"

After speaking, Raina Lowell took the initiative to step forward. When Aiden Xavier didn’t resist, she tightly gripped his hands. It was as if she weren’t the same person who had just been screaming at him hysterically.

Now, she had reverted to her pitiful, damsel-in-distress act. With an ingratiating look in her eyes, she said softly, "I promise I won’t bring up my brother again, so please don’t leave me, okay?"

’A woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea.’

Aiden Xavier knew that no one could match the speed at which a woman’s expression could change. He had thought Raina Lowell would be different, but after today’s experience, he came to one conclusion: all women were the same.

"Go home for now." Aiden Xavier rubbed the bridge of his nose, his tone already much softer than before. "Don’t assume there’s something going on between me and Hazel Hawthorne every time you’re in a bad mood. You like me, but you don’t even have this much trust?"

"No," Raina Lowell quickly hugged Aiden Xavier. "Of course I trust you, but I don’t trust Hazel Hawthorne. You’re so exceptional; it would be perfectly normal for Hazel to like you. She already has an advantage over me. She has your mother’s affection and support, but all I have is you!"

Aiden Xavier looked down at the woman in his arms, suddenly at a loss for words. ’Comforting a woman is such a mentally draining task,’ he thought, ’even more draining than handling business.’

He couldn’t help but think of Hazel Hawthorne. Hazel never made unreasonable scenes like Raina Lowell or constantly doubted him. At this thought, Aiden Xavier sighed silently to himself. But then, as if a new thought struck him, his expression suddenly changed.

’The reason Hazel Hawthorne never makes unreasonable scenes is because she never liked me at all!’

His expression unchanging, Aiden Xavier pushed Raina Lowell away. "Alright, I’ll have Finn Quinn take you home. I still have work to do, and you staying here will cause gossip. This is a sensitive time. You need to endure what you must, understand?"

Although Raina Lowell was unwilling, she still nodded. As she left the office, she kept looking back over her shoulder, hoping to hear Aiden Xavier ask her to stay. But she didn’t get her wish, not even as the office door closed.

After making a huge scene at Aiden Xavier’s office, Raina Lowell returned to her residence. She tossed and turned, her mind consumed with thoughts of Aiden and Hazel Hawthorne. As a woman deeply in love with Aiden, she absolutely could not allow him to develop feelings for someone else.

Raina Lowell still refused to believe that Aiden Xavier didn’t have special feelings for Hazel Hawthorne. She couldn’t let Hazel continue to stay by Aiden’s side.

Finn Quinn, who had taken Raina Lowell back to her residence and then returned to the company, was reporting on her movements to Aiden Xavier. "Raina Lowell has been staying home recently and hasn’t seen anyone. She only came out today because she couldn’t get in touch with you."

"Didn’t I tell you to have someone keep a close watch on Raina Lowell?"

Finn Quinn’s body trembled. He also had no idea how Raina Lowell had managed to evade his men and come to the company to find Aiden Xavier without his knowledge.

"Mr. Xavier, I guarantee something like this will never happen a second time."

Aiden Xavier leaned back in his chair, his thoughts drifting to Hazel Hawthorne, who was far away in Freyburg. ’She got to Freyburg but didn’t even send a message to let me know she arrived safely.’

Finn Quinn, thinking Aiden Xavier was still dwelling on the matter with Raina Lowell, tried to be clever and said, "Mr. Xavier, we’re starting to get some leads on the matter you asked me to investigate."

"So you’re saying there are no leads yet," Aiden Xavier shot him a cold glare.

Finn Quinn’s face immediately fell. The investigation concerned events from several years ago. Many people and pieces of evidence were scattered, and finding all the information and witnesses in a short time was not something that could be done overnight.

"But Raina Lowell must know something," Finn Quinn said, immediately lowering his head, not daring to meet Aiden Xavier’s gaze.

That sentence gave Aiden Xavier pause. He, too, had a vague feeling that Raina Lowell must have known some of the inside story back then. For some reason, however, she didn’t seem to remember any of it. He had wondered if Raina Lowell truly couldn’t remember or if she was just pretending.

If she really didn’t remember, why did she always bring up Vincent Lowell’s death?

But if she did remember, then why, when he occasionally tried to probe her, did he find that she knew nothing?

"Alright, you’ve been rather talkative lately."

Finn Quinn cautiously glanced at Aiden Xavier. Seeing that his boss’s brows were still tightly furrowed, he couldn’t resist bringing up Hazel Hawthorne. "The Young Madam has likely arrived in Freyburg by now."

As soon as Aiden Xavier heard that, his expression changed again.

"Obviously!"

"Then the Young Madam must have sent Mr. Xavier a message to say she arrived safely." If Finn Quinn had known that Aiden Xavier had been fuming about this very thing just moments before, he would have deeply regretted his attempt at being clever today. Every word out of his mouth was stepping on one of Aiden’s landmines with pinpoint accuracy.

"Get out."

Not daring to breathe another word, Finn Quinn scurried out of the office.

’Not even a message, let alone a phone call. Clearly, in Hazel Hawthorne’s heart, I’m not important at all. And here I am, letting my imagination run wild, even hoping she would contact me first.’

’Thinking about their conversation last night, and Hazel Hawthorne’s attitude... she’s probably still holding a grudge because I scolded her for answering Raina Lowell’s call without permission.’

Sigh. Aiden Xavier used to drift between women and had never found them to be this much trouble. Especially Hazel Hawthorne. It was as if he were only now starting to see a different side of her.

*****