Chapter 3

During dinner, Julian constantly served Seraphina food.

“Seraphina, eat more. Isn’t Hazel’s cooking wonderful?”

“Julian, you’re so lucky! You married such a great wife like Hazel. I heard everyone saying you two are a match made in heaven!”

She heavily emphasized "match made in heaven," with a strong hint of jealousy.

To appease her, Julian secretly held her hand under the table, gently stroking it.

This scene, of course, didn’t escape Hazel’s eyes. She watched their interaction beneath the table with a blank face, but her heart ached so much she could barely breathe.

Just two days ago, her husband had shown her affection. Now, he was giving that same affection to another woman.

Oh, no, that wasn’t right.

Julian never had any real affection for her; it was all a pretense.

But it didn’t matter. In ten days, everything would be over.

Just then, Seraphina suddenly let out a startled cry, “Ah!!”

Then, before Hazel’s eyes, Seraphina broke out in a full-body rash, looking incredibly horrifying!

Seraphina’s breathing became rapid, and she cried out in pain, “Hazel, what did you put in the soup? I’m having an allergic reaction!”

No sooner had she spoken than Julian shot up, angrily stirring the soup with a ladle. In a moment, he fished out a dried scallop.

“Hazel Miller, don’t you know Seraphina is allergic to seafood? Why would you put dried scallops in the soup?”

Hazel’s eyes widened, astonished by Julian’s reaction.

Julian also realized his reaction was a bit too much. His eyes darted nervously, and he quickly tried to save face. “I... I was just too angry for a moment. Don’t misunderstand. I just didn’t want Seraphina to have an incident in our home. Otherwise, you’d feel guilty, wouldn’t you?”

Hazel didn’t expose his lie. Instead, she said, “I didn’t buy any seafood. I don’t know what happened.”

“Hazel, what do you mean? Are you implying that I’m trying to frame you?”

Seraphina wailed, “Julian, what’s wrong with Hazel? She’s suddenly like a different person. She never used to be like this.”

“I didn’t—”

“Smack!” Julian slapped her hard across the face, roaring with a fierce expression, “Hazel Miller, you are truly malicious! Seraphina is your sister! Without her, where would you be today? How could you treat her like this?!”

Hazel was knocked into the corner of the table by the slap, and blood immediately streamed from her head.

But Julian didn’t even glance at her. He scooped Seraphina into his arms and rushed out of the villa.

Hazel covered her face, silently shedding tears.

Even though she had already known about their relationship, her heart still ached to the point of suffocating.

It didn’t matter. She was leaving this place soon anyway.

That night, Hazel was packing her things in her room when Julian suddenly burst in, panting. He violently grabbed her hand. “You need to come to the hospital with me right now, to take care of Seraphina!”

“But—”

Julian saw her packing, narrowed his eyes, and asked, “What are you packing for? Where are you planning to go?”

“...Nowhere.”

Hazel was dragged to the hospital by him. Seraphina had already woken up but looked a bit weak.

“Since you caused Seraphina’s allergic reaction and hospitalization, you’ll stay here and take care of her for me!” Julian ordered forcefully.

Then he turned to Seraphina, his voice incredibly gentle. “Seraphina, I have some urgent company matters to attend to. Will you be a good girl and wait for me here?”

Her husband’s tender side stabbed Hazel’s heart. Only after he left did she let out a self-mocking bitter laugh.

“Seraphina Hayes, you’re not allergic to seafood at all, are you?”

Seraphina instantly dropped her weak demeanor, smiling provocatively. “That’s right!”

“And what I overheard about you two in the room, that was intentional too, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right!”

“Why?”

Seraphina played with her hair, a malicious smile on her face. “I thought it would be fun. I wanted to see how far Julian would go for me.”

A surge of anger rushed through Hazel. She clenched her fists tightly, trembling with rage.

To treat her as a piece of their twisted love game, and for the other person to be so brazen about it!

But then she remembered the Miller family’s kindness to the orphanage. Hazel swallowed her anger, thinking, *If they want to play, I’ll play this love game with them for the last ten days. Consider it repayment for the Millers’ generosity.*

“Want to try?” Seraphina raised an eyebrow.

The words had barely left her lips when she suddenly fell from the bed, crashing hard onto the floor. She cried out, “Hazel, I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to seduce Julian. Please don’t hit me—”

Hazel’s eyes widened. Before she could even process what was happening, a sharp, stinging slap landed hard on her face.

Julian, who had somehow burst in unnoticed, stood there with a furious expression. “Hazel Miller, have I spoiled you too much, perhaps? First, you intentionally caused Seraphina’s allergy, and now you’re trying to hit her? How can you be so vicious?!”

“I—”

Before she could explain, Julian kicked her in the back of the knee, snarling, “Get down on your knees and reflect! You won’t stand up until Seraphina is discharged from the hospital!”