Chapter 3

HAZEL

Katherine and I followed Mother until we got to where Vincent was with Father. In the novel, Vincent's father is actually close to Father.

"These are my two daughters. Katherine and Hazel." Father spoke first, and Vincent's gaze fell on me. He has beautiful amber eyes, just like the novel describes. I sucked in a breath when I realised his gaze stayed on me longer before it fell on Katherine.

"I'm Katherine," Katherine said with a smile, and Vincent held her hand and gave her a light kiss on the back of it.

Katherine was definitely pleased to see him too. He is so attractive and I cannot deny that.

Good. Just good. At least I could see the chemistry between them, but it's a bit sad that even in this life, Hazel would not be able to win Vincent's heart.

"Nice meeting you." I heard Vincent say, and he turned to face me again. He seemed to have recognised me. Now I can tell that I will not be able to afford the f*e for the damage I caused to the car. Vincent is a fucking billionaire, and he is practically the richest man here right now. I doubt I will be able to pay the compensation.

I actually made a terrible mistake by giving him my business card. I should have run away the moment I realised the car was expensive. But won't they hunt me down? I doubt I can escape if I run away.

So what are you going to do now, Hazel?

"I know you were engaged to Hazel when you were both little, but you have a chance to choose between my two daughters. You can get to know them more, but we want the wedding to be quick. And if you do not like either of them, we will annul it," Father said, and Vincent gave me a short nod.

"Your daughters are beautiful, Mr Monroe. It would be an honour if you could give me the hand of one of your daughters in marriage," Vincent said, and Mother smiled at us.

"I guess we should leave them to talk," Father said, and Mother followed him.

Katherine was definitely interested, so there is no point in my staying here.

"Thank you for coming, Mr Vincent. It's an honour to meet you," I said, and without waiting for his reply, I faced Katherine. "Can you keep him company? I have to excuse myself real quick."

Katherine held my hand. "Take your time, Hazel," she said.

I walked away from them quickly and made my way towards the restroom. I dropped my purse beside the sink and entered one of the stalls.

I was about to step out of the stall when I heard the sound of footsteps.

"Did you hear what Mr Monroe said?" I heard the familiar voice of Celeste.

"Of course I heard him," Victoria replied.

"So Vincent was already engaged to Hazel right from when they were little. And now they want Vincent to actually pick one out of the two sisters?" Celeste continued. "I thought I actually had a chance," she said, her voice etched with bitterness.

"It's because Mr Monroe knows Hazel is a spoiled brat and their real daughter has just returned. He also wants what is best for his real daughter," Anita chirped in.

"I can't blame him, though. Katherine was definitely brought up well. She is so friendly compared to Hazel," she added, and I frowned. I would never consider them my friends in this lifetime.

"I'm actually glad to know Kate. If they are…"

I turned the doorknob and walked out, closing the door behind me. The colour drained from their faces when they saw me.

I walked towards the sink and turned on the faucet.

"Hazel, you were inside," Anita said in shock.

"And I thought I had apologised to you guys earlier. Did I wrong you that much?" I asked them.

"Oh, we weren't talking about you." Celeste was the first to reply.

"I heard everything, Celeste. And I advise you to stop talking badly about me. I have learned my lesson, and I have already apologised to you," I said, hoping they would just stop painting me as a bad person in front of Katherine.

"An apology doesn't solve anything. I am beyond pissed," Celeste admitted.

"Okay. What do you want?" I asked.

"Just leave her alone," Victoria suggested, dragging Celeste by her arm, and she seemed to relax a bit. I could tell she was nervous as hell when she first saw me.

"I'm in support of Katherine and Vincent just like you guys, alright?" I told them before taking my purse.

I left the restroom, only to see Katherine waiting outside.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. I hope she didn't hear what we were saying inside.

"I realised you had been in there for a long time, so I wanted to check up on you," Katherine replied.

"Oh. It's nothing. We should go back," I said, wondering why she had left Vincent when I had purposely left so that they could be alone. "And how was your chat with Vincent?" I inquired.

"He was really nice to me, and I never expected him to be so handsome. He said he wants to have dinner with me tomorrow evening," Katherine said, and I smiled.

"You two look perfect together," I said, and Katherine halted in her footsteps.

She looked so innocent, so I guess that's why Vincent fell head over heels for her. I'm happy because my plan worked.

Hazel, you should be thanking me because I just preserved your life, or else you would have died in the end. I only need to make sure their wedding goes as planned within two months. Within the next two days, I am going to travel to Italy and have a nice vacation.

"Are you not interested in him at all? He was engaged to you," Katherine said, and I wanted to laugh because I am damn interested in him.

If he weren't Vincent Alistair, I would definitely have done anything to get his attention. But I'm going to deny it because I need to preserve this life.

Love can stay on one side.

"I'm not interested in him," I said, and Katherine nodded thoughtfully. Whether she believed it or not will definitely depend on my actions.

"I like him already," she said.

"That is good," I replied, and we continued walking.

When we got back to the grand hall, the guests approached Katherine. They congratulated her and handed her a bouquet. I picked up a wine glass from one of the waitresses' trays and drank the wine.

I looked around, and there was no sign of Vincent. But at least I had already accomplished my mission.

Time to escape before he saw me again. If he calls, I will just decline. But I gave him my business card. Hazel is into art collection. What if he suddenly comes to my store?

Since Mother and Father are busy, they wouldn't even notice that I had left. I picked up my purse and left through the back door. I descended the stairs and made my way towards the parking lot. I hope the man Father sent to drive my car is somewhere around here.

I looked across the parking lot and spotted my car.

"Leaving already?" I heard that familiar deep baritone voice, and I froze on the spot.

"No way!" I screamed in my head.

Don't tell me he caught me!

I took a deep, slow breath and turned around. I swear the devil was standing just a few centimetres away from me. He walked towards me, one hand tucked inside his pocket.

"Hi," I said with a wide smile, even though I was nervous as hell.

I won't even ask him what he was doing here. Never.

"Hmm. I'm sorry for not recognising you earlier. Concerning your car, I promise to do something about it. Can you tell me the cost of the damage? I am in a hurry right…"

"Hazel Monroe," he said, cutting me off as he closed the distance between us.

I swear, I didn't mean to inhale his scent, but I did. I did, and I fucking regret it because he smelled so amazing.

(Rule #1: Stay away from Vincent Alistair.) I repeated in my head.

"Nice name," he muttered, and I craned my neck to look at him.

He looked so damn hot.

Damn sexy, like sin.

Just the kind of man I envisioned. My fictional character, my ideal type of man, is standing right in front of me, but I cannot do a thing. He is like the commandment that I am not meant to break.

"Concerning the car," he said, and I sucked in a breath.

I believe he is going to let it go.

He is filthy rich, so he didn't need my money. And since Father and his father have known each other for a long time, he would definitely pardon me.

But I didn't expect what he said next.

"You can come to my office tomorrow, and we can discuss the terms. It will cost a lot, Hazel, but let's hope you can afford it," Vincent said, and my jaw dropped, almost hitting the floor.

What did he just say?

Maybe I didn't hear him well. Why would he demand that I pay for the car when he is going to be my brother-in-law?

I have plans, Vincent. I need to go on a vacation. At least allow me a moment of peace.

"11am tomorrow. Don't be late," he added as he walked away in long strides, leaving me standing there.

I made a terrible mistake.

I should have left with Father.