Chapter 484 William and Hayden （85）
...
After choosing jewelry, Hayden and Azalea decided to grab lunch together. They asked for a private dining room, and during a quiet moment, Hayden shared her concerns with Azalea.
Azalea's eyes darted back and forth as she thought, and then she whispered a plan to Hayden, "How about I ask around for you? Find out what Sophia has been up to back at the Johnson place."
Hayden was more than eager to accept Azalea's help and nodded with cautious instructions, "Just be careful. We can't let anyone find out it's us probing this."
"Don't worry, I know how to handle it. It's fine if I can't get it all done perfectly, but I must not get you into any trouble," Azalea reassured her with a confident arch of her brow.
Her assistance was genuine because everyone understood that Hayden was her dear friend. If Hayden thrived, it would have reflected well on Azalea, too. If Hayden faced tough times, her standing within the Smith family would be compromised. Azalea knew that she might need Hayden's help someday, and if Hayden lacked resources and influence, how could she be of assistance?
So, helping Hayden was, in essence, helping her future self, and that is something that Azalea knew very well.
Hayden smiled, lifted her juice glass, and clinked it with Azalea's, genuinely grateful, "Thank you."
After they finished their meal and were leaving the restaurant, they unexpectedly ran into Jasper.
Like in the past, Jasper was with a group of high-society friends, having just finished dining.
He advanced with a friendly grin. Hayden braced for his usual playful jibes, but instead, he drew near and murmured, "My sister-in-law has expressed a wish to see you. Might you be available?"
"Out of the question," Hayden replied curtly, dismissing the idea without hesitation, deflecting Jasper's gaze.
Jasper regarded her, his smile taking on a mischievous tilt. He dropped his voice further, "You know, in a week's time, we'll be celebrating my father's 80th birthday, and William is going to be there as well."
Hayden shot him another look.
Jasper caught a glimpse of her suddenly flushed cheeks and gave another rogue smile, hollering as he left with a bunch of friends.
"What did Jasper just say to you that made you blush?" Azalea asked Hayden with narrowed eyes after Jasper had left.
"Did I?" Hayden touched her face, puzzled.
"Absolutely!" Azalea vigorously agreed. "To the untrained eye, one might assume you're harboring a fondness for Jasper. It escaped your notice, but there was an undeniable closeness between you two just a moment ago."
Hayden remained silent, her response a silent ellipsis.
Internally, she seethed, Jasper, be damned!
....
"Wha... Whaaa... Daniel, give it back to me!"
When Hayden got home, she was greeted by Jocelyn's wailing from the ground-floor studio. She then saw Daniel dart out of the studio with a watercolor painting, dashing upstairs with Jocelyn chasing after him.
Cassius, watching the scene, completely ignored it, pretending not to see anything at all.
"Jocelyn!" Hayden quickly went over and grabbed Jocelyn, who was about to run up the stairs. "What happened?"
"Daniel took my painting, scribbled his name on it, and said he drew it. He's going to hand it to the teacher tomorrow, but I'm the one who painted it," Jocelyn said through her tears, her eyes red from crying.
Hayden sighed upon hearing this.
Daniel was just a few months younger than Jocelyn. They went to the same school and shared tutors for their home lessons.
"Stop crying. Let's go back to the studio and paint a new one," Hayden said, wiping the tears from Jocelyn's face and leading her back to the studio.
"But that took me two or three days to finish, and I have to submit it to the teacher this afternoon," Jocelyn sobbed.
Hayden ignored her protests, pulled her into the studio, closed the door, and then took her by the shoulders, looking at her seriously. "Have you forgotten what I told you?"
"No, I haven't forgotten, but I just can't stand it," Jocelyn retorted.
"This is a small matter. You'll have to deal with it even if you can't stand it. What will you do when bigger issues come your way?" Hayden asked, furrowing her brow.
Jocelyn fell silent, looking back at her without a word.
"Okay, stop crying. I'll draw a picture for you," Hayden said consolingly.
"Really?" Jocelyn responded with joy.
"Of course, it's true," replied Hayden, shaking his head in resignation. "Actually, wouldn't it be better if you didn't turn in your homework at all? That way, the teacher will praise Daniel and criticize you, letting Daniel strut around with even more pride."
Jocelyn looked at Hayden, her lips curling into a smile as the realization dawned on her. Her eyes sparkled. "I get it now. It would help if you didn't draw for me. Your work is so good, the teacher will instantly know it wasn't me."
"Figured it out, huh?"
"Yeah," Jocelyn laughed through her tears and nodded her head.
"Let's go. I'll take you horseback riding."
"Yeah, let's go."
Hayden wiped away the tears from Jocelyn's face and led her outside. But as they were about to change into their riding clothes and head to the stables, they saw Sophia's car pulling up slowly in front of the main building and coming to a stop.
Hayden watched the car, deliberately waiting for Sophia to get out.
As Sophia bent over to exit the vehicle, her graceful, flirtatious demeanor momentarily dazzled Hayden. In the morning, she hadn't had a different effect. After returning from the Johnson residence, Sophia's expressions had an additional sense of delicate femininity.
Finn had been away from home for two consecutive days now.
Without a single change in her expression, Hayden greeted Sophia and exchanged a few words before continuing to the stables with Jocelyn.
