Chapter 148
Chapter 148
It seemed like Harrison had touched upon Alexander's raw nerve.
Alexander's face darkened instantly.
He glared at Harrison, looking very displeased.
"Harrison, are you jealous? Or are you insulting me? If the child in Hazel's belly isn't mine, whose could
it possibly be?"
Harrison was now feeling somewhat helpless towards Alexander.
Alexander was too indulgent with his wife and too protective of her. He must have been over the moon
about becoming a father. Did he still have his senses about him?
Harrison, on the other hand, was different.
Just last night, when he heard about Hazel's pregnancy, he smelled something fishy.
He sat across from Alexander with his brows knitted in a frown, analyzing the situation with a grim face.
"Firstly, you guys have been married for so many years, and yet Hazel has always been unwilling to
have your child, constantly using contraceptives.
Secondly, you were in Valeria last month, so the timing of her pregnancy doesn't add up."
Alexander grew more upset, "Harrison, what are you getting at? Are you saying that Hazel hooked up
with another man while I was in Valeria and got pregnant?"
"That's a possibility." Harrison always felt that Hazel's gentle demeanor was a ruse.
Alexander took a deep breath, as if he were trying to hold something back.
Then he pointed at the door, "Get out; I'm going to pretend you didn't say any of this today."
"Get a grip." Harrison's brows furrowed tighter.
"I said get out." Alexander suppressed his anger, "If you say another word, don't blame me for not
being polite."
Harrison stood up as his brow furrowed even tighter.
The atmosphere between the two was extremely tense.
Even though it might offend him, Harrison chose to continue speaking, "Alexander, think it over
yourself. You've been married to Hazel for years, and there were many times when you were not by her
side.
How did you win Hazel over in the first place? Don't you know it yourself? Do you know whether she
can tolerate loneliness?
A woman who can't tolerate loneliness is very likely to betray her marriage."
Alexander slammed the folder he was holding onto the table.
He was livid!
When he glared at Harrison, he almost saw him as an enemy, "Harrison, did you come here to pick a
fight today?"
He dared to say that his beloved woman couldn't tolerate loneliness?!
He dared to say his beloved woman was seeing other men?!
Alexander forgot about their decades of brotherhood. He stood up from his office chair, fuming.
"It's because you're my good friend that I'm telling you all this." Harrison's brow furrowed tighter and
said.
"If you continue, I won't consider you a good friend."
"You think I have nothing better to do? I don't want to discuss such meaningless topics. I'm doing it
because I don't want you to get hurt."
"Get out!"
"You can't stay calm about anything related to Hazel. Alexander, don't you think you should reflect on
this yourself?"
"I think you're here to pick a fight today." Alexander circled his desk, marching towards Harrison angrily.
Harrison remained calm, "Want a fight? Anytime."
Harrison was ready to school this foolish man and teach him how to look at issues objectively.
After seeing Alexander take off his suit jacket and loosen his knuckles, Harrison calmly took off his own
jacket and tossed it on the couch.
"Alexander..." Samuel Carter, who had just reached the door, was shocked by the scene inside.
He quickly stepped in, standing between the two, "Alex, Harrison, what are you guys doing?"
Anyone with a brain could see that these two were about to fight.
Samuel was no fool.
Of course, he knew what their standoff suggested.
Alexander pushed Samuel away, "Get out of my way."
"Samuel, close the door." Harrison ordered.
If they were going to fight, they might as well do it behind closed doors, not in front of the staff.
"Harrison, don't blame me if I hit too hard." Alexander circled around Harrison.
Harrison responded by gesturing for him to bring it on.
The tension was about to explode.
Samuel, who had been pushed aside, tried to intervene again.
"What's going on with you two? Can't you guys talk it out? You haven't had a fight in decades, so why
now?"
Samuel remembered that the last time these two fought, they were just kids.
What on earth happened today?
"Get lost."
"Stand aside."
Samuel was simultaneously pushed away by Harrison and Alexander, stumbling back a few meters.
They were really going to fight, weren't they?
Samuel gave up. There was no stopping this confrontation today.
…
Half an hour later.
Harrison and Alexander were both too tired to move.
Alexander was slumped on the couch, rubbing the eye that Harrison had punched, "Why did you hit my
eye?"
"Because you're blind." Harrison said angrily.
Decades of friendship, and they were about to fight over a woman?
"You're the one who's blind."
Alexander had only hit Harrison's right cheek; seeing that his eyes were unharmed, he wanted to stand
up and fight back.
But he seemed to have no energy left.
Harrison took a breath, sneering at him, "Still want to fight?"
Alexander knew his own condition.
Though Harrison had also exhausted quite a bit of energy, his stamina was better.
If they continued to fight, he might lose to Harrison.
Alexander said angrily, "This is my office. Get out."
"What a waste of my goodwill." Harrison said coldly. Then he strode out.
Samuel, who had been at a loss, looked at Alexander, then at the departing Harrison, feeling a
headache.
"Done gawking yet?" Alexander glared at him.
"I wasn't gawking." Samuel defended himself. "What's up with you two?"
Alexander glared at him. "Out."
"Alright, I'm leaving." Samuel backed off. "I'm outta here."
After leaving Alexander's office, Samuel went to find Harrison.
Harrison was standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
The sky was sunny, with not a cloud in sight.
But he had a furrowed brow.
Samuel knocked on the door, and once granted permission to enter, he cautiously asked, "Harrison,
what's going on with you and Alexander? You alright?"
"I'm fine." Harrison turned around to say, "We had a fight, but we're still mates. I just wish he'd get it."
"What happened exactly?"
"Drop it."
After all, it wasn't something to brag about.
He still wanted to protect Alexander's dignity.
That night, Alexander returned to Bayview Villa.
Since Hazel became pregnant, she didn't show any signs of discomfort but instead seemed more
energetic.
She'd prepared a candlelit dinner.
She was wearing a beautiful long dress, waiting for Alexander.
When the elevator arrived at their home, it made a ding.
She rushed over, surprised to see Alexander with a swollen eye.
She immediately went over to him and asked, "Honey, what happened to your eye?"
She gently touched Alexander's swollen eye corner. Even though she was gentle, Alexander still
frowned.
"Does it hurt? Who hit you?"
Hazel hurriedly got Alexander to sit down.
"It's nothing; it doesn't hurt." Alexander held Hazel's hand. "Hazel, you would never betray me, would
you?"
Hazel's emotions started to fluctuate.
Alexander managed a bitter smile. "Harrison warned me that the baby you're carrying might not be
mine. So I punched his lights out. I know you'd never betray me, right?"
Hazel was momentarily speechless.
"Hazel, answer me." Alexander tugged at her hand.
Hazel was in turmoil.
Was her secret about to be exposed?
Otherwise, why would Harrison warn Alexander like that?
No.
She definitely couldn't admit to it.
She furrowed her brows, angrily saying, "Is your friend stirring the pot for no reason? We're so happy
together; how could I possibly betray you? If I betrayed a great husband like you, would I even be
human?"
Alexander immediately held her tight.
Hazel playfully hit his chest.
"How could you doubt whether this child is yours? If you doubt me like this, I might as well just die."
"I believe you. I believe you." Alexander held her even tighter.
In reality, Alexander was very good at controlling his emotions.
The reason he lost control in front of Harrison and threw punches was because he had a thorn in his
side.
He'd snatched Hazel away from her first love.
Back then, Hazel and her first love were in a long-distance relationship, one in home country, the other
abroad.
But Alexander didn't know they were dating.
When he pursued Hazel, she told him she was single.
Even though this happened seven or eight years ago, Alexander still couldn't let go.
Hazel said she loved him.
But he knew that back then, Hazel might have been with him because she was lonely.
What man could admit that his woman's love for him wasn't one hundred percent pure?
Harrison had to bring this up.
How could he not lose control?
He loved Hazel so much.
He held Hazel tight. "Hazel, you have to have this child. If it's a boy, I'll protect you with him. If it's a girl,
I'll protect you and her."
"What about Harrison?" Hazel looked up at him.
He resolutely said, "If he talks rubbish again, I'll give him another lesson."
"Do you think you can beat him?"
"Whether I can or not, I'll still give it a shot."
"Seriously, you think I want you to really fight with him? You guys are best friends; how could I let you
guys actually fight? Maybe Harrison misunderstood me."
Alexander remained silent.
"Honey, go apologize to Harrison tomorrow. I don't want you guys to have a falling out because of me."
"Apologize for what?" Alexander knew Harrison well. "He won't take it to heart."
Hazel also knew the two of them well.
They wouldn't really fall out.
But it was bothering her that Harrison now doubted the child in her belly.
By the time she finished cleaning Alexander's injured eye and they were about to enjoy the candlelit
dinner, her mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Alexander cut a piece of steak for her and fed it to her. "Hazel, what's on your mind?"
"I was wondering..." Hazel lied. "What misunderstanding does Harrison have about me?"
"Don't worry, I'll sort him out." Alexander fed her the steak.
Hazel couldn't quite put her mind at ease. She'd seen firsthand what Harrison was capable of.
If Harrison found out she'd betrayed his best friend, neither she nor her family would have a good
ending. She was very worried.
Meanwhile.
At East Adjacent Estates.
Harrison got home a bit late today.
Roxanne had already taken a bath, and her hair was dry.
After hearing the door open, she came out of the bedroom. Harrison had already taken off his shoes
and walked in.
"Harrison?" After seeing the injury on his face, Roxanne immediately rushed over in concern. "How did
you get hurt?"
Harrison didn't want her to worry, so he pulled her to sit down. "It's nothing; I just bumped into
something."
"That clearly looks like a fight wound." Roxanne wasn't a stranger to fights.
She knew what injuries from fights and what injuries from accidents looked like.
She could tell the difference very clearly.
Realizing that she was too smart to keep fooling, Harrison decided to spill the beans.
"I had a fight with a friend."
"Which friend? Have I met them? Is it Samuel?"
His friends were all decent people.
When he went broke, anyone who was willing to lend him ten grand had to be tight with him.
"No." Harrison said. "It was Alex. His wife is pregnant. I tried to warn him that the kid might not be his,
but he wouldn't believe it."
So that was what the fight was about.
Roxanne got it right away, her eyes widening. "No wonder he wanted to punch your lights out. His wife
is pregnant, and you're suggesting the kid isn't his?"
"You don't get it." Harrison insisted. "His wife isn't the kind to handle loneliness well. And the timing of
her pregnancy doesn't add up."
Harrison spilled his guts to Roxanne.
After hearing his reasoning, Roxanne thought he might be onto something. "So you're saying there's a
good chance the kid really isn't his?"
"Without a doubt." Harrison had never been wrong.
Roxanne had already fetched the first aid kit. She helped him clean up the wound on his cheek and
applied some anti-swelling and pain relief ointment on it.
He had decided to skip the clinic at work and wait until he got home for Roxanne to patch him up. C0pyright © 2024 Nôv)(elDrama.Org.
Just as expected!
As his wife tended to his wound, despite the pain, he felt a warmth inside.
Even when some of the ointment nearly got into his eyes, he didn't complain.
"Are you okay?" Roxanne asked worryingly. "Close your eyes for a bit; it'll be fine soon."
"I'm okay; it’s just a bit stingy."
"Even if your suspicion is grounded, you can't just blurt it out like that."
"He's my best friend. We went to school together, went into business together, and worked at the same
company after I went bankrupt. That's a lot of history. I can't stand seeing him fooled by a woman."
"What if he chooses to be fooled?"
"You're saying you can't wake a person who is pretending to be asleep?"
"Your friend must be no fool. He's just too in love with his wife. You should stay out of it."
Harrison fell into deep thought. Alexander must know that Hazel wasn't with him purely out of love.
In other words, Alexander must be aware that Hazel's love for him wasn't pure.
Roxanne was right. You could never wake up someone pretending to sleep.
Alexander was smart; he must have known all this.
"All done." Roxanne threw the used cotton swabs into the trashcan. "Does your eye still sting?"
"Not anymore." Harrison held her waist and pulled her into his arms.
He just wanted to hold her close.
He loved the faint scent of shower gel on her after she had a bath. It wasn't overpowering like perfume;
it was just refreshing and pleasant, making him forget about his troubles.
With one whiff, his mind was at peace.
He gently brushed her hair aside, leaned in, and kissed her.
He met her soft lips as his tongue slowly explored her, savoring and conquering her at the same time.
Roxanne was soon lost in the pleasure. She met him halfway, her lips slightly parted.
They kissed passionately.
Roxanne suddenly pushed him away, "Harrison, not tonight. I just had the health soup your father
made. And I'm ovulating; we'd risk getting pregnant if we had sex now."
"Don't worry." Harrison continued kissing her soft lips. "I bought condoms today."
Their passion was palpable.
They quickly moved from the living room, kissing all the way to the soft bed in the bedroom.
Finally, it was late at night.
Feeling loved by Harrison, Roxanne nestled her head into his chest and snuggled closer. "Harrison, I
was just thinking that since you and your friend are really close, you must be worried about his
problems. Why don't we invite Alex and his wife over for dinner? I'll try to get a feel for what kind of
person his wife is."
"No way!" Alex was Alexander, and bringing him home would blow his cover.
"Why are you so against it?" Roxanne detected the reluctance in his voice. "Don't you want me to meet
your friend?"