After finishing up, Leon Sterling closed his laptop, placed it on the bedside table, and turned off the light before lying down.
Seeing Hazel Sinclair had pulled the blanket over her head, he propped himself up and tugged it down, leaving it to cover only her stomach.
The fan was whirring furiously on her side of the bed, but Hazel was still so hot that her forehead and neck were slick with sweat.
Leon Sterling touched her neck, his hand coming away wet.
Even on its highest setting, the fan did little to dispel the sweltering heat.
His brows furrowed.
‘I have to get a better, bigger place.’
Hazel had always been pampered.
Having her live with him in a place like this was simply too squalid.
“Why isn’t she here?” Warren Hawthorne sat in a private room at the bar, downing glass after glass of liquor.
After a good while, he finally questioned the manager.
The manager wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead, a fawning smile on his face.
“Miss Sinclair hasn’t replied to my messages.”
The moment he heard this, Warren Hawthorne’s expression soured.
‘So I risked getting a beating from my older brother to wait here, and it turns out this manager didn’t even manage to get her to come?’
The purple-haired man sitting beside him stopped drinking, too.
He had thought he’d be able to lure Hazel Sinclair into bed tonight.
And the result?
She completely blew them off.
“If she didn’t reply, then why the hell did you call us out?!”
Warren Hawthorne couldn’t stop himself from blowing up at the manager.
He stood and kicked the coffee table in front of him with tremendous force, sending the glasses and bottles on top crashing to the floor.
Liquor and shattered glass littered the ground.
The manager, startled by his sudden outburst, lowered his head and said meekly, “My apologies, Mr.
Hawthorne.
I’ll call Hazel Sinclair right now.”
With that, he took out his phone and left the room.
He found Hazel Sinclair’s number and immediately dialed it.
No one answered, so he called again.
And again.
And again.
Leon Sterling was still awake.
The phone screen lit up with each call.
After the second time, he sat up and reached for her phone.
He saw it was an unfamiliar number.
His brow furrowed slightly.
Just as he was about to answer, the caller hung up, but they quickly called back.
‘So insistent, and so many calls.
It must be something important.’
“Hello?” Leon Sterling said after answering.
The moment the manager heard a voice, he didn’t bother to check if it was the right one and immediately blurted out, “Hazel Sinclair, haven’t you always wanted to come to The Skylar Lounge and hook a sugar daddy?
Well, someone specifically requested you today.”
“Just come over, and you can get rid of that bankrupt, poor husband of yours.”
“Room 1101.
As long as you can handle Mr.
Hawthorne and his friend, you won’t have to worry about money anymore.”
The manager kept sweetening the deal.
For a beautiful woman who only had eyes for money, dangling cash was the perfect way to get her.
It was like holding her lifeline in his hands.
‘It’s hard to adjust to poverty after living in luxury.
How could Hazel Sinclair possibly be content with being poor forever?’
After hearing the manager’s words, Leon Sterling’s handsome face instantly darkened.
His eyes fell on Hazel Sinclair, sleeping soundly beside him, and his hand slowly clenched into a fist.
‘So this whole time, she’s been looking for a chance to meet other rich men.’
‘All just to escape this poverty.’
When the person on the other end remained silent, the manager’s brows knitted together tightly.
“Are you listening?
This is your only chance.
Aren’t you going to take it?”
Leon Sterling finally spoke, his voice slow and deliberate.
“Manager Lawson, is The Skylar Lounge in the business of tempting a married woman into immoral acts?”
Hearing a man’s voice, Manager Lawson froze for a second before it hit him—the person on the phone was Leon Sterling!
He hastily hung up, muttering, “What’s the deal with this Hazel Sinclair?”
Leon Sterling placed the phone back on the bedside table.
He looked at Hazel Sinclair, a sense of indignant resentment welling up inside him.
‘I’ve already done so much.
What more could she be dissatisfied with?’
‘And if she’s not satisfied, why doesn’t she just say it?’
Seething with anger, Leon Sterling eventually took out his own phone and directly called the vice squad.
“Hello, I’d like to report suspected prostitution at The Skylar Lounge,” Leon Sterling stated flatly.
“Please handle it as soon as possible.”
His anger subsided slightly after the call.
‘A bunch of filthy-minded men, trying to lure my wife into cheating.’
Heh.
He lay back down and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as if afraid she would run away.
Hazel Sinclair felt as if she were being wrapped up by an octopus.
She tried to move, but no matter how much she struggled, it was useless.
In her dream, Hazel refused to give up.
With a powerful push of her arms and legs, she broke free.
And Leon Sterling, who had been holding her in his sleep, was kicked right off the bed.
THUD—
The loud, sharp sound jolted Hazel Sinclair awake.
Leon Sterling sat on the floor, a bewildered look on his face.
“How did you end up on the floor?” Hazel leaned over the side of the bed to look at him, her voice raspy with sleep.
Leon Sterling gave her a deep look before getting up from the floor, rubbing his sore arm.
He glanced at the time.
It was seven o’clock.
Half an hour until the alarm would go off.
Hazel Sinclair reached out and pushed the fan a little further away, letting the breeze blow on her head.
She rolled over and went right back to sleep.
But just before drifting off, she mumbled, “Leon Sterling, I don’t want breakfast rolls today.
Can you make me a a breakfast burrito?”
“Or make me a bowl of noodles.
I want tomato and egg noodles.”
Hearing her requests, Leon Sterling didn’t refuse, but simply reminded her, “There’s no breakfast burrito in the fridge.
If you want some, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh…” Hazel gave up on sleeping and sat up.
She rubbed her eyes with both hands, her voice soft and sweet.
A single lock of hair stuck straight up on her head, making her look especially cute.
“Then make it for me tomorrow.”
After washing up, Leon Sterling stood in the outer kitchen area and started washing a pot, getting busy.
Hazel dozed in bed for a little while longer before climbing out and dragging the fan over to the kitchen to blow on him.
As the two of them sat at the dining table, Hazel Sinclair stirred her noodles with her chopsticks and looked at him.
“Leon Sterling, I’m going out with you to deliver food today.”
‘The ‘little sun’ of a female lead is making her appearance today.
I need to go see what she looks like.’
“The sun is too strong; you’ll get a tan.” Leon Sterling rejected the idea without a second thought.
“You should stay at home.
I’ll come back and make you lunch.”
“No,” Hazel said, getting willful again.
“I’m going with you.”
“What if something like yesterday happens again?
What am I supposed to do then?”
“If you end up with a rich woman and dump me, am I supposed to go collect trash for a living?”
Hazel looked at him and said with utmost seriousness, “You have to be responsible for the rest of my life.”
“You’re not planning to divorce me?” Leon Sterling asked, glancing at her.
“You’re my wife.
I’ll take responsibility for you.”
“You’d better mean what you say,” Hazel Sinclair said fiercely.
“If you don’t, I’ll cheat on you!”