Chapter 182



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Hayden felt very upset after hearing Alayna’s unkind words.

She seemed to be so dishonest, keeping many things from Joseph. But she did all this to get along with the two children, didn’t she?

She doubted herself when she met the two children at the Beckham mansion in the afternoon. She felt uncomfortable, especially when Harrison Beckham praised her for treating Noah well. And she blushed inexplicably.

Noah was her own son-how could she not treat him well?

“Mommy, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you next to Joseph.” During the lunch break, Stella and Noah remained on either side of Hayden’s arms. Stella talked nonstop, and seemed to really like the atmosphere here at the Beckham mansion.

“It’s busy, didn’t you know? The hotel burned down and there’s a lot to take care of after that.”

“But Mommy, why didn’t you go to work?”

“Mommy’s on leave, so I can spend more time with you, don’t you like it?”.

“Yes, we like it.”

Talking about the fire, Hayden cocked his head to one side, his chin resting on Noah’s, and said, “Noah, I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you were in the freezer.”

Noah listened quietly to the two’s conversation, but suddenly got out of bed at Hayden’s words. He grabbed his drawing tablet and wrote one line, “[It’s okay Mom. I know you would have taken me out if you had seen me].”

Seeing that Noah was such a good boy, Hayden patted his head gratefully, “Noah, you’re such a good boy. You knew Mommy wouldn’t abandon you.”

Immediately, Noah went back to writing on the board, “[Really?].”

Noah looked nervous, seeming not to believe that Hayden would always be with him.

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“Of course.”

Hayden didn’t know why Noah was so worried and thought the fire had darkened his heart. And she felt sorry for it.

Stella, for her part, sighed, “Noah is worried about Joseph liking someone else. In fact, I’m very worried, too.”

Hayden was stunned after talking to the two boys. Only then did she learn that the Sanchez Family had come to the mansion several times, especially Elizabeth Sanchez, who always came to talk about their past engagement.

Harrison tried to hide it from the children, but nothing could be disguised.

Noah looked dejected and wrote on the drawing board, “[I don’t want another woman to be my mom].”

Hayden’s heart broke as he saw the pitiful look on Noah’s face.

Hayden hugged him tightly and said, “I won’t let another one be your mom. If that really happens, I’m taking you with me.”

The butler made a few calls after leaving Harrison’s study. Before dinner, there were many cars parked in front of the Beckham mansion. And the hall was full of Beckham Family relatives.

“It’s no festival today – why has Harrison gathered us all here?”

“I just got a call and came here. I don’t know anything, I thought you guys knew.”

“Could it be that something has happened to the company?”.

“Didn’t they say there was a fire at the ST Group hotel? I said so, it is not reliable to let Joseph run such a big company alone.”

The crowd was clamoring, but only an old man in his fifties, was sitting on the side without saying anything.

The old man looked ruthless, with a string of shiny black prayer beads in his hand, which looked ancient.

“Dad, what do you think is going on this time?”.

A middle-aged man standing to the side looked hesitant, and lowered his voice to ask, “Harrison hasn’t contacted us for a long time. What could be going on to call us here this time?”

The old man looked serene, and his voice was apologetic: “Who knows? Let’s wait and see. Surely it won’t be a small matter.”

After the maid knocked on the door for an early supper, Hayden took the sleepy children to wash up before heading to the dining room. He hadn’t expected to see two large round tables full of people in the dining room, and thought he had the wrong place.

“Sir, Mrs. Beckham is here.”

The maid’s words had attracted the attention of everyone present.

They all knew that Joseph was the only son of the Beckham Family, in his thirties and not yet married, but he had an unknown son. They had never heard that he had a wife!

Where had this Mrs. Beckham come from?

“Hayden, come and sit over here.” Harrison motioned to Hayden.

Hayden pulled himself together and walked over to Harrison amidst the attention of the crowd, sitting down with the two children he spoke to Harrison, “Grandpa, I didn’t know you had guests tonight, if you want I’ll leave now with the children and we’ll see you next time.”

“No need.” Harrison smiled and stood up after glancing at Hayden. He was animated, “The reason I’ve gathered you all here today is to announce something to you. As you all know, I only have Joseph as a grandson. Peo is over thirty years old and still unmarried, this has always been my cross to bear.”

Hearing this, Leila had vaguely realized what was going on. But her mind was in chaos.

“Everyone should have heard. The maid just called Hayden as Mrs. Beckham. I think it’s time to introduce her, we can’t just let her be with Joseph without any status, where are my manners?”

The room filled with commotion and a young man from another table asked unwisely, “Harrison, you mean she’s Joseph’s wife?”

“Yes. Although their wedding has not yet taken place, I have already decided. Let me explain, Hayden is Mr. Downey’s daughter and is now Joseph’s fiancée. You are all here to meet her and get to know her. Wedding invitations will be delivered when the wedding date is set.”

Hayden was on tenterhooks. Words failed him.

To retort to Harrison on the spot would make him lose face. But if she agreed, she would be frustrated, since she was still fighting with Joseph.

But when she thought about it, she understood the reason Harrison had done that.

It was mainly because the Sanchez Family had been visiting him too often. And Harrison must have been aware that they were arguing, since nothing could be hidden from him. So he used this trick to hold her back.

The older, the wiser.

The crowd whispered, and someone took the initiative and called Hayden ‘Mrs. Beckham’. Hayden got goosebumps at the sound.

The others rose to their feet, “This is good. Congratulations. Cheers to Mrs. Beckham…”.

Hayden was like a headless chicken, being greeted again and again as she listened as the butler introduced her to the family members. She was dizzy after drinking some wine and didn’t even know how it had gone.

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