CHAPTER 249: RANON’S MOTHER

"Ranon’s mother?" Hazel stopped trying to put a cute bandana on Ashlyn’s head. The baby didn’t like it; she kept pulling it down and looked at her mother, annoyed.

"Yes, the woman said that," Yara said. She looked uncomfortable. "Should I send her away?"

Hazel had never heard about Ranon’s mother. She had never asked about her either, because she didn’t think it was relevant, and Ranon had never brought up the topic.

"No. I will see her." Hazel stood up, and Ashlyn threw away the bandana. The little one crawled away from Hazel, babbling something.

Seeing that Hazel was leaving, Peni immediately came to play with the little one.

With Yara close to her, Hazel made her way to the lobby, where a woman in her fifties was waiting for her. She was wearing a red dress paired with a brown jacket. There was a streak of white in her hair, and as Hazel looked at her, she realized where Ranon inherited his good looks.

Denzel was not bad. He must have been very handsome in his prime, but this woman was a rare beauty. Even when she was no longer young, you could see how beautiful she was.

No wonder Denzel fell for her. There was no doubt this was Ranon’s mother, since they had a few similar features that nobody could deny.

On her way here, Hazel sent Ranon a text message, telling him that his mother was here and whether or not he knew about it. However, he had not yet responded to the message.

But the main question was: what was she doing here?

"Good afternoon," Hazel greeted her. She waved her hand to dismiss Yara. "I was informed that you want to see my husband."

The woman lifted her head and then looked at Hazel for a few seconds longer as if she contemplated whether she would smile at her or not.

Hazel prayed this wouldn’t be another Denzel. May his gloomy soul rest in peace.

"You must be Hazel," she said with a soft smile.

***

Ranon was in the middle of a meeting when he saw the text from Hazel. He furrowed his brows and then wrapped up the meeting quickly.

"What happened?" Ares could sense something was wrong with him because he had ended the meeting abruptly. Ranon was ready to leave now. "Is it Hazel again?"

Ranon stopped walking and faced Ares. His expression didn’t show any emotion, but his voice carried his dark mood.

"I don’t care what you think about Hazel, but mind your words when you talk about her in front of me. She is my wife. Respect that."

If it were not for their years of friendship, Ranon would have said more than that. But then, what he said was enough to serve as a warning for Ares.

Ranon had let Ares talk as he pleased and said nothing because he didn’t want to aggravate him more. His comments were usually harmless. However, when Ares continued to do that and Ranon remained silent, he escalated his criticism.

"She is the mother of my child. You will show her respect, or I will transfer you elsewhere so you won’t have to deal with my family anymore."

Ares was stunned when he heard that, and so was Lucian. It was rare for Ranon to give Ares a warning, since usually the two of them got along well. It was scarce to see them butting heads with each other since they used to be the cool-headed ones among the three of them.

And after saying that, Ranon left. Ares didn’t have anything to say.

"You crossed the line, bro," Lucian said in a light tone. He patted Ares’s back. "You should leave him alone."

"That woman smells trouble."

"To be fair, Ranon is stinky with the same smell." Lucian shrugged his shoulders when Ares gave him a look. "It’s not your place to tell him who he has to be with. So far, Hazel is cool. We don’t know her, but one thing is for sure: she will not harm Ranon. You have to admit that."

Lucian brought up the example of what happened in the hospital, and Ares didn’t have anything to say after that.

***

Ranon’s relationship with his mother was nonexistent for more than two decades. She left him to fend for himself when he was fifteen.

She left him a considerable amount of money, which prevented him from starving or sleeping on the street. However, it was clear that the amount wouldn’t last long, and he needed to earn money before he burned all of his savings.

Once she left, there were no phone calls, there were no letters, there was nothing, as if she had vanished from this world, and Ranon didn’t know where to find her or what happened to her.

On some rare occasions when someone asked about his parents, he would say that they were dead, since it was the easiest answer.

But after nearly two decades, she came back? He genuinely thought she was dead.

Ranon arrived at their apartment building half an hour after Hazel sent him a text and found his wife was still in the lobby, chatting with a woman whom he recognized almost immediately. She didn’t change much, only a little bit older.

When Ranon approached them, Hazel noticed him first, and his mother turned her head to see who she was staring at, only to find her son, whom she had left years ago.

"Ranon," she called his name in an even tone.

***

Aubrey rummaged through Arlo’s study to find anything that she could use as information for Hazel. That woman was rather picky.

On one hand, Aubrey was upset because that woman treated her that way, but on the other hand, she had to oblige, since Hazel was her only chance to destroy the McKennas and the Barlowes.

She had no power and no strong backing to help her achieve her goal. She didn’t even have any money; everything was under Arlo’s control.

But Hazel had everything that was needed. More so, she had Ranon Leighton.

Aubrey was not fond of the couple, but if she had to choose her battles, she would choose to support them in achieving their goal.

"What are you doing, Miss?"

Aubrey jumped out of her skin when she heard Darren enter the room. He stood at the door, watching her rummage through the drawers.

"You shouldn’t be here."

Aubrey felt as though her heart had stopped beating for a moment, when she realized that she had been caught in the act. Her face flushed red, and she frantically tried to think of an excuse. Anything would do.

And suddenly, she began crying, which took Darren by surprise. He closed the door behind him and approached her with concern. He had known her since he worked for the Lozens, but they had never had any interactions until recently.

However, since he was always around the Lozens, he understood the family dynamic. It was unfortunate that Aubrey ended up this way.

"Miss?" He approached Aubrey, but he didn’t know what to do.

To his surprise, when he put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, Aubrey hugged him tightly, which made him instinctively push her away. But Aubrey buried her face against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his body like a chain.

"Miss, you can’t do this." Darren glanced at the door. He was afraid someone would walk in on them. Needless to say, it would cause a huge misunderstanding.

"Please, please, please... don’t tell anyone I am here." Aubrey’s voice was trembling. Tears kept streaming down her face as she hastily continued talking. "I look for my son’s birth certificate and my passport. I can’t live in this house anymore. They are going to kill me."

Darren sighed. He stopped pushing her away, but he didn’t hug her back, or make any gesture to comfort her, yet Hazel didn’t let him go.

"Please, once they think I no longer have any use for my son, they will kick me, or they will kill me."

"They will not do that."

"You know they will." Aubrey’s voice held a sharp edge. "Please, don’t tell anyone. I will not do it again; I will find another way to survive."

Darren didn’t know how to respond to that. "Miss, please, let me go. This is inappropriate."

"Darren. You know that I am right." Aubrey lifted her head and looked at him with those pitiful eyes, which tugged at his heartstrings. "Please, don’t tell anyone about this. They will kill me if they think I will run away. They will take my child." Aubrey shook her head. "Bryer is the only reason I don’t kill myself."

Darren was taken aback by the strong words. He knew that Aubrey was not treated well in this family, but he was not aware of how much worse it was.

"Fine. I will not say anything this time, but don’t try it again."

Aubrey nodded. "I promise." She wiped her eyes. "I am sorry that I brought you into this mess. I never meant to do this to you."

"I will walk you back to your room."

Darren took her out of the study and walked her to her room, making sure she stayed there before he left.

However, the moment Aubrey entered her room and closed the door, and after she had made Darren promise again not to say a word about it, she stopped crying. The pitiful look on her face turned into anger.

Aubrey was pissed she got caught.