Chapter 218: CONVERSATION WITH ARLO
Hazel followed Arlo, walking in the garden after their breakfast with the McKennas, as he had something to discuss with her.
The breakfast went well. They still kept the conversation within the ’safe’ topics, but Arlo kept glancing at Hazel now and then, as if he couldn’t wait to have this conversation.
"I will not bore you with such unnecessary talk. I’m going to be straightforward with you. Where is River?"
Hazel still remembered that this was how Arlo acted whenever he deemed someone was unimportant in his eyes.
He didn’t bother to develop the topic, instead nonchalantly stating what he wanted as if demanding something that was rightfully his.
"Dead," Hazel replied coldly, matching his energy. The sweet woman who spoke about the weather at the dining table earlier had disappeared. "Her father got her dead body and buried her somewhere."
Hazel learned about it from the texts exchanged between Ranon and Ares. It was a good thing that Arthur managed to give River a proper burial before the disaster befell the Lozens; otherwise, she wouldn’t have known what to do with her body.
Arlo stopped walking. The garden was well-trimmed and maintained, but it was not yet the season for the roses to bloom, so all they could see were the green leaves.
Rania, Olivia’s mother, took care of this garden, and Hazel noticed it was her only joy in this house. With her husband ignoring her most of the time, her sons out on missions, and her daughter rebelling hard, she sought solace here.
"When was the last time you talked to River?" Arlo stopped walking. His shoulders were tense, but the way he talked felt like an interrogation. He presented himself as someone more superior than Hazel.
He tried to intimidate her to get an answer. It was a method with which Hazel was familiar. Because of this, Arlo rarely interrogated their sources since he wasn’t tactful enough with his approach.
"Around two months ago," Hazel replied.
"She died four months ago."
"That’s why I found it weird." Hazel didn’t try to create another lie. She knew the time was messed up; thus, she could only be consistent with what she said.
"Are you sure that was River?"
"She said she was River."
"How do you know that?" The mention of River’s name still stirred something inside of him. If she died four months ago, it meant she didn’t die because of Aubrey’s bullet. She was alive, but someone killed her a few months later in the same spot.
Arlo was going to find out who had done it.
"She said so," Hazel answered him halfheartedly. She returned the man’s heated gaze and started wondering how she could have loved him before.
She couldn’t help but compare him to Ranon. She stopped herself right away, as it felt like an insult to her husband to compare them.
Of course, her hot and sexy husband was a thousand times better than this man. They weren’t on the same level to begin with.
Arlo didn’t know what was in Hazel’s mind, but he noticed the smugness in her expression and interpreted it differently.
"What’s the thing that you didn’t tell me?" He took a step closer, but Hazel didn’t budge. "What are you hiding from me?"
"I don’t have anything to hide." Hazel blinked her eyes and spoke innocently. "Even if I do, why should I tell you? Whether River died or not, I am sure she didn’t want to have anything to do with you."
This woman was playing with him; Arlo could tell that. She riled him up. "What did River tell you about me?"
"I don’t think you want to hear it. Because most of the time she talked with profanities when the topic was about you."
Arlo grabbed her arm, clearly losing all of his patience. He had not yet slept as he waited for this conversation, but he was too agitated to think clearly. He was too hasty.
"What did she say to you?" He would kill to hear River’s voice again and listen to what she said. He wanted to know what River had said about him after the incident.
"You..."
"Tell me!" Arlo tightened his grip on Hazel.
He raised his voice and glared her down, but if he gave it some thought, he should be able to tell the abnormality. Even Aubrey would lower her eyes when he was being irrational like this. She wouldn’t be able to meet his eyes.
Yet, here Hazel was, matching his energy. There was a murderous intention behind her cold glare.
Well, he asked for it. And Hazel started.
"That piece of shit man thinks with his cock. He doesn’t even have the balls to tell me that he wants to end things with me. He is pushy. I saw his expression that night, and all I could think of was what a waste of my time to be spent on a coward, who rarely makes me feel finished."
Arlo was taken aback, not only because of Hazel’s harsh words but also because of the way she spoke. Her eyes were ablaze with anger and grudge, but then a second later, she smiled sweetly.
"That’s what she said. Do you want to hear more?" She offered too eagerly. "She also said how you were so boring in bed. She used to fake it when she was with you, that you were a one-dimensional person who only thought of..."
"Shut up!" Arlo snapped. Of all the things that Hazel could tell him, she chose to degrade his performance in bed. Not only did Arlo find it distasteful, but it was also demeaning.
It was not that deep, though. Hazel was being petty since he cheated on River.
"Okay." Hazel obeyed and said nothing. Instead, she observed him more closely.
Arlo was thinner than the last time she met him. There were dark circles under his eyes. If not for his slightly handsome features and above-average looks, he would be considered unattractive.
One thing Hazel could say for sure was that he was a mess.
"What else did she say to you?"
"She also said that your dick..."
"Not that!" Arlo felt the urge to strangle this woman and bury her alive under the peonies.
She had no class at all. How could she talk about that as if it were no big deal when she was a married woman?
"Tell me everything she said! What was her plan when she announced she was still alive? How was she going to take revenge on me?" Arlo was frustrated. River had slipped through his fingers once more, and now he couldn’t reach her anymore.
He would gladly wait for her to come to him and get her revenge. At the very least, with that, he could see her again, but now the chance was none.
Arlo would prefer River out there, planning her revenge. He could handle her rage as long as he could talk to her again.
Hazel pried his hand away from her, but his grip was too tight, and he seemed not to realize that he had hurt her.
"She plans to kill you," Hazel said, emphasizing the present situation. She didn’t say that it was in the past.
"She died." The word bit him. He gritted his teeth. This reality was still very hard on him. "She will not be able to kill me."
"I don’t know; maybe she will haunt you."
Arlo sneered. "I will be glad to see her ghost." He tilted his head and gave Hazel a look that told her she was stupid. "Do you think a ghost can kill me?"
Hazel shrugged nonchalantly. Her arm turned numb, but she didn’t show it on her face. Instead, her expression turned cold. "Do you think she will forgive you after your betrayal? You ruined the Lozens. She will come after you, even if she has to turn to a ghost."
Arlo narrowed his eyes. "How do you know River? I am sure you have not known her for long."
"Are you sure?" Hazel raised her brows in challenge. "River told me this also, that you think you know everything about her, but the truth is you know nothing."
It hit Arlo’s ego, and Hazel knew it. Therefore, she continued.
"She wondered why she was in a relationship with you, and she figured the reason was that it was convenient, since your families had been allies for a long time, so it was a logical thing to do. But then, she also realized that she would be fine if you talked to her and ended things properly with her. Apparently, her feelings for you were not that deep."
This was another blow to Arlo’s ego, but he hid it well.
"However, you and Aubrey chose to be so dramatic." Hazel sighed exaggeratedly. "Have you run the paternity test? Are you sure that the baby is yours?"
It was the same thing that River told Arlo before Aubrey shot her. She suggested the same thing out of spite.
The baby was Arlo’s; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of bringing Aubrey and Bryer with him to prevent the massacre at the Lozen family’s house.
"What have you done to the Lozens, Arlo?"
"How do you know this much information?" Arlo caught something. Hazel’s knowledge about the previous events came from River, because she had interacted with her. But the massacre of the Lozens was a recent event.
However, before Hazel could respond, both of them sensed a powerful presence, prompting them to instinctively turn toward its source.
And there, Ranon was.