Hazel was distraught. She didn't feel any sense of goodness from the Flores family. Were they really related to Joshua? She was a little regretful for agreeing to the Flores family's request.
She looked at Theresa, who was quietly sitting on the passenger seat, with a calm and a little sloppy expression on her face that made Hazel feel a lot better. Hazel's impression was that this little girl had been shy all along, completely different from the aggressiveness of the other three.
"How old are you?" Hazel asked.
"Eighteen," Theresa replied quickly.
"How long have you been here?" Hazel continued to ask.
"A few days." Theresa politely replied, "My parents had been here several times, but every time they returned without success."
Hazel continued to ask about the situation of Theresa's family. The Flores family had ten children before, but two of them died very young. Theresa was the youngest, ranking the tenth. Her biggest brother was already in his thirties, with a teenage child.
After listening to Theresa's story, Hazel's face became even nastier.
Hazel said, "When we get back, I will tell Joshua that you are my classmate's sister. You need to stay here for a few days because you haven't found another place to live in, so you will stay with me for a few days, okay?"
"Okay." Theresa hurriedly nodded. She looked at Hazel as if she had a lot to say.
"What do you want to say?" Hazel noticed her look and couldn't help but ask.
Theresa hesitated for a while, and she finally said with courage, "Can, can you say thank you to Mr. Denmark for me?"
Hazel was a bit surprised. Was she too harsh on Theresa, venting her dissatisfaction with the Flores Family on her, which made Theresa so careful?
"Can you tell me why?" Hazel asked.
"Actually... the reason my parents are willing to raise me," Theresa bit her lips and said, "is that they need me to trade for the marriage of my ninth brother."
Hazel was stunned. She did hear that in some remote areas, some poor families would trade their daughter in order for their son to marry the daughter of another family. However, she never thought she actually witnessed this kind of thing!
Theresa went on to say, "When I was fourteen because my ninth brother wanted to marry someone, my parents planned to make me marry the son of that family..."
"Fourteen years old!" Hazel looked at her in surprise, "That was not even near being old enough to be married. How could they..."
"In that kind of remote place, nobody cares about such a thing." Theresa said sadly, "They originally wanted me to marry a 30-year-old man, but at that time, our family suddenly became wealthier, and it seemed like the one helping us talked to my parents and changed their mind, so I did not marry that man."
"Later, my parents agreed to let me continue to go to school. That's why I can go to high school now. I thought at the time that if I could meet the benefactor who changed my destiny, I would say thank you to him. I did not expect that there was a chance for me to really meet Mr. Denmark..."
"Why are you calling him Mr. Denmark, not..." Hazel felt a bit weird. Lanny and Caroline had entirely regarded Joshua as their son, but Theresa was not like them. She did not start calling Joshua' brother.
"Since Mr. Denmark hasn't reunited with us yet, I can't force him to be family just because we are related by blood." Theresa shook her head. "Even if he really did help us, our family did not raise him, and I cannot ask for anything more."
Hazel had a much better impression of Theresa, she was obviously the most reasonable of the Flores family.
When the two arrived at Denmark Residence, Joshua had not returned home from the company. Hazel first asked Nanny Carter to help arrange a room for Theresa. Theresa thanked her politely.
Hazel waited for a long time before she heard the engine of Joshua's car. Hazel came to the gate with joy and saw Joshua got out of the car.
She swiftly welcomed him.
"Yeah." Joshua was a bit surprised at Hazel's enthusiasm.
Hazel took his hand, and the two walked to the living room. She took his slippers out of the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of him. Joshua was even more surprised. Although he and Hazel got along well, she never did something like that for him before.
"Did my Hazel do something wrong?" He was thoughtful.
"You have done something wrong!" Hazel glanced at him silently. She was trying to judge his mood.
"How come you become so good to me?" He chuckled, "What can I do for you?"
Hazel began to feel guilty. She must've been so mean at him up to this point. Looking back at their history, Hazel couldn't help but feel a little shame. Although her relationship with Joshua had always been harmonious, Joshua was the one taking care of her.
"I just want to be nice to you. You got any problem with that?" Hazel said with grit in her voice.
Joshua chuckled. He suddenly put his hands on her waist, pulled her closer, and kissed her passionately.
As she started getting lightheaded, Hazel put her hands behind his head and kissed him back with just as much passion.
"Hazel, if you do this, I will think you are inviting me." He bit her earlobe, whispering.
Hazel came to her senses, she looked at his eyes, they were burning up with l.u.s.t.
She fixed her hair and said, "Sorry. In fact, I really have one thing to ask for..."
Joshua sighed with uneasiness and said, "Hazel, can't you make me happy for a little longer?"
Hearing his complaint, Hazel's heart went soft again. She stood on her tiptoes and took the initiative to kiss his lips.
A touch of surprise flashed in his eyes. Hazel had always been shy, but today she was acting strangely. What had happened?
As the lingering kiss ended, Joshua took Hazel to the sofa and sat down. "Well, what are you going to say to me?"
"It's not a big deal," Hazel said. "My classmate's sister is visiting. She has no place to live, so I offered to let her stay here for a few days."
"If she has no place to stay, I can arrange accommodations for her. She doesn't necessarily have to live here." Joshua frowned slightly. He was reluctant to agree with Hazel.