17 The heart grows fonder with distance

In the evening, Hazel and Mandy had already gone home after long hours of shopping together. As they were about to open the door, they heard a woman's laughter echoing from the inside.

What's going on?

Puzzled by the sound, Hazel immediately turned the door open.

In the living room, Zac had his arm wrapped around a woman while he was watching TV.

The woman was gorgeous. In fact, she had an angel's face, but a devil's body. She was decked in designer wear from head to toe as if she was fresh out of a branded store.

She held Zac in his arms as she leaned against his shoulders. They looked incredibly intimate.

Hazel's jaw dropped. He actually had a girlfriend? Why did he never mention it?

Feeling as if she had just been struck by lightning, Mandy fell onto the ground. Luckily, Hazel caught her from falling.

Zac didn't even bother to look at her. Instead, his stare was fixated on Hazel. There was a flash of anger in her beautiful eyes. Although it was faint, he still noticed it.

Good. That meant that she still had feelings for him.

"Her name is Mindy," he introduced lazily. His grip around the woman's waist tightened, as if their mere presence didn't affect him as much as the woman did.

There was an unspeakable feeling in Hazel's heart, as if an ant was chewing on her nerves. She winced, swallowing.

Mandy was practically burning with jealousy. "When did you get to know each other?" She wondered if she had been half a step slower from the very beginning and someone else took over the price.

"Recently," Zac answered plainly. He whispered something in the woman's ear. With a shy smile, Mindy followed him into the room.

The door slammed shut.

It was as if Hazel had been punched in the stomach. She shuddered as a bad feeling rose up her heart.

Mandy was on the verge of a breakdown. She placed her ear against the door, trying to monitor the situation inside.

In the room, Zac sat on the chair with a smirk. He couldn't help but imagine what Hazel was feeling. Was it outrage? Was it jealousy?

He waited for so long, but no one knocked on the door. Instead, all he could hear was Mandy shuffling her boots from the outside.

Mindy sat by the window. Although she was in it for the money, she didn't want to miss out on such a handsome man either.

"I can always provide some extra service," she flirted. However, her words were greeted by his cold glance, and she found herself sitting back.

Zac glanced at the woman who was playing with her phone. "Scream for me," he whispered.

Mindy smirked, giving him a thumbs up.

Outside the door, Mandy's eyes were swollen with tears. "Didn't you say that I was being too forward? Look! The woman is even more forward than me and now, they're fucking!" She gritted her teeth, wishing that she had just followed suit.

Hazel walked back and forth in the living room. Of course, she felt outraged for her best friend.

What the hell was going on? What the hell was he thinking? Mandy was an amazing catch! Why the hell would he settle for someone like that material girl?

When she was about to comfort Mandy, there was a sound coming from the bed followed by the woman's scream of excitement.

All of a sudden, her blood boiled.

After all, she was his legitimate wife! Was it appropriate for him to take a mistress into the room and slap the fact against her face!

She couldn't control herself anymore. With her fists clenched, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Fire-"

There wasn't any response from Zac, so she decided to change her tactic by yelling out, "Earthquake!"

He still didn't respond. Hazel waved her hands exasperatedly up in the air. "There are thieves! Catch them!"

An hour later, her voice was already hoarse from yelling too much. Fortunately, the door was already open.

Mindy leaned against the doorframe and smoothened over her skirt. Her eyes glinted. "Thank you for the music." She winked, before turning to the handsome man inside. "Honey, you were awesome. See you tomorrow!"

As soon as the door was closed, Hazel rushed into his bedroom.

Zac leaned against the headboard. As he wore his pajamas, a lazy and satisfied smile played in the corners of his mouth. "What were you doing just now?" he snorted. "A disaster training exercise?"

Bastard!

Hazel wanted to scold him again, but she found that she couldn't bring herself to. Her throat was already hurting from all the times she had yelled. She bit her lips and raised her hand to hit the wall.

His large hand reached out to stop her. "Don't hurt yourself." Zac stared at her with pity in his eyes, but she didn't even bother to notice them. Her mind was filled with that materialistic bitch leaving his room.

Looking at the direction she had disappeared, he smirked."Are you jealous?" he whispered, but there was no one to answer.

It was already late at night. Hazel was still awake. It wasn't just because of Mandy's sobs, but it was also because she was upset with what had happened.

She knew all too well of that feeling.

After handing the last piece of tissue to Mandy, she picked up her pillow and lay on the bed. "Don't be sad.

There are plenty of good men in the world. We can find someone better than him," she reasoned.

Mandy shook her head heavily. "No, I won't give up."

With her hands on her forehead, Hazel stifled a groan. If she continued doing this, then she would be poor in an instant!

Suddenly, an idea came upon her.

"Mandy, there's a saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?"

Mandy frowned. "Yes." She looked at her friend in confusion.

"You're so beautiful. Besides, you're even an anchorwoman! There's no reason why he wasn't unmoved by your gesture! But...is it because of your carelessness that he got to see your flaws?"

Not even waiting for her reply, Hazel continued, "Look at me. He never treated me as a woman, because we live in the same house. He had seen everything there is to see. For example, my hair is always unkempt.

Whenever I fall asleep, I passed out with dried saliva all over my face. When I get a cold, I'll have a runny nose," she had listed everything there was to list.

Mandy paled at her words. She remembered the one time she ran out of her room to receive a parcel without any makeup on. He had seen that. 'Shit! Does he think I'm not beautiful?' she thought.

Hazel saw the expression on her face and patted her shoulder. "Love is like a battlefield. Before you can capture your victim, you must first make him think that you're perfect. Otherwise, your rival will take advantage of your flaws and attack you."

Mandy nodded thoughtfully, as if she had been very inspired. The next day, she packed up and left.

Their apartment finally returned to its peaceful self and Zac was ecstatic. He lay on the sofa while playing with his iPad as he waited for his wife to cook lunch.

Hazel was still furious by what had happened. Gritting her teeth, she placed the food onto the table.

'White tofu, radish, cabbage.

Is this punishment?' he thought to himself while looking at the dishes.

However, Zac said absolutely nothing as he picked up the cabbages with his chopsticks and placed them on his lips.

Hazel stared, a wicked gleam flashing in her eyes.

Although the dishes looked ordinary, there was something mysterious about them.