Chapter159.
The moment Hazel saw the message, she called Johnson back.
When she heard that Leila had gone to The Campbell Group looking for her brothers, she quickly wrapped up her work at the lab and rushed home to be with her daughter. By the time Hazel arrived, Leila had just returned from the amusement park, holding a small balloon in her hand. Seeing Hazel, she ran over excitedly and threw her arms around her.
“Mommy, Mommy!”
Hazel scooped her up and carried her inside while Johnson trailed behind them, his hands full of bags. In them were new toys he’d bought for Leila.
Tired from all the fun, Leila curled up in Hazel’s arms, her voice soft and a little downcast. “I miss my brothers.”
Hazel kissed her cheek and said gently, “How about we call them?”
But when she tried calling Jaxon and Joshua, neither of their watches connected. With no other option, Hazel dialed Gabriel instead.
A deep, slightly weary voice came from the other end.“Hazel?”
Hazel was not one to act impulsively. She kept her tone calm.“Why can’t I reach Jaxon and Joshua on their watches?”
She had gotten them smartwatches specifically so she could stay in touch with them.
Gabriel glanced at the time and explained, “My grandfather is very invested in their education. He arranged for them to have
to have extra lessons, so they’ve been in class all day.”
Leaning back against the seat of his car, he added, “I’m almost back at the Campbell estate. Ill‘ check on their watches when I
get there.”
Hazel had him on speaker, so Leila heard everything.
Though she didn’t understand all of it, she caught enough to know her brothers weren’t ignoring her on purpose. Instantly, the sadness in her eyes disappeared.
Hearing some rustling on the other end, Gabriel asked, “Is Leila with you?”
Hazel looked at her daughter, who was lying on the coffee table, staring at the phone. She let her answer for herself.
Hearing her name, Leila mumbled, “Yeah.”
Thinking about what he had seen on the security footage earlier, Gabriel spoke softly.“Next time, just come find me directly.”
Leila pouted.“No way.”
Her refusal was immediate. Having to go through an appointment just to see Gabriel was way too troublesome.
After all, she was only there to find her brothers.
Gabriel fell silent.
With her worries put to rest, Leila rubbed her tummy and whined, “Mommy, I’m hungry.” a Hazel coaxed her, “Alright, go eat with John. Mommy still needs to talk to your brothers‘ dad.
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Leila nodded, hopped off the couch, and ran to Johnson, calling out cheerfully, “John.”
Johnson, who was carrying dishes, quickly crouched down to catch her, effortlessly lifting her with one arm.“Alright, let’s go eat some yummy food.”
He was an excellent cook, and whenever he was around, he always took over kitchen duties.
Once Leila was out of sight, Hazel’s smile faded. She got up and stepped onto the balcony.
The call was still connected. Gabriel could clearly hear her breathing and, more notably, how much Leila liked that man.
Gazing out at the night sky, Hazel suddenly asked, “Gabriel, aren’t you tired?”
He was caught off guard.“What?”
Hazel had chosen to stay in Seattle for Jaxon and Joshua.
The temporary lab in Seattle was decent, but it didn’t compare to the ZN Lab in Canada, which had better facilities for her artificial womb project.
Gabriel knew that.
“I’m tired, Gabriel,” she admitted.
“Every time you take the kids back, it’s like I suddenly can’t reach them anymore.” “First it was Gianna. Now it’s your grandfather. Who’s next?”
Gabriel frowned.“Hazel, do we really have to fight about this? The kids lived with you for so long. I just took them home for a few days, and you’re already upset?”
to take off their smartwatches just to
attend class?
Did they really need The last time she brought up custody, Gabriel had pulled a stunt that put the whole conversation. on hold.
Now, she was done waiting.
“Let’s be honest, Gabriel. You never planned on giving me
never planned on giving me custody, did you?”
Gabriel remained silent.
Even though Hazel had the means to raise them well, compared to the deep–rooted Campbell family and Gabriel’s business empire, she still came up short.
Not because she wasn’t capable enough. Not because she wasn’t strong enough.
The Campbell family had a century of foundation behind them. The Campbell Group, under Gabriel’s leadership, was thriving. She couldn’t surpass that in just a few years.
She had thought deeply about the kids.
Right now, they were with Gabriel.
And without Gianna’s toxic influence, if he could truly be a devoted father and if the boys were happy with him, then Hazel wasn’t completely against the idea of not fighting for sole custody. As long as the kids were happy and well cared for, she would have peace of mind as their mother. “Let’s ask them what they want,” she suggested.“See if they’d rather come with me.” Every time the kids went back to the Campbell family, they became hard to reach. It was exhausting for Hazel.
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She proposed shifting from sole custody to joint custody, with clear agreements on when the kids would stay with each of them.
A man like Gabriel wouldn’t respond well to force.
Both of them were swamped with work, and the kids needed parental presence. Cooperation was the best option.
Gabriel caught something in her words.“Where are you planning to go this time? His voice carried an unmistakable sense of dominance. The driver, sensing the shift in mood, hastily raised the partition between them.
For the past two years, Hazel had been bouncing between Canada and Seattle. She didn’t answer. Instead, she countered, “That’s my business. What we need to discuss right now is the kids. Are you free tomorrow to talk in person?”
The tension in Gabriel’s jaw tightened.“No.”
Hazel fell silent.
She lazily glanced out at the flowers in the yard. “Fine. Pick a time. I’ll work around your schedule.”
Gabriel said nothing.
The call ended. He sank into the darkness of his car.
Hazel stared at her phone and decided Gabriel belonged on
But because of the kids, she couldn’t do that.
her block list.
A knock came at the balcony door. Johnson leaned against the wall and said, “Ms. Robinson, if you don’t come, Leila won’t eat.”
Leila immediately backed him up, calling out, “Mommy!”
Hazel smiled.“Coming.”
Back at the Campbell estate, Gabriel immediately asked about the boys‘ day. Byron reported that Arthur had scheduled Jaxon and Joshua for calligraphy, chess, and piano lessons.
They had just finished their piano lesson thirty minutes ago.
Hearing Gabriel’s car pull up, Jaxon and Joshua rushed out to greet him.“Dad, can we go see Mom and Leila tomorrow?”
Gabriel’s
gaze
fell
on
their bare
wrists.“Where
are
your
smartwatches?” Jaxon answered immediately.“Shyanne said we needed to focus in class, so we had to take them off.”
As he spoke, a woman stepped out from inside the house.
