MIDNIGHT Bride The CEO's TEMPTATION

Hazel began to get worried when Joshua was gone for a long period of time. She took out her phone, debating on if she should call him or not, when a bodyguard rushed in and yelled, "Miss Crowe, it's not good!"

She suddenly dropped her phone and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"It was a trap!" the bodyguard said anxiously, "The president was ambushed on the road!"

"What?" Hazel asked in a panic. "What about Joshua? How is he?"

"The president only sent back a message for us to get you out of Country F, as according to the original plan. After that, we lost contact with them." He said and lowered his head.

Hazel looked annoyed. "Do you mean I am supposed to leave while he is in danger?"

"You, you can rest assured that the president will be fine. He will be able to return home to meet you." The bodyguard said.

Hazel felt even more annoyed. How could she leave when Joshua was in a dangerous situation?

She picked up her phone off the floor and quickly dialed Joshua's number. There was no way she was going to agree with him, but no one answered his phone.

Her heart felt even heavier. The situation that Joshua was in was so bad that he didn't even have time to answer the phone.

Hazel sighed, "Since Joshua is not here, you all need to listen to me! You need to gather everyone right now and go to save Joshua immediately."

"But we were told to stay and protect you..." The bodyguard said in shame, "The president will be angry if he finds out."

"Don't worry, I will take the blame for everything!" Hazel said.

"What about you?" asked the bodyguard.

After pondering for a while, Hazel said, "You can leave a few people behind to protect me. I want to stay here and wait for Joshua to come back."

Before the bodyguard had a chance to object, Hazel continued, "Since they can push Joshua to the point of losing contact, they must have sent a lot of people. So, they will unlikely have enough people left to come after me. Therefore, I should be safe. Just do what I said!"

The bodyguard had no choice but to agree. He gathered more guards and left the castle.

Hazel saw them leaving, but she was still flustered. She never expected it to be a trap, so she was blaming herself. If she hadn't insisted on going to see Cate's friend, then she and Joshua would be on their way home. Instead, he was in danger because of her.

She tried numerous times to reach Joshua again, but no one ever answered. Her heart was full of guilt and blame. Hoping to clear her mind some, she went to the garden.

It was a beautiful garden, but Hazel was not in the mood to appreciate it. She sat down on a bench and looked around. The bushes beside her started moving, she assumed it was a rabbit or something, but a familiar figure appeared.

She saw him from behind, but he was tall, had perfect posture, and gave the aura of natural extravagance, just like Joshua. Hazel almost shouted to him, but she stopped when she realized that it was not Joshua.

There was no way that Joshua could be there, and if it was not him, then there was only one possibility. Hazel jumped up and began to run without any hesitation. The man heard her and turned around, and he was wearing a demonic mask. The sun gave it an even more evil appearance.

"Sweetheart, you can't run away from me," Simon said mockingly. He started to chase her like a cat chasing its prey.

Several people jumped out of the bushes in front of her. She was forced to stop, and there was no way to escape. She was surrounded from every side.

Hazel glared. It was indeed a trap. However, it was a trap for her, not Joshua.

Looking around again for a means of escape, she did not see any other option, so she pulled out the gun she had in her pocket. She took the gun and pointed at Simon. 

"Nobody moves!" Hazel gritted. She shot at the ground by Simon's feet, "Otherwise, I will start killing!"

Inside the castle, she didn't carry the gun, but when she decided to go outside, her anxiety got her best, so she took it with her. She was glad that she did take it and hoped that Simon's men would step back when they heard the gunfire.

"Sweetheart, why are you carrying such a dangerous thing again?" Simon's face was smiling with carelessness. It seemed that he was not afraid of the gun in her hand at all. "You are a girl, and you should take something more girly with you."

Hazel's eyes narrowed. "Do you think I won't shoot you?"

"Sweetheart, being a murderer is not that fun," Simon said, still smiling with a playful smile. "And, you better kill me with one shot. If I am just injured, I promise you I will kill everyone here! You know I will do it!"

Hazel's fingers trembled. She had seen Simon killing people without hesitation.

"Sweetheart, I will give you two choices." Simon said, "First, drop the gun and go with me. I promise not to hurt anyone here. Second, you kill or injure me, and I will kill the people here and take you away. Which one do you choose?"

Hazel had never thought someone would force her to make this kind of decision. She didn't want to go with Simon, but at the same time, her conscience would not allow others to be hurt because of her. 

"Can I trust you?" Hazel bit her lip and whispered.

"Of course, I am a serious person. Besides," Simon looked at her and continued, "You have other choices except to believe me?"

She knew he was right, she sent most of Joshua's bodyguards to save him, and those that were still at the castle would not be able to stop Simon and his gang on their own.