Chapter 427: I Want To Surprise You

“Aunt Katherine,” Hazel’s eyes sparkled with joy and excitement. “Are you really coming to my graduation?”

“Yeah…yes?” Katherine looked at her with confusion, not understanding why she changed her mind so quickly.

“Thank you so much.” Hazel was happier than she had thought she would be. “With you as a witness, I think I may actually be able to convince my parents.”

“Witness to what?” Katherine was more confused. “Are you going to involve me in some scheme, Hazel?”

“I’ve always been such a good child. Do you think I would do that?” said Hazel with a chuckle. “Rest assured, it’s nothing bad, and you will find out soon enough.”

Katherine was still puzzled and wondered what Hazel was up to, but she trusted her, so she smiled with encouragement.

***

The graduation ceremony was taking place at the university gymnasium. Hazel began to feel nervous when she realized that Joshua still hadn’t arrived. Also, the fact that James was pacing back and forth while waiting with her made her even more nervous.

“Why isn’t Joshua here yet?” He mumbled under his breath.

“He must have been delayed with work.” Hazel said firmly, “But he’ll definitely be here before the ceremony starts.”

The frown that James had on his face seemed to be getting bigger. After everything happened with Sunny, the truth about Jughead finally came to light, and James realized that he had misunderstood Joshua and his intentions. He did feel a bit guilty about the whole situation, but that didn’t matter, he still didn’t like Joshua very much.

Suddenly, an expensive black sports car stopped in front of them. When the door opened, Joshua stepped out and smiled.

“Sorry, Hazel, something came up while I was on the way here. Sorry that I’m late,” he explained in a low voice as he strode towards Hazel and kissed her on the cheek.

“Oh, you are really good at coming up with excuses for yourself, aren’t you?” James scowled at Joshua, “Maybe if you had left earlier, you wouldn’t be late?”

“I believe what Joshua said!” Hazel quickly snapped, her head began to pound. She understood that because of her parents, James regarded her as his benefactors’ daughter and his sister, so she liked him. Nonetheless, that did not stop him and Joshua from bickering every time they were near each other.

“It seems that Simon wanted to stop me from attending Hazel’s graduation,” Joshua explained calmly. Joshua really disliked the fact that he needed to justify his actions to James, but it also gave him the opportunity to clarify what happened, so Hazel was aware.

James looked a bit embarrassed because he knew what Joshua was saying was the truth.

Hazel took Joshua by the arm, “Let’s go in!”

Joshua knew that Hazel was trying to ease the embarrassment, but as he walked past James, he whispered, “It doesn’t matter.”

“What doesn’t matter?” James was confused.

“I accept your apology for judging me.” A smile appeared on Joshua’s face.

“Who said I was going to apologize?” James was angry.

Joshua’s eyes twinkled slightly. “Oh? You mean you didn’t judge me?”

“I…” James glared at him. Even though Joshua was telling the truth, he wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“Come on! You’ll be late if you don’t get in there!” Hazel was trying her best to cut the tension between the two men.

Joshua grabbed Hazel’s tiny waist and walked into the gym with her. He knew that James and Hazel had completely different personalities. She liked everyone and never thought of anyone as a possible threat, James; on the other hand, he was just the opposite, he was suspicious of everyone.

Hazel was also very naïve when a man was showing affection toward her. However,

Joshua was not clueless, he saw how James looked at her, and if it weren’t stopped, it would develop like a wildfire. He knew what he had to do before it went any further.

***

As Joshua and Hazel walked into the gym, they looked around and found two seats together. As they sat down, Joshua noticed there was only a small area for graduates to walk across the stage. There seemed to be something hidden under red silk taking up most of the stage.

He was really curious but didn’t want to ask too many questions since the ceremony had already begun. Joshua had different scenarios running through his mind during the long ceremony, he wasn’t there to see anyone else but the beautiful woman next to him graduated. He was happy to be there with Hazel, even if she seemed a little preoccupied.

“Hazel, are you nervous?” he asked quietly.

“Hmm...” She turned to him but didn’t really acknowledge him, she snapped out of the daze she was in and said, “I am going to be giving a speech at the student representative.”

“Hazel, that is amazing!” Joshua raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to surprise you?” she said, giggling.

He touched her cheek and smiled. Her heart started beating a little faster, she also had a surprise for him.

Hazel waited patiently until her name was called to walk to the stage for her speech. When it was time, she took a deep breath and got up from her seat.

“Good luck, Hazel.” Joshua grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it. She looked down at him and smiled shyly, she knew he had no idea about what would happen.

Quickly, she pulled her hand away and ran to the stage. Her sudden rush made Joshua question her actions, she was not really shy after what she had experienced, seeing her nervous and scared worried about him. He wondered if something had happened that he didn’t know about.

As she walked across the stage, Hazel felt like she was walking on clouds. She stood at the podium, took a deep breath, and smiled. The people in the audience watched her, but they all seemed to blur into the background. All she could see was Joshua.

With a happy smile on her lips, she slowly opened her mouth, “I know I am supposed to speak as the student representative, but I am unable to do that. Teachers and classmates, please forgive, I need to take this opportunity to do something personal.”