Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 87

“HAZEL!”

The twins didn’t wait for confirmation.

They were already halfway across the living room before she even stepped fully inside.

Hazel barely had time to brace herself before two little bodies collided into her at once.

“Hey! Hey! Easy!” she laughed, staggering backward under their combined weight. “Are you two trying to knock me over?”

“You are back!” Gabriel shouted into her shoulder.

“You actually came back!” Gaddiel added, as though there had been real doubt.

Hazel pulled back just enough to look at them properly. Her eyes softened instantly.

“It has been five days,” she said.

“Exactly!” Gabriel protested.

“That is almost a month,” Gaddiel added dramatically.

Hazel burst into laughter.

“Do you two even understand what weekly boarding school means yet?”

They both groaned.

“We are still trying,” Gabriel admitted.

“It is confusing,” Gaddiel said. “Why can’t you just go to school like normal people and come back every day?”

“Because,” Hazel said patiently, brushing invisible dust from Gabriel’s hair, “it is a weekly boarding system. I stay there during the week and come home on weekends.”

“That is cruel,” Gabriel declared.

“It builds character,” she countered.

“We don’t need character,” Gaddiel said seriously. “We need you here.”

Hazel’s expression flickered for a split second with affection, gratitude and something deeper, before she masked it with a playful scoff.

“You two survived without me.”

“Barely,” Gabriel said.

“Barely,” Gaddiel echoed.

Behind them, a quieter presence entered.

George. He was back.

He rolled Hazel’s medium-sized suitcase in with steady composure, shutting the door gently behind him.

Hazel turned immediately.

“Thank you, George,” she said warmly.

“You are welcome, Hazel,” George replied with a slight nod.

That was when Hazel noticed her.

Wendy.

Standing just a little behind the couch. And observing.

Hazel’s gaze sharpened, not a friendly one, but curious.

So this was her.

The much-talked-about Wendy.

The mysterious girl her brothers had apparently been competing over all week— a detail their father had found amusing enough to mention during his last phone call on Tuesday evening.

*“Apparently your brothers have discovered rivalry,”* he had said dryly. *“Over the butler’s daughter.”*

Hazel had laughed at the time.

Now, seeing Wendy in person, she understood.

Wendy stepped forward politely.

“Welcome home,” she said gently.

Her voice was calm and balanced.

Hazel studied her briefly, the neat posture, the composed eyes, the faint confidence that didn’t feel forced, her warm voice.

She was pretty. Not loud-pretty, but quietly striking.

“Thank you,” Hazel replied with an easy smile. “You must be Wendy.”

Gabriel and Gaddiel froze.

They exchanged a quick look. Hazel noticed that.

Oh, this was going to be entertaining.

“Yes,” Wendy said. “And you must be Hazel.”

“The one and only,” Hazel replied lightly.

George cleared his throat gently.

“I will take this upstairs,” he said, gesturing to the suitcase.

“No, I have got it,” Hazel insisted, moving toward it.

But George had already lifted it.

“It is fine,” he said firmly.

Hazel smiled. “Thank you.”

The twins were still hovering around her like loyal bodyguards.

“So,” Hazel said, folding her arms and glancing between them. “What exactly have you two been up to while I was gone?”

“Nothing,” they both answered too quickly.

Hazel raised a brow.

“Nothing?” she repeated slowly.

“School,” Gabriel said.

“Homework,” Gaddiel added.

Hazel looked past them at Wendy. She simply smiled, diplomatic of her.

Hazel’s lips twitched.

“Right,” she said knowingly.

Gabriel coughed.

“So how was school?” he asked quickly, trying to redirect attention.

Hazel sighed dramatically and flopped onto the couch.

“It was fine. Classes are intense. My roommate snores. The food is questionable.”

“See!” Gaddiel exclaimed. “You should come back home permanently.”

“It doesn’t work like that,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because life requires endurance,” she replied, tapping his forehead lightly. “And discipline.”

Gabriel flopped beside her.

“Did you miss us?”

Hazel looked at him.

Then at Gaddiel.

Then her voice softened.

“Of course I did.”

They both grinned.

“And Dad?” Gabriel asked.

“I spoke to him yesterday,” she said. “He says you two are behaving.”

They went suspiciously quiet.

Hazel narrowed her eyes.

“You are behaving… right?”

“Yes!” they said in unison.

Wendy couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Hazel’s attention snapped to her again.

“You are the famous Wendy,” Hazel said casually.

“Famous?” Wendy blinked.

“Oh yes,” Hazel continued. “I have heard about you.”

Gabriel choked.

Gaddiel’s ears’s eyes widened.

“What— what did Dad say?” Gabriel demanded.

Hazel smirked.

“That my brothers were suddenly very helpful at home. Very attentive. Very… competitive.”

The twins groaned loudly. Wendy’s cheeks flushed faintly.

“It wasn’t like that,” Gaddiel protested.

“It wasn’t competition,” Gabriel added quickly.

Hazel folded her arms again.

“Mm-hmm.”

Wendy stepped in smoothly.

“They have been helpful,” she said honestly. “Very helpful.”

Hazel looked at her carefully.

There was no mockery in Wendy’s tone.

No flirtation either, just sincerity.

Interesting.

“Well,” Hazel said finally, standing up. “As much as I would love to continue interrogating everyone, I need a shower. Boarding school air is not friendly.”

“Don’t take too long,” Gabriel said immediately.

“Yeah, we still have catching up to do,” Gaddiel added, his tiny voice reverberating.

Hazel shook her head, smiling.

“I’m not disappearing for another week just yet. Relax.”

She began walking toward the staircase, then paused. Turning slightly, she looked at Wendy again.

“It is nice to finally meet you,” she said.

Wendy nodded politely.

“Nice to meet you too.”

There was something unspoken in that brief exchange. Something like assessment, lingering curiosity. Maybe even the beginning of something neither of them could define yet.

George reappeared at the foot of the stairs.

“Your room is ready,” he said.

“Thank you,” Hazel replied.

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