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CHAPTER 32
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A vow of hate CHAPTER 33
I took a quick shower, worried that if I spent too much time in Christian’s bathroom, something would come out of nowhere and grab me or something. It was a crazy and stupid thought, but I’d like to think that it was a valid fear. After showering, I changed into a matching pair set of cotton pajamas and gave myself a lengthy pep talk before I went back downstairs. The chef had made a late dinner, and Christian was plating it in the kitchen. When he finished, he brought out a large tray with our individual plates out to the living room. Mia had suggested we watch a new kids movie that just came out, and to do that, we had to eat in the living room. A development that I was pleasantly surprised that Christian had agreed to. I looked down at my bowl of chicken soup and smiled, inhaling the delicious scent that made my stomach grumble in response. Valerie started dozing off half way into the movie, so I excused myself to go tuck her in. It was a welcome distraction from being stuck in th
A vow of hate CHAPTER 34
We sat in silence for a long time after Mia went to bed. Christian had thankfully moved away from me the second he heard Mia’s door close with a soft click. And now, I was sitting on the other end of the couch with my back ramrod straight. All those years my mother spent trying to get me to sit straight and fix my posture, and here I finally was, putting the practice to good use. She would be so proud if she could see me right now. I focused my eyes on the TV screen in front of me, showing a new animation series now. My eyes were itching to look away from the burst of colors in front of me, but I knew that the second I did that, I would be forced to look at Christian, and that was the last thing I wanted to do right now. My eyes were starting to water from not blinking for so long, and I silently wished I could be sucked into the screen by some invisible energy only to discover that it was some alternate reality which Christian didn’t exist in. Christian gave up first, and soon after,
A vow of hate CHAPTER 35
“I almost died, Hazel… I almost fucking died.”I froze, and suddenly everything made sense. I was taken back to the things Mia had said to me the afternoon I had lunch with her and their mom. The pieces slowly started falling into place in my head, and my heart was thudding dangerously loud. He was talking about his past relationship, about the girl Mia told me about. The one who had betrayed his trust and taken everything from him… the one who had almost killed him. I understood why he was so angry all the time now, it was starting to make sense. But what I still didn’t understand was why his anger was directed at me. What did I have to do with all this? How could he have married me specifically to exert revenge for what was done to him if I have no idea about how I play into the whole thing? I barely even knew him before I got kidnapped by him.“Christian…” I whispered, finally letting my hand rest on his cheek, cradling his rough stubble. “I understand what you’re saying, I underst
A vow of hate CHAPTER 36
CHRISTIANWhen Mia walked through the doors looking terrified out of her mind, I was worried, and I immediately went into big brother mode. When she asked if she could spend the night, I immediately said yes and scolded her for even asking. But I knew I needed to get to work fast before she saw anything that would blow our cover. I made her a warm cup of green tea and kept her busy with Valerie while I proceeded to make my room look like it belonged to Hazel and I. The flowery scent of her perfume filled my senses the second I pushed her door open and I inhaled deeply, letting the familiar scent fill my senses. It took me back to the past… she still smelled exactly the same. But when the high wore off, I realized that what I was about to do wasn’t an easy task. I had my work cut out for me. Her room was a mess– not in the sense that it was dirty, but that she had obviously had a hard time finding something to wear so all her clothes were everywhere, and I had to work at an incredibly
A vow of hate CHAPTER 37
CHRISTIANWhispers… I could hear whispers as I woke, drowsy and warm—almost too warm. I was surrounded by heat and something that smelled enticingly good. My pillow tickled my face and I twitched my nose, trying to ease the itch, burrowing deeper into the welcome softness. My pillow giggled a little, and the whispers started again. I forced open my eyes. The light was dull, the skies looked heavy and dull, like it was going to rain. I lifted my head and met the amused gaze of Mia, who was sitting on the floor beside the bed, coffee cup in hand, and Valerie, who was giggling beside her with hair standing in every direction and a sippy cup filled with milk in her hands.“Daddy’s up!” Valerie exclaimed as she saw my open eyes. Then in a lower voice, “Haze still sleep sleep.”“Good morning,” Mia said with a smirk.“Were you that scared that you had to hide in here?” I asked with a small frown.“I came to get Hazel, but she’s still asleep and she wouldn’t be able to escape your clutches an
A vow of hate CHAPTER 38
CHRISTIANMia didn’t go home that day. She actually ended up spending the entire weekend with us. It was fine, because I'd rather have her with me till I was completely certain that everything was back in order at her place. But at the same time, it was hell having to continue sleeping in the same bed with Hazel. After what had happened that first night, we pretty much ignored each other when we were alone in the room. She found it hard to fall asleep, and I spent much longer hours in my office, only coming back into the room to sleep when I was sure that she was already asleep. And by some stroke of luck, Valerie hadn’t slipped up and said anything about us having separate rooms before now, so that was good. Mia would be going home tonight, and everything would go back to normal. But before that, we decided to go visit Hazel’s mom at the hospital. The weather was gloomy and a storm simmered just outside, low and tame. And I figured she would appreciate the company. I insisted on che
A vow of hate CHAPTER 39
HAZEL When mom first asked if I was really married, I thought it was a joke, so I still felt light and airy. She looked happy, healthy and better. She looked like she had actually been getting enough sleep recently, and I was happy about that. But things went south very fast. I quickly realized that she wasn’t joking or pretending about it, and I had to go with the flow so as to not confuse her, all while being so confused myself. I hadn’t expected Christian to be so understanding either, but he had handled the situation very well considering how abrupt it all was. He had handled it too well actually, because some of the answers he gave in response to my mother’s questions made me look at him in a different light. And if I didn’t know better, if I didn't know that it was all a lie, I might've believed them myself. He notified the doctors after that, while I sat next to my mom and held her hand, desperately trying not to break down into tears. We were told that the test results would
A vow of hate CHAPTER 40
It had been a few days since my mom’s troubling diagnosis, and over the course of those few days, the hospital had become my second home. She seemed better, she wasn’t hysterical or anything, and she even asked about Christian and Valerie every now and then, but I still couldn’t get myself to calm down and relax. I hovered over her at every second, and I was pretty sure she was tired of me breathing down her neck– a feeling that she made clear and communicated effectively when she quite literally kicked me out her room this afternoon. I walked back to my car with a gloomy cloud hanging over my head. She seemed fine, she seemed to remember that I was married now, but it was hard to shake off the fear that I was feeling.I walked into my favorite part of the house– the conservatory– where Tina had told me that I could find Valerie and Christian, and froze in surprise at the sight that met my eyes. Warm sunshine shone on Christian from the glass as he sat quietly while Valerie bustled ar
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