Hazel POV
Today is Christmas Eve, and Mom is feeling so much better lately that we even managed to get the doctors to let her come spend Christmas with us. Elliot will be picking her up tomorrow with me. I am so excited that I can’t even stop smiling. I walk down the stairs towards the kitchen, and I can hear a giggle coming from there. I smile as I know that Ash and Everly are making breakfast. I open the door, and they both jump. Everly places a hand over her beating heart, and Ash spits her coffee.
“Freaking hell, girl, you scared the life out of me”, Ash says, and the three of us laugh as I walk to the coffee pot and pour myself a mug full. They both watch me as I put some creamer on, and I frown. “What?” I ask.
I take a sit at the breakfast bar, and Ashley walks towards me, waiting for her eyebrows. I look between them, frowning as
Hazel POVI walk down the stairs to find Everly in a massive make-out session with Theo.“Ew, get a room”, I let out, and they pull away as Theo smiles broadly and Everly fixes her hair.“Are you ready?”, she asks, and I nod my head as she kisses Theo one more time before we start walking.“Don’t forget to check on the baby”, she says over her shoulder before we turn the corner to the corridor that leads to the garage.Once we get there, there are two SUVs waiting for us and Ashley smiles. “Come on, let’s get this party started”, she says, passing me a flute with champagne and giving Everly another one. We all cheer and get in the car. It’s a seven-seater, and we are all comfortable inside while we are taken to the shopping mall.“To a great time tonight”, we all cheer
Elliot POV“Are you ready?”, Killian asks, and I nod my head. I look at myself in the mirror one more time, and I do the button off my jacket with one hand. Theo appears behind me, resting one hand on my shoulder and smiling at me through the mirror.“Come on, big guy”, he says and I nod my head walking out with him. I shove both my hands into my pockets as we walk to the garage. I get into Killian’s Austin Martin, and Theo sits at the back while Killian drives us.The drive is quiet, and we all keep our heads down. Killian is in a shitty mood, I think he argued with Ash, and now he is taking it out on us. Fucking spectacular.“So, what the fuck happened?”, Theo asks Killian, and I look back, giving Theo a what the fuck look, but he shrugs. Killian stands quiet as he grips the steering wheel. His knuckles are going white.
Hazel POVI watch as Killian returns with Ashley. They are holding hands. I smile at her, and she gives me a small wink. I am happy they made up. Killian really fucked up. Ashley told me what he did; if that were Elliot, I would’ve killed him.Elliot moves underneath me and makes me stand up as he does the same. He undoes the button of his suit jacket with one hand, and then he kneels in front of me. I look at him wide-eyed, and I smile. He is holding a ring box in his hand. He opens it, and then he does it.“Hazel, I know this will not be a real marriage for us, but I thought I should propose to you anyway. Will you marry me?”, He asks, and I feel like I have been hit by a truck. My head goes foggy, and my legs shaky. What did he say? Not a real marriage? I thought these last couple of months together made him like me for real. But apparently, it
Elliot POVHazel’s behaviour has changed drastically, and I do not like this. She’s behaving like a petulant child, and I am not going to let her get away with it. She knows we have a job to do. Fuck I know she doesn’t know about my side of the deal, but fuck. I told her I wanted to marry her when we were fucking the other day. I told her in private, without anyone knowing, without anyone watching or hearing us, just the two of us, while we were together, our bodies pressed against each other. I said what I needed to say, and she walks away. She didn’t even reply to my question.She’s dancing with Ashley, and I notice some blokes looking at them. I touch Killian on the arm, and he gives me a nod. “I saw, mate”, he says in anger. Hazel keeps spinning and moving her hips. Until the bloke does the unthinkable, he puts his fucking filthy hands on her. I am going to fucking break them
Hazel POV“Mom”, I let out as I walk into her room. Her eyes meet mine, and she smiles weakly. I walk to her, letting go of Elliot’s hand. I rush to her. She is sitting on the edge of the bed with her wig on and some light makeup.“Hello, my angel”, she says as I bend over and hug her tightly. She coughs a little, and I let go of her. “Sorry”, I let out shyly, and she waves me off, looking over my shoulder. I spin around to see a petrified Elliot standing near the door with his hands in his pockets as he takes deep breaths. I walk to him, rest my hand on his chest, and his eyes meet mine.“Just breathe”, I whisper, and he nods his head slightly. He raises his eyes to mine, and he nods a little. I take his hand on mine, he is hot and sweaty, and he mouths, and I am sorry when I touch him. I smile and guide him to my mom.“Mom, I would like to introd
Hazel POVI walk down the corridor with tears threatening to spill. “Are you okay?”, I hear someone ask, and I just nod my head without even looking at the person that asked the question. I keep walking until I reach the stairs in the end of the corridor. I open the fire safety doors, and when it bangs behind me, I feel my entire body shaking. My chest is tight, and I sit on the stairs crying. My hands cover my face as I cry like a child that lost their favourite toy.My phone starts ringing in my pocket, but I ignore it. I close my eyes take a deep breath, and focus on my breathing. I can’t believe my entire life revolved around Elliot’s father. They are the reason I had to hide. I had to lose all my friends and spend my life hiding and changing my name. I shake my head. I cover my face with my hands as my phone keeps ringing in my pocket.I
Elliot POV“I hate this place”, I say before we walk into the hospital. Hazel stops in front of me with her hands cradling my face, and she smiles.“You can wait here for me if you like”, She says, and I shake my head. No. I need to fucking grow a pair and follow my woman inside. I can’t just wait for her outside while she goes inside to get her mother. What would her mother think if I didn’t follow her daughter?I take a deep breath, and Hazel kisses me softly before she guides me inside. My hands start to sweat immediately, and she smiles at me, looking over her shoulder as she walks in front of me, holding my hand and guiding me through the sterile corridors.God, I fucking hate this smell. I hate these walls. Hazel walks inside when we reach the room, calling for her mother. Hazel lets go of my hands as she walks to his mother, and I feel like a fucking rich out of the water. I look around, and then my eyes meet the
Hazel POV I open my eyes as soon as I hear the banging on the door. I blink a couple of times, trying to get the headache to stop. I put my foot on the floor and heard a clinking sound. Shit. I get up and rest a hand on the wall to support my weight while I walk down the corridor. I lean against the door to look through the magic eye, and I shake my head before I unlock the door and open it to find Elliot. His hair is messy, and his eyes are red. He looks worried and pissed. He walks inside and pulls me into an embrace. A tight one. I leave my arms hanging as he hugs me, kisses my cheeks, and then my lips. I pull away from him as he looks at me, frowning. “Why are you here? Why is your phone off?”, he asks, and I shrug, walking further into the house and towards my bedroom. I can feel him following me, and it’s like the warmth from his body is trying to find mine. I can smell his expensive aftershave. I flop ba
Elliot POV“Thank you, dad”, Jasper says, shaking my head. I nod as I watch him walk over to the girl's wife. I can’t believe my oldest son is married. He’s only nineteen, and he is already married. I tried to keep him out of trouble, but trouble found him. His high school sweetheart. He is a man, and he is extremely responsible; it’s not like he is an inconsequent teenager. I don’t even think he was ever a teenager. He was always serious and very responsible towards his siblings and us.“You’re welcome, son. Have you said goodbye to your mother?”, I ask, and he shakes his head. I know that this will be the hardest thing Hazel has ever gone through, watching her firstborn son leave the country to follow his wife’s dream.“Not yet. Eliana is talking to mom”, he says, and I nod. She is not a bad girl. She was always trouble, though, she was a re
Elliot POV “Where are you?” I ask as soon as Hazel answers the phone. “We’re home; why?” she says, and I can tell she is chewing on something, and I take a deep breath. I am so grateful that none of my kids is involved in this life. They all just want to study and have nothing to do with it, and I am here for it. “I need you all to stay inside, and please, please don’t fight me on this one”, I say, and I can hear Hazel taking a deep breath on the other side. “I have another call”, she says before she puts me on hold and answers the other call. I swear to god, if it's Killian asking for her to go there, I am going to fucking lose it. “Babe, I got to go, Killian called. They were attacked”, she says, and I take a deep breath. “I asked you to sta
Theo POV“I guess that is it”, Killian says, and I nod as I stand up, ready to leave his office. “Theo”, he says, and I look back, and he stands up.“This is going to be dangerous, and it is going to take a long time; take Elliot and Joseph with you”, he says, and I nod. There’s another war brewing, and I don’t like this at all. We had peace for so long that now we are all on high alert.We’re going to a mafia meeting. Killian can’t attend as he has had a target on his back lately. Joseph is growing up to be a great man, he is in training, and Killian is giving him his everything. I walk straight to Elliot’s office, and when I open the door, I can see him teaching Gabriel how to hack into the national bank. Great.Gabriel, my son, hates everything that has to do with physical activity, he hates
Killian POV“Kids, stop running”, I shout as my three kids with Ashley start running through the corridor towards Ashley’s office. Joseph, the oldest one, is now ten, and he is becoming as bubbly as his mother, and I absolutely love it. He says he wants to be just like her when he grows up, and I swear I am so proud of him.“Kate, slow down”, I say, and she ignores me as she runs after Joseph, that is holding her doll hostage. “Give it back”, she shouts at him, and he laughs and holds it high above her head. Kate is short like Ashley, while Joseph, well, he is tall. He is taller than a normal ten-year-old. He is the tallest in his class.“Daddy”, Kate complains as Jo, my youngest one, watches as her older siblings fight over a doll. Jo is a lot like me, quiet, she pays attention to everything, and her eyes scan e
Hazel POV“Come on, and we have to go”, I shout at Elliot, that is coming out of the kitchen like nothing is going on. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised, and I can’t help but laugh. “Come on”, I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the living room towards the door.“I need my shoes, Hazel”, He says, and I roll my eyes. Men… Why are they never prepared? Killian called me in full-on panic mode. The man kills people for a living, and he deals with criminals and terrorists all the time, but his wife goes into labour, and he becomes a fairy that doesn’t know what to do.“Where is the kid?” he asks, and I roll my eyes. Their older baby Joseph is a sweetheart.“He’s with the nanny. They had her on call”, I reply, and he nods, walking into our bedroom to get his shoes. H
Hazel POV “That’s not possible”, I let out, and Elliot rests one hand on my knee. “My mother told me she had an affair with Elliot’s dad, and then she met my dad, and she went to live with him, got pregnant, and Ell’s dad lost it, he tried to kill her”, I let out and Killian nods. “Yes, that’s the official story, but no one told me. I saw them together. I saw your mother telling my father she was pregnant with his child. Elliot’s dad lost his shit when he found out his best friend slept with the woman he loved, but he couldn’t do anything against his father, but he could against his mother. Your mother was already pregnant when she moved in with your stepfather”, Killian says, and I shake my head. I stand up and start pacing around while Elliot watches me. Killian stands and walks to me. “I was pissed at you, I wanted you gone; you were a constant reminder that my father fucked over my mother”, he says, and I understand that. But… what? “You’re…” I st
Hazel POV“How have you been?” Ashley asks as we sit on the couch. I smile, looking at her, I missed her, and I missed Everly.“I am okay, I think. I was shocked when I saw a woman in the kitchen this morning”, I let out, and Ash frowned, looking at me.“A woman? What woman?” she asks, and I realise I didn’t explain myself properly. “Is he fucking serious?” she says, standing up. I grab her arm, and she sits back down while I try to explain to her.“No, not like that, calm down”, I say, and she looks at me confused and takes a deep breath sitting back on the couch.“It’s the new housemaid”, I say, and she nods. I can see the stress leaving her face, and she smiles.“Oh, Michaela? I forgot that she was working
Elliot POV“I am sorry”, Hazel whispers, and I shake my head. She shouldn’t apologise, ever. She has no reason to. I am the one that fucked up, and I am the one that put her in danger, I am the one to blame. I cradle her face between my hands and look into her eyes. Her hazel eyes are shiny from the tears, and they are puffy and red. I feel regret in the pit of my stomach.“Don’t you ever apologise? It was all me, all my fault. I should’ve kept you by my side like you wanted to. I will be the one apologising to you for the rest of our lives”, I let out. The feelings are eating me alive. I have never felt like this before. This is a new feeling, this is new, and I don’t like it.“How about we both stop apologising?” She asks, and I realise if we want to move on, we need to leave the past in the past and keep loving each other. We need to keep making each other happy and fight for our love, fight for us.
Hazel POVI feel Elliot’s hands moving up and down my bare back. I open my eyes to see him staring at me. I blink a couple of times, trying to adjust my eyes to the light that invades our bedroom from the window. I groan as Elliot pulls away, standing up. I frown, watching him, missing his touch already. I support my body on my elbows and watch him walk past me and into the bathroom. I flop back down, smirking at the image of his bare ass. He has a fantastic ass. I can’t get tired of it, and it's covered in marks from my nails. Scratches. I close my eyes, hugging my pillow.“We need to get up”, Elliot says as he walks back into the room, I can hear the water in the bathroom and I close my eyes shaking my head.“No, I’m tired”, I say, but Elliot straddles me, sitting on my ass and leans down, kissing my neck. I feel a shiver