Jaxon.My heart skips a beat. His green eyes stare into mine in shock. He still looks almost the same as two years ago. His face is not clean shaven anymore and now keeps a mustache. He looks good on him though. The urge to reach out and run my hands through his soft hair courses through my fingers. He steps forward and the memory of that day pops up in my mind. I step back, hitting the chair behind me by mistake, feeling hurt all over again. “Seems like you moved on pretty quick”. The accusatory tone and look in his eyes throws me off guard. Resentment and rage bubbles up in my heart as I look at him. I’m sure he had heard me talk about Hazel. He must not find out she’s his daughter. He might take her away from me. The nerve of the cheating bastard to talk to me like that. I don’t reply him and instead, sidestep him to leave the room. As I pass him, he tucks his hands into his pocket. On the outside, he looks calm and relaxed. But after knowing him for quite sometime
" Isabel, could you —?" Jaxon's voice floats down the hall from the kitchen, laced with a vulnerability I am not used to hearing from him. It used to be the other way around, where I would stay on his every word, his every command. Now, however? I am not sure what this version of him means.I can feel it in my chest, this heavy, scrupling kind of ache that refuses to dissipate, no matter how numerous times my brain reminds me that I really ought to be over this by now.I take a deep breath, push open the door to the living room, and make my way toward him. The soft snoring of Hazel in the coming room is the only sound that fills the silence. She's eventually asleep, one of those rare peaceful moments when she is not fighting the pain." Yeah?" I say without meeting his eyes, leaning against the doorway.Jaxon's eyes loiter on me a moment, his lips parted as if importing what to say." Can you. help with the medicine? I can not flash back how important to give her.His voice is conserva
" Isabel," Jaxon's voice crepitated, noiselessly hopeless, like he had not said my name in ages. He was standing by the kitchen counter when I walked by, his broad back stiff, eyes concentrated on something only he could see." Yeah?" I told myself not to look at him, but like every other time, I could do nothing differently. His being dragged at me, too strong, indeed when swearing on my honour not to move an inch towards him.Turning toward me, I could not help notice how his jaw strained; his fingers dragged at the edge of the counter hard enough that, from where he stood, it might be the reason he was still upright." We need to talk."I stepped outside, the door vocally clicking shut behind me. Hazel's room was down at the far end of the hall, and I'd just begun asking her how it had gone, but something in the air of this room was ladened. Too thick. Something hung suspended between them, staying." About what?" I did not want to make this easy for him. He had not exactly earned m
"Why now?" I asked, the tone of my voice sharp enough to cut, as I turned to the letter in Jaxon's hands."Why would your family suddenly come forward after all this time?Jaxon tossed in his seat, the knuckles pale on either edge of the paper. The dimness of the living room lights did nothing to disguise the tenseness etched across his features. He had been silent for too long, and that easiness was not anywhere in sight."I do not know," he said gruffly, looking up at me for a brief second before lowering his eyes back to the letter again. "But I suppose it has something to do with my father. He has been trying to bury everything for years, Isabel. And this," he shook the letter slightly, "this is the first sign that something's been dug up."I felt my pulse quicken."Your father?" The name felt heavy on my tongue."You’ve indeed now mentioned him ahead, Jaxon."He sighed, the weight of years of silence acting to eventually catch up and hunker his shoulders. "Yeah, I know, it's complica
"Why did you lie to me, Jaxon?" The words felt like they were being ripped from my throat. I could not stop them, indeed, if I wanted to.Jaxon stood there, his hands gripped into fists by his sides, his gaze steady but tense—the weight of my question lugging at him. He opened his mouth and also closed it, like he searched for words but got lost in the sea of all he would hide."I in no way meant to hurt you, Isabel." His voice cracked, the crack a fist to the gut. It was not the cool, confident, self-assured man I knew. This was a raw, broken man who'd been carrying his secrets for far too long. And for the first time in a veritable long time, I could see how deeply those secrets had scarred him."You do not understand, do you? You've been living in a bubble of lies, and I have been right then, trusting you, allowing everything to be fine." I rubbed my forehead, trying to keep my countenance, but the anger—oh, the anger—kept washing up."I. I wanted to tell you, Isabel. I swear I did. B
Did she fall asleep?" Jaxon's voice was low, careful, as if he didn't want to break the uncomfortable silence between them.I nodded; my fingers still curled over the door handle of Hazel's room. "Yeah. Took a while, but she's finally out."Jaxon blew out a heavy breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "She had a rough day.""She did." I said, tone neutral, already half-turned towards the hall. I didn't want to do this-this awkward, almost civil back-and-forth where we acted like weren't two people carrying the weight of a broken past. But Hazel needed stability. She needed both of us. That was the only reason I was here, wasn't it?Isabel," Jaxon said, the hesitation thick enough in his tone that I knew whatever came next was important. "Can we talk?"I closed my eyes for a second, inhaling slow. I knew this moment was coming. "About what?""About us."I turned to face him fully then. "Jaxon-"No walls, no shutting me out," he cut in, stepping closer. His expression was unreadable, b
"Are you gonna open it?"Jaxon's voice cut through the silence, his eyes on the letter in my hand.I hadn't moved since picking it up, my fingers wrapped around the edges so tightly the paper had started to crumple. My stomach twisted, the sound of my heartbeat loud in my ears.Lauren Grant. A name I hadn't seen-or wanted to see-in years."I don't know." The words were barely out of my mouth, my throat parched.Jaxon let out a sharp puff of air. "Isabel—""I just need a second." I turned away from him, my mind a complete mess. Lauren wasn't one to contact people for no reason. If she was reaching out to me now, after all this time, it wasn't good.The tension in Jaxon was palpable, but he bit his tongue. I felt his gaze on me as I slowly opened the envelope with deliberate care.### Inside, there was just one slip of paper. No lengthy explanation. No greeting. Just one sentence, in precise, deliberate handwriting.The truth about Hazel's future is in my hands. If you want to keep her
You went alone?"Jaxon's voice was sharp, edged with something deeper—anger, fear, frustration. He stood in the middle of our living room, hands on his hips, his jaw clenched so tightly I thought he might break a tooth."I had to," I said, setting my bag down. My hands were still shaking, my heart still racing from everything that had happened with Lauren. "She said to come alone.""I don't give a damn what she said." Jaxon took a step closer, his eyes fastened on mine. "You have no idea what she's capable of, Isabel. And then this masked guy shows up and steals the damn letter? You don't think that's a little too convenient?I blew out a breath, running a hand through my hair. "Of course, I do. But I didn't have a choice. If she knows something about Hazel, I can't ignore it."Jaxon let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Lauren doesn't just 'know things.' She manipulates. She plays people like a game of chess. And you walked straight into it."I bristled. "I know how to handle my
Two more snows had fallen. The members of the international class noticed that ever since Maureen returned from the final round, the atmosphere between her and their "boss" seemed to have subtly changed. Before the final round, they seemed inseparable, obviously lovebirds. After the finals, who knows what happened? Or if it's just their imagination, but Maureen appeared to care more about their "boss," almost like an eagle protecting a chick. For instance, their class advisor, Teacher Logan. Because of Liam, Teacher Logan hadn't received a performance bonus in three years, and his resentment was more than justified. Finally, after Maureen transferred into their class this semester, the number of incidents involving Liam dramatically decreased. Teacher Logan thought he could relax a bit, but the last school celebration performance was unexpectedly changed by Liam! The school leaders were furious. Now, this month's bonus was gone again! Teacher Logan was so enraged with Liam th
The two hadn't had their fill over there, so they decided to cook some noodles when they got back. "I'm actually a little angry." Maureen stirred the noodles in the pot with a long pair of spoons, her tone still choked with emotion. She avoided looking at Liam, her eyes lowered on the boiling water and the tumbling noodles in the pot, her eyes rimmed red, "I asked you before, about the wound on your neck, you told me that the instant noodle glass bowl exploded! Do you have no heart, no feelings?" Maureen couldn't help but drop her Spoon. She should have realized it long ago, she had been living there for so long, and she had never seen Liam eat instant noodles - his refrigerator was completely empty, not a single instant noodle or glass bowl, what noodles was he supposedly making?! Liam was always lying to her! Seeing Maureen crying all the way back in the cold wind, her eyes swollen to the size of walnuts, Liam felt deeply distressed. He lightly patted Maureen's back, trying t
Maureen was the first to take a bath. After Liam entered the bathroom, Maureen wandered around the apartment in her fluffy pajamas, bored out of her mind. Being in love is such a fascinating thing. Before, besides studying, she found dramas and games enjoyable. Yet, after falling in love, when he was not by her side even for a moment, she got bored no matter what she did. Nothing was as fun as spending time with Liam. She wanted to do everything with him, whether it was watching dramas or eating. Just one glance from him, and her feelings could experience the dramatic waves, drowning in the deep ocean, the best bite of a summer watermelon, or the tartest segment of an orange. The spacious apartment changed gradually after Maureen moved in. Maureen was like an invader, painting the previously icy and quiet apartment with colors everywhere. She was afraid of the cold, so Liam always had the heater on, causing the previous bone-chilling feeling to disappear. She was afraid of t
There's a small step at the entrance where shoes are changed. Liam leans on the shoe cabinet to stand up, and Mr. Boris carries his wheelchair in. Liam hops up on one foot. He glances at Maureen, trying to hop in a nonchalant and handsome manner. But how cool and handsome could he possibly look hopping around on a single foot? Liam feels a bit embarrassed, murmuring discontented, "Who decided to put this step here?" Maureen watches from the side, her heart pounding. She subconsciously raises her hand to help him, fearing a second injury due to a slippery tiled floor. However, Liam, who seems to intentionally show off his skills, or something like that, refuses her help and smoothly completes a series of movements. Maureen: "Once he's up, Mr. Boris quickly pushes the wheelchair behind him. He holds onto the handles, sits back down in the wheelchair, raises one plastered leg, and with great effort, positions his plastered foot correctly. He then raises his handsome eyebrows a
The next day, Teacher Logan specifically noticed that it was again Maureen who was pushing Liam's wheelchair into the classroom. The group of boys in the class were extremely envious, while Liam coolly tucked his hands into his pockets, raised his chin, and wore noise-canceling headphones around his neck. He looked both arrogant and pleased. Liam wished he could show off Maureen to the entire world. Teacher Logan, on the other hand, was extremely frustrated. Right after the class, Teacher Logan asked Maureen to his office with a stern face. "Has someone been bullying you in the class recently?" Maureen was taken aback,?" No." Teacher Logan sighed deeply and said, "Maureen, you can tell me if someone is bullying you. I will back you up." Maureen thought for a moment and really couldn't think of anyone who could bully her. In fact, when she transferred to the international class, she had made the most important decision to stick with Liam. This could be the so-called stra
The three of them came out of KFC, it was so blistering cold that Liam put Maureen's hand into his own pocket. Niel, with his sharp eyes, suddenly called out to Maureen and pointed in a direction with his milk tea in hand, he said: "Am I seeing things, or is that Bianca? Is she dating someone now?" Bianca's contract with the talent agency, Maureen heard about it too. For the past month, Maureen had barely seen Bianca in school. She seemed to have disappeared completely from her sight, someone she used to bump into every few days on the streets. The main reason was that even though the controversy of the true and false heiress was over, Bianca still faced some stares. If it wasn't for the sake of graduation, Bianca wouldn't want to attend school at all. She spent most of her time in society, working. So, seeing Bianca again out of the blue at the school gate was quite a surprise for Maureen. She followed the direction Niel pointed and glanced over. Outside Secondary School wa
"Sir," The butler came in with a phone in hand. "The hospital replied they are willing to sell, but," Under Augustin’s gaze, he swallowed hard before continuing. "The price is three times higher than what we previously sold it for." "Three times?!" Victoria widened her eyes in surprise, her voice sharp. "This is downright robbery!!" Augustin’s eyes darkened, his face looking extremely unsightly. "Did they specify why the increase in price?" "They said someone is willing to purchase at a high price, which led to the price hike." The butler nodded affirmatively. "So, do you still want to buy it?" Augustin pressed his lips together. Before he could even speak, Victoria on the side grabbed the opportunity to interject. "We cannot buy it,” There was a hint of anger on her slightly chubby face. "Augustine, we can't be the scapegoats." "What do you know?" Augustin looked at her with deep, mysterious eyes, his voice icy. "In a few days, it will be grandpa Luther's birthday ban
The house was dead quiet. The type of quiet that feels too still, as if everything were holding its breath. The letter had left its mark, but I tried to shove it away. We'd already been through enough, and I refused to let something like this get the better of us. Jaxon was right; it was only a prank. Nothing more.Already Hazel had gone to bed, which left Jaxon and me still sitting in the living room trying to process it all. I was holding our son, this tiny little ball of a boy cuddled into my side, his soft, light breath a reminder of the fragility but beauty life had become. And in this uneventful drive home, at least, I felt normal settle over us.Jaxon sat across from me, his eyes scanning the letter again, as if willing it to change. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t make sense. Who would want to hurt us now?”I shrugged, glancing down at our baby’s sleeping face. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s someone who never really let go.”He let out a deep sigh. "
Laughter and murmurs of quiet conversation filled the house. It was so still, so right with the world. I had never felt this relaxed in my life. I was seated on the couch, Hazel perched on the arm beside me, as we watched Jaxon bounce our son in his arms. He looked so natural with the baby, like he had done this all his life. And in many ways, he had-just never with a child of his own. But that didn't matter. We were here, together; our little family was complete."Did you see the way he smiled?" Hazel laughed. "He's definitely a charmer. Takes after his dad."Jaxon was smirking, rocking the baby gently. "I think he is more like his mom. Look at those big eyes."I grinned, knowing full well what he meant. The baby had my eyes, sure, but he also got my stubbornness. I could tell that already.But before I could answer, there came a soft knock on the door. I turned, wondering who it could be. It was still early, and I wasn't expecting anyone. Jaxon stood up, a bit too quick, and I caugh