"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
I have finally finished setting the dining table up. I have prepared enough food to feed this street. I'm just so happy and moreover, today is Christmas Eve so why not? On the table lays Pan-seared steak with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes, chicken parmesan with spaghetti and mariara sauce which are his favourites. I also made some of mine like Paella Valenciana and Chuletón de Buey. I can't wait for him to get here. He would absolutely love this. By 11pm, my excitement starts to turn into worry about Jaxon. He told me he would be here latest by 10pm. This is one hour later and I doubt anything could be holding him up at the office. I decide to wait some more before calling because there's no use in getting agitated. There are times when he comes home late because of traffic but normally, he would have sent me a text first. After pacing around the living room for God knows how long, the clock strikes 12pm further increasing my fears. Picking up my phone, I
"Miss Díaz, you have been transferred to the Washington DC branch. Orders from the higher ups". My heart drops to my stomach in instant dread. Oh no. "Sir, is there nothing that can be done about it?" "Unfortunately, no. You have been a great addition to our team in this branch and I also hate to see you leave but nothing can be done". What could have caused this? I have been on my best behavior for the past two years. I even recently bagged a promotion last month and this? To make this even worse, December is on it's way and this means I won't be around family for Christmas. I'm sure I can find a way to make it work but what about him? I might run into him if I relocate back there? What if Hazel meets him accidentally? No I won't let that happen. I will do my best to keep her away from him. "Okay sir. When do I have to resume?". His smile turns into a grim one at my question which causes a frown on mine. "Well, according to your transfer papers, you have to re
The flight got delayed by an hour. While waiting for the hour to pass by, Hazel slept off on my lap. The night before, the manager had sent me our plane tickets which were booked for Saturday morning. 8am. Which meant that we had to be up really early. So I had to wake her up earlier than usual to get ready. Thankfully, after an hour of getting some work done to wile away time, they finally inform the passengers to get ready to go onboard. I pick her up in my arms and check in at customs. Soon we are inside the plane off to the one place that I ran away from. Whatever destiny this is, definitely hates me. That's for sure. I guess the only good thing that came out of all of this is the fact that the company gave us a first class ticket. I have never flown first class before. It's a pity that this wasn't a flight to a vacation. On the great side, I'm not spending a dime. So why not enjoy it? Hazel is beside me sleeping her ass off. That's good for me because I now have
I don't even know how I'm taking myself to work this morning. I could barely get any sleep last night. Both from jet lag and the image of my baby in the hospital. The results came in. She has a weak heart. Apparently it has always been weak but this is the first sign it has given since her birth. Since Sunday, which was yesterday, she's been admitted into the hospital. Even though the doctor had given me a heads up before the test confirmation, I really hoped it was wrong. I really prayed it was wrong. When he called me into his office in the night to share the news with me, I still couldn't believe it. Nothing could have prepared me for it. According to the doctor, it could either have been caused by hereditary or a complication while she was in the womb. My mind subconsciously drifts off to a memory of Jaxon telling me how about how his father died because of his weak heart. I knew at that moment the cause of the whole situation. This one might not be intentional o
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
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
"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
"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
" 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
" 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
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
I don't even know how I'm taking myself to work this morning. I could barely get any sleep last night. Both from jet lag and the image of my baby in the hospital. The results came in. She has a weak heart. Apparently it has always been weak but this is the first sign it has given since her birth. Since Sunday, which was yesterday, she's been admitted into the hospital. Even though the doctor had given me a heads up before the test confirmation, I really hoped it was wrong. I really prayed it was wrong. When he called me into his office in the night to share the news with me, I still couldn't believe it. Nothing could have prepared me for it. According to the doctor, it could either have been caused by hereditary or a complication while she was in the womb. My mind subconsciously drifts off to a memory of Jaxon telling me how about how his father died because of his weak heart. I knew at that moment the cause of the whole situation. This one might not be intentional o
The flight got delayed by an hour. While waiting for the hour to pass by, Hazel slept off on my lap. The night before, the manager had sent me our plane tickets which were booked for Saturday morning. 8am. Which meant that we had to be up really early. So I had to wake her up earlier than usual to get ready. Thankfully, after an hour of getting some work done to wile away time, they finally inform the passengers to get ready to go onboard. I pick her up in my arms and check in at customs. Soon we are inside the plane off to the one place that I ran away from. Whatever destiny this is, definitely hates me. That's for sure. I guess the only good thing that came out of all of this is the fact that the company gave us a first class ticket. I have never flown first class before. It's a pity that this wasn't a flight to a vacation. On the great side, I'm not spending a dime. So why not enjoy it? Hazel is beside me sleeping her ass off. That's good for me because I now have
"Miss Díaz, you have been transferred to the Washington DC branch. Orders from the higher ups". My heart drops to my stomach in instant dread. Oh no. "Sir, is there nothing that can be done about it?" "Unfortunately, no. You have been a great addition to our team in this branch and I also hate to see you leave but nothing can be done". What could have caused this? I have been on my best behavior for the past two years. I even recently bagged a promotion last month and this? To make this even worse, December is on it's way and this means I won't be around family for Christmas. I'm sure I can find a way to make it work but what about him? I might run into him if I relocate back there? What if Hazel meets him accidentally? No I won't let that happen. I will do my best to keep her away from him. "Okay sir. When do I have to resume?". His smile turns into a grim one at my question which causes a frown on mine. "Well, according to your transfer papers, you have to re