“I hope you aren’t forgetting anything.” Tristan asked.
“No. I don’t think so…” I scanned the entire hotel room but it didn’t seem like anything here belonged to me anymore.
“Are you sure?”
“I think so. And you aren’t forgetting anything too?”
“I’m Tristan, I don’t forget things at a hotel room— well, except one day I forgot a woman I was supposed to hook up with at a hotel room.”
“Are you serious?” I laughed out loud.
“Yes, and it’s all your fault. Let’s go.” He intertwined our fingers, leading me out of the hotel room.
“How is it my fault?” I wondered.
“It was during my 3-month trip to New Zealand.”
&n
“Will you make breakfast this morning?” Mike asked, strolling into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. “Yes, I’m obviously doing that already.” I grinned. “For everyone?” “Yes.” “Including the boss?” “Yes.” I arranged the ingredients for the meal I was going to prepare on the counter while Mike leaned against it, not saying anything. I had decided to make a quick meal so it didn’t waste my time because I had to head to work. Gosh, I missed going to the bakery so much. I placed the pot on fire then left to do other things while waiting for the meal. After a few minutes, I called for a man I assumed was a worker here. “Good morning and welcome back, ma’am.” He greeted. “Good m
“Who is this?” I replied, extremely confused.“Is this Hazel?”“Who is this?” I repeated.“Bye.” The call ended.‘Confused’ couldn’t express what I was feeling. Who the hell called someone just to say 'hi' and ‘bye'?I tried calling again but the phone was switched off.I tried to recall if the voice sounded familiar for a few minutes, but it wasn’t. “It’s probably just a stupid prank call.” I shrugged, refilling the glass of orange juice I had placed on the table at the center of the three large grey sofas, opposite his main leather chairs behind the mahogany table.Taking a gulp of the juice, the door was pushed open at the exact time my phone rang again.I answered the call grouchily, feelin
(RECAP: Tristan has agreed to give their relationship a chance and things are gradually going well in their relationship. Tristan said they’ll be going to his parents' house. Hazel received a strange text from a random stranger but hides it.) *** ~ HAZEL ~ Tristan had been frowning so much throughout the drive. He had decided to drive today. I couldn’t do anything but stare at his handsome face all along since he wouldn't talk to me. “You can’t possibly stay mad at me forever.” I chuckled, earning an eerie glare from him. His anger was justified; I had been preventing him from kissing me for the past two weeks, and it was clearly pissing him off. He claimed we were starting this relationship as friends, so… I wasn't at fault here, was I? I realized it was best to not both
~ HAZEL ~My phone just wouldn't stop ringing from my pants pocket. I tried my absolute best to ignore it and sleep some more, but my brain immediately drove out of sleep after thinking of the possibility of who it could be that was calling.I tried to reach for my phone, but my movement was restricted by Tristan's arm around me.The ringing stopped, and I carefully removed his arm from around me, stealthily crawled out of the bed, tiptoed to the bathroom, and shut the door.It was a private number who had called; I received a new phone call from a private number again which I quickly answered and placed the phone on my ear with shaky hands.“H-hello?” I said quietly.“Hi, Hazel.” Indy’s voice swam into my ears.I heaved a sigh of relief with a br
“See? Hazel clearly has a problem with me.” Nikita scoffed, shutting the car trunk.“Who wouldn’t?” Tristan said jokingly and opened the door to the backseat for her.She rolled her eyes and got in then he shut the door, turning to me. “What?”He asked, probably noticing my disapproval.I was trying my best to hide my infuriation, but it just wasn’t working.“So you thought it was best to just make this decision without asking me first?” I said brusquely. His face contorted into a frown so I quickly added sarcastically, “I’m sorry. It’s your house, so you can make any decision regarding it.”I got into the passenger seat and waited for him to get into the driver's seat. He started the car and zoomed out of the compound.The drive would’ve bee
~ HAZEL ~ “Is Tristan still asleep?” I asked Mike, who seemed extremely excited this morning. “The boss still hasn’t gotten out of his bedroom today, so I can’t be certain.” He replied. “That’s strange. He has never slept this late before, as far as I remember. I hope my effort doesn’t go to waste.” “Your effort is really evident. You look way too hot today; I almost got blind when I saw you this morning. Can I have your number, baby?” He said, clearly as a joke. “My husband will murder you.” I laughed and he only rolled his eyes. “As if.” “Oh, we'll see.” I smirked then decided to check up on Tristan. I had made breakfast for him and had tried to dress sexy, wearing a very short, red, hip-hugging skirt with a little slit, a crop top that had a knot tied below my breasts to show off an indecent amount of my c
“Wow!” I exclaimed, placing my hand on her heavily pregnant tummy. “You’re pregnant!”“Yes, Hazel.” She grinned, her sky blue eyes were filled with intense joy.I pulled her into a hug, not tight enough to squish her tummy, but a tight one.“Hazel, is this really what has been making you so secretive recently? Because she’s coming back?” Tristan was clearly very pissed off for some reasons I didn’t understand. “So why did you suddenly return, Indy?”“What do you mean?” I turned to him.“Why the heck are you back?” He was almost yelling at her.“I… uhm… I don’t—”“Tristan, why are you being so mean?” I frowned at him.“He’s clearly still the same.” She
“Uhm… I’ll be leaving now.” I said to my boss, Mrs. Anderson.“Oh, really?” She replied. “Is there any problem?”“No. I just feel a bit sick.”“Okay, darling. Who am I to say no to you? I can handle the affairs of this place on my own, and you can return when you feel better.” She patted my shoulder.I had to stop myself from cringing at her sweetness. She’d have definitely barked at me if I wasn’t married to Tristan. Funny how some people change their attitude towards you because of your new status.I grabbed my purse and left, calling Mike again as a reminder.Shortly after, the car pulled over in front of the bakery and Mike came out of it, turning around to open the door to the passenger seat for me.I suddenly felt a load of weakness hit me and
Her words felt like a hammer struck my heart. “Are you crazy?” I couldn’t believe I was saying that to her.“This is not about being crazy. It’s what’s needed. I’ve thought about it long and hard, and the only conclusion is that it’ll be selfish of me to stay with you, knowing what’s to come.” Tears started streaming down her face.“We’ll face it together. That’s the point of marriage. Together, in good and bad times. Our marriage vows were not for the sake of showoff.”“That’s cliché.” She sniffled. “Tristan, please, we’re not characters in a movie or a book. This is not a matter of whether we can fight this together. It’s reality, and we need to face it. I’m heading for destruction, that’s for sure, but I’m not pulling you down with me.” She held my hands. “I love you so much, and this is the best choice.” The pang in my heart was starting to feel like a burning sensation, irritated that she could think of such.I yanked my hands from her grip, rising to my feet. “Stop with this ‘I’
~ TRISTAN ~ “Y-yes. Indy pushed me!” Her eyes widened.Kye held her hands, his face turning red. “What do you mean? How did that happen? She was in our home?’“Yes, Kye.”“How?” I wondered, a frown forming on my face.“I… I had seen her at the mall a week before she pushed me: she was on the phone and looked so mad, then I got curious and followed her.”“Why would you do that?” I scolded.“I’m sorry. I--I was curious…. She was acting very suspicious. I just wanted to know what was wrong with someone that used to be a friend!” she cried. “I found myself following her to a building where she met a man and he yelled at her for killing someone! She admitted it and just claimed the person was bothering her.”“Indy killed someone?” my voice was low, almost a whisper. I knew Indy was crazy, but had she gotten that bad?“Yes. I was equally shocked. When I decided to run, she saw me and tried to chase me. I ran away and she lost me. I assumed she didn’t see my face and wouldn’t know it was me
I watched his brows fuse together as a tight line formed on his forehead. “What is that supposed to mean?” His hands fell from mine. Oh no, he was judging me. Yet, a strong urge to let it all out overwhelmed me. I would rather he knew the truth and hated me, than continue to lie to his face all because I was being greedy for his love. “After my dad left me at this man’s hands, the man maltreatment and abused me. One day, I had tried to escape, and accidentally shot his dearest bodyguard. Due to that, he--he tied me to a chair and had set a ring of fire around me.” The memory struck me again. I shut my eyes tightly, shaking my head. No, I had to tell him everything. I had to let go of the trauma. “I was…” my words got caught up in my throat. “…burning. I watched the fire grow closer to me and I couldn’t do anything about it. It hurt so badly. It felt like hell. Every day, I feel the heat. It choked me; I suffocated. And watched my life flash before my eyes.“Right after that, he p
Heavily thrusting my fists against the door, I muttered cuss words, also convincing myself that I wasn’t here because I was scared; I was here to give them a piece of my mind and get this over with immediately.The moment a click vibrated from the other end of the door, my heart began throbbing harshly and my breath became unstable. The door flung open and Aunt Mandy’s unpleasant figure stood there, a cigarette dangling from her lips.She scanned me from head to toe, a smirk on her lips. “I knew you’d show up.” She chortled. Nodding her head inwards, she pulled the door open wider.I walked in, feigning a confident look despite my heart racing as wild as ever. On the living room couch, Giovanni sat there, gulping down a beer. The living room was filled with nasty trash and the smell made my eyebrows scrunch up.“Look who’s here,” Giovanni smirked, rising to his feet.He towered over me; he had very bulky muscles that made him too intimidating despite his old age. I had to lift my head
~ HAZEL ~ “Hazel,” Tristan called, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and placed a kiss on the crook of my neck. His action made my giggle, a blush quickly forming on my face. “I thought you already left for work.” I beamed. “No. I was at the home office. I haven’t since you today and it’s been making me feel so incomplete. I also thought you had gone to the restaurant. I can’t believe you’re still here.” He planted another kiss on my cheek. “I missed your presence.” “Me too.” I turned to him. “However, I have to go to the restaurant.” “Can’t that wait till tomorrow? It’s past noon already.” “No, it can’t.” I wiggled out of his grip, grabbed my bag from the chair and kept my recipe book in it. “Why not?” “I didn’t intend to go today, but I’m meeting up with a new business woman for the hotel. She said she spoke to you first?” “Oh. Mrs. Shine? So, it’s today? Dang it.” he moaned in complaint, standing behind me again. “I’ll miss you.” His tone was low, expre
~ TRISTAN ~“Sir, your sister wouldn’t stop calling you.” Rob whispered to me. She knows I have a meeting. Why would Nikita think it’s sensible to demand for something at such a time? She could be unreasonable sometimes. “Ignore it.” I continued with the meeting, the endless buzzing of my phone with Rob pissed me off. What the heck was her problem?It wasn’t my turn to speak, so I wanted to end the call and place the phone on airplane mode when I accidentally answered it. “Tristan!” Her voice immediately set an alarm in me. “What's wrong?” I asked. “It’s Hazel. I don't know what's wrong with her, but it seems like she’s… dead.” “Dead?!” I jumped to my feet. “She had an attack and now she has pierced herself with broken glasses.”“What on Earth?! Why are you calling me? Call the ambulance! I'll meet you both at the hospital.”“Mr. Hendrix, this interruption is very rude.” I ignored Mr. Rajeed and dashed out of the meeting room. I wanted to use the elevator but it didn’t respond.
~ HAZEL ~“Where are you going?” Nikita asked, placing her legs over the arm of the couch with the television remote on her tummy. “I'll go to the hospital to check up on Charlotte, then I’ll head to the restaurant. Why?”“Nothing. I was just wondering…” she shrugged, “will you be free later tonight? There’s this awesome movie I need to watch. I need to watch it with a female, and all of my friends don’t live in this city. We can spend girl time together; there are a lot more things I still have to tell you about those boys.”“Sure, no problem.” I smiled, turning around. “It’s weird that I'm asking you to spend time with me, right?” She asked. “Yes, definitely.” I turned to her with a smirk. “But you're turning out to be a good girl sooner than I thought.”She playfully rolled her eyes. “It’s definitely because I’m bored.”“Or because I’m too sweet to be hated forever?”“Please stop.”I chuckled and she joined me. “Just don’t be late. Plus, I need more advice. Antonio sent a text t
Her words made my blood boil in intense fury and I felt like my head was going to explode. “This is the madness you’ve been planning all along, right? We were never intimate. There’s no fucking way I am the father of the child you’re carrying. I’ve not been serious about it, but I swear you need mental help, immediately.”“Don’t be silly, sweetheart. You’re probably getting old and losing your memory, but I remember every single detail of our intense night. If it isn’t real, then how do I possibly remember how hard that beautiful baby, that huge fucking cock, is? How it went deep down my throat and inside of me.” Indy bit her lower lip again, staring down below my belt like my member was a piece of cake she wanted to eat. “How do I possibly remember how your hands trailed down every inch of my body, leaving hickeys on me?” She shut her eyes with a moan. “Gosh, I can't wait to relive that night over and over again. “You’re foolish.” I couldn't take her insanity anymore. I was beyond
“What the heck do you mean?” I wanted to check it out for myself but Tristan held my wrist, automatically stopping my movement. “What do you think you're doing? I don’t want you to be traumatized over nothing.” “Nothing? Charlotte is fucking dying, yet that is nothing?” Kye asked, hurt flashing in his eyes. “No. I mean, I’m certain she’s not going to die. There shouldn't be any need for her worry to increase over Charlotte when she's not going to die. Just calm down, Kye.” He pulled me away to Nikita. “Nikita, both of you should return home. It’s late. I’ll stay with Kye.”“There’s no way I’m leaving until Charlotte is fine.” I protested.“Hazel, don't be stubborn. You look tired. I’ll update you every second. Just go home. Please.” He held my shoulders. Though I didn't want to leave till Charlotte was awake, I had to admit that I was extremely tired. “Okay. You must call me when she wakes up.” I succumbed to his demand. “Yes.” He placed a kiss on my forehead and I left with Niki