The beautiful view of the summer afternoon sky was blessing my sight as I was gazing out the window of the three-storied building. Cars that were clearly very expensive were speeding along the road, heading to heaven knows where, and the chilly afternoon breeze kept sweeping my skin, finally restoring calmness to me."Wow, this one's actually very beautiful." Indy Ricardo, my best friend, said, breaking the calmness from absolute silence.I turned around to Indy who was staring at the sweetheart neckline mermaid-shaped wedding gown worn on a mannequin in front of her."Nah… it's very awkward, it won't suit you and it doesn't scream its expensiveness." Jade, one of Indy's extremely rich, rude, spoiled brats she called friends, commented, waving a hand dramatically with her face crumpled in disgust."Yeah, I don't like it either." Claire, the other, added, clearly loathing the gown t
"Are you out of your mind? How? Why? Are you crazy? What's going on? Who's that dude?" I frowned, confused— wait, was I supposed to be happy? I didn't know how to react to this."Isn't it obvious? I'm in love with someone else, I love Ian." Indy admitted."Your marriage has been planned, how could you have fallen in love with someone else when you know you'll get married to Tristan?" I stood in akimbo."We were children! We thought it’d be a great idea to get married to each other. I was only 7 and he was 10. How could our parents have taken our words so seriously?"My forehead rumpled in perplexion. "This makes no sense to me. You love Tristan and he loves you, obviously.""That was all in the past. Tristan and I were in love with each other but things have changed now. Don't you see how terrible he has become? I agree that I'm his best friend and we care
~ HAZEL ~Indy, coming out of the bathroom in her towel, walked up to me on the couch, taking a seat beside me.“Please consider getting married to Tristan, Hazel. You’re the only one that can be of help to me now— to me, to Tristan, Ian, yourself, and everyone else.” Indy pleaded.“It makes absolutely no sense…” I trailed off, confused and surprised— I was surprised that I wasn’t jumping into this. Tristan was everything I could think of at all times and this was going to be like the romantic books and movies I had seen where you finally get married to your prince charming."Please." She pressed on."How can I
~ HAZEL ~Indy was still standing in front of the full body mirror, gazing at herself in my beautiful wedding dress while her other crazy-rich friends left the room, leaving Kade, Lila, Indy and me in the room.“I can’t believe my daughter is finally getting married.” Lila smiled as they stopped beside us.“It feels like a dream to me.” Kade added, grinning from ear to ear.“Me too. I remember when she was still so small, running around the house with those tiny legs of hers.” She dabbed her eyes with her fingers. “Gosh, I’ll miss my baby.”“You definitely remember I’m 25, right?”
My hands immediately began to tremble as they were still gripping my gown, murmurings filled the hall and the infuriated look on Luke’s face made it known to me that I was doomed.“You may kiss your bride.” The pastor repeated in a different tone.Tristan still had his eyes drawn in askance at me. After glancing around shortly, he wore a smile, obviously to not make things look awkward since people from different media houses were here.“Bride,” he said through his smiling teeth, held my hands and pulled me closer to him, connecting his lips to mine.His kiss made every form of worry leave me instantly, it immediately felt like we were alone, in a heavenly place, as sparks continued to travel from my lips to my lungs, spreading to every part of my body in a twinkle of an eye.My entire world of sudden comfort came crumbling do
Stretching my arms out and yawning, I rose from the beautiful and most comfortable bed I had ever slept on (a lovely king-sized bed) and I have never had such an awesome time sleeping like this.Oh yeah, of course, my so-called husband was nowhere to be seen in this room that was surprisingly 'ours'.I arranged the bed, did my morning routine in our excessively classy gold-themed bathroom, made sure to spend enough time during my bath and washed my hair with the wonderful strawberry-scented shampoo. I returned to the bedroom, straightened my hair then wore a red dress I found in the wardrobe that clearly belonged to Indy.I left for the kitchen, not crossing paths with Tristan at all.“Good morning, madam.” Two of the male workers in the kitchen greeted me.One thing I had noticed in this house was that there was only one female worker and the
“Are you my driver or someone else is?” I asked Mike, making breakfast for everyone and of course definitely not Tristan.“Yes. I’d be so honored to drive you.” He said with a bow that caused a smile to appear on my face.“I have to go to work today, my boss is so mad at me for taking such a long break.”“The boss' wife has a boss.” David chuckled, passing a glass of juice to Mike.I didn’t respond to him but finalized the meal while Mike took his leave to arrange for the car.I had breakfast with David and a few other make workers at the dining table, chatting with them whi
Tristan finally pulled over in front of the bakery I worked at. I would’ve asked him how he knew where I was working but of course he must’ve driven Indy here.“Don’t move.” He said with that annoying authoritative voice of his. Curious to know what he was up to, I didn’t move.He got out of the car, turned around and surprisingly opened the door for me, stretching his hand to me.I raised an eyebrow at him but he only wore a smile.“Just give me your hand.” He said angrily through his smiling teeth.What sort of weird man was this?I accepted his hand then he helped me out of the car.“Thank you?” I said, still wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden. He stood up for me, drove me to work though he said I shouldn’t work here anymore, he al
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