เข้าสู่ระบบCHAPTER 123ELVISI leaned against my car with Moses beside me.The evening was cool, but I wasn't in a hurry to leave.Doris still didn't want to see me. I respected her decision.If she needed weeks, I'd give her weeks. If it took months, I'd have no choice but to wait. I only hoped it wouldn't take that long.“How is she faring?”Moses nodded. “She's good. Her sessions have been great.”“Any improvement?”“A lot, actually. She has improved tremendously. The doctors are impressed with her progress.”That was encouraging.“She's walking better?”“Yes. Much better. Don't worry too much. She'll be perfectly okay soon.”I nodded.“I hope so.”I could live with Doris being angry with me. What was difficult to live with was knowing what she'd gone through because of my son.I had failed her without knowing she existed, and Jarvis had unknowingly added to the pain.Life certainly knew how to play terrible jokes.“Has she said anything about me?”Moses shook his head.“Nothing?”“Nothing wo
HAZELFour whole days had passed, and I had managed to stayed afloat.I went to work, came home, took care of Maya and pretended everything was okay.William had been coming around to see her. I didn't stop him.We talked too, just not as much as before. I had asked him to give me time to process everything going on, and thankfully, he hadn't pushed too much.I hadn't seen Elvis either since after the incident that happened in my office I wanted it to remain that way for now.My head already had enough people living inside it rent-free.This evening, though, I could barely sit still.I was parked at the spot Betty and I had agreed to meet, waiting for her to return from the third hospital.Maya was asleep in the back, properly strapped into her car seat.I checked the time again.Damn! What was taking Betty so long?I picked up my phone expecting a call or message from her. I dropped it when I saw none.Less than a minute later, I picked it up again, still nothing.“Come on, Betty,
HAZELSurprisingly, Elvis didn't retaliate.He placed his fingers against his lip and looked at them before raising his eyes to William.I moved between them immediately.“Stop this minute. I lost my step and he helped me find my balance. That's all that happened.”William's chest was still rising heavily.“No. I know what this man is trying to do.”“What are you talking about?”“I know exactly what he's doing. Slowly curving his way back into our lives so he can destroy the perfect family we're already building.”I stared at him.“I won't allow that.”The way he said it made me uncomfortable.There was something almost obsessive about his tone. I had seen William upset before, but never like this.And right now, he was behaving as if what happened at the hospital hadn't happened at all. As if I hadn't walked away from him because my entire head was in chaos.“Elvis didn't do anything.”“He doesn't need to. I know men like him.”I looked over at Elvis. He was already sitting down, cal
HAZELI picked up my bag and left as fast as my legs could carry me.I heard William call my name, but I didn't stop.By the time I got to my car, my hands still hadn't stopped shaking. I reached for the door handle and missed it the first time.“Damn it.”I tried again and got the door open.My keys were inside my bag, but there was no way I was driving like this, and riding home with William in the same car was the last thing I wanted to do.I shut the door again and walked away. I needed space to think properly, far away from William. I walked out of the hospital compound and kept going until I saw a taxi approaching.I raised my hand. It slowed and stopped beside me.I opened the back door and got in.“Where, ma?”“Anywhere.”The driver turned to look at me.“Anywhere?”“Yes.”He studied my face.“Are you okay, ma?”I scoffed. Did I look okay to him?My chest felt like it was ripping apart from everything I'd just heard. William was Maya's father. Even thinking it sounded wrong.H
HAZEL“I don't understand what's going on here.”I went through the result again. Elvis Smart: not a match.William Johnson: 99.9%.No matter how many times I read it, nothing changed.I turned to William.“Why is your name on the result? What does 99.9 percent match mean?”He didn't answer immediately.“William?”“Hazel, I've always had this feeling that Maya could be my daughter. So I decided to give them my sample as well.”My eyes moved back to the paper.“I was right after all.”I slapped my palm against my cheek, hard enough to sting.William reached for me. “What are you doing?”“Checking.”“Checking what?”“That I'm awake.”I looked around the office. Dr Charles was still sitting across from us. The desk was there, same as the chairs. The stupid result was still in my hand.So much for waking up. This isn't a nightmare. “What are you saying, William?”“I know this is a lot.”“No, answer me.”I dropped the result on the desk.“We have never been intimate before. Not even once.
HAZELAnother Monday morning, this one felt different.By this evening, William and I would pick up the DNA result.I tried not to think too much about it. I had work, and staring at the clock wouldn't make five o'clock come faster.The new office building was impressive, but my mind was too occupied to properly look around. I had been told my office was on the tenth floor.I walked towards the lift and pressed the button, the doors opened. I stepped inside and pressed ten.Just before the doors closed, someone else entered.I moved slightly to give the person space, my nose recognised that cologne. I lifted my head and saw Elvis. His eyes met mine.“What are you doing here?” I asked immediately.“Good morning to you too.”“Good morning. What are you doing here?”“I have an office here.”My eyes narrowed.“Since when?”“For a while.”That didn't answer anything.“So you work from here?”“Sometimes. I seldom come here unless it's important.”I faced the doors again. The Laurents seeme







