CHAPTER 1

HAZEL

Free at last.

Two years and eighty-eight days after walking through those prison gates in handcuffs, I was finally breathing air that didn’t smell like rusted bars.

The sun felt warmer outside.

A smile spread across my face as I stepped out with the small transparent bag that contained my belongings. My fingers immediately reached for the engagement ring inside. I slipped it on slowly and stared at it for a moment.

“I’m coming home, baby,” I whispered.

Jarvis had no idea I was released today. Nobody knew.

I was supposed to spend another year in prison, but luck finally remembered my name.

I could already picture his reaction when he saw me standing in front of him. He would definitely lose his mind. Probably lift me off the ground and spin me around like he always did.

The thought alone made me laugh softly.

I flagged down a taxi and entered quickly.

“Fifteen Johnson’s Villa,” I said.

The driver nodded and drove off.

I glanced at myself through the side mirror. Prison had changed me, but not enough to erase me. I still looked like Hazel Carter, still beautiful.

By the time the taxi stopped in front of the mansion, my heart was beating fast.

I got down and stood there for a few seconds, staring at the house Jarvis and I bought together before everything went to hell.

Nothing had changed. God, I missed this place.

I quietly pushed the front door open and stepped inside.

Thankfully, it wasn’t locked.

I smiled to myself. Jarvis always forgot to lock the doors.

I removed my shoes and tiptoed upstairs carefully, excitement bubbling inside me. Since it was Saturday, he was definitely home.

I stopped in front of his bedroom door.

My hand touched the knob gently, and then I heard a voice.

“Damn,” my mother breathed out. “That was an intense sex.”

My body froze instantly.

At first, my brain refused to process it.

Why was my mother here? And why did she sound like that?

A soft chuckle followed.

“You drive me crazy, you are so creamy, my love,” Jarvis said.

The blood drained from my face.

“You’re unbelievable,” my mother murmured playfully. “Look at you already wanting another round.”

A low laugh escaped Jarvis.

“You’re addictive, Sugar. I swear I can never get enough of you.”

My knees nearly gave out beneath me.

No, this had to be some kind of sick joke.

I pressed my palm against the wall to steady myself while their voices continued behind the door.

“Jarvis...” my mother said softly. “Relax.”

“How do I relax?” he muttered. “Sometimes this feels wrong. Hazel is your daughter. She’s my fiancée.”

A painful silence followed. Then my mother sighed.

“I never planned for this to happen,” she said quietly. “Neither did you. But feelings happened. We found each other during a lonely time. You love me, not her.”

My chest tightened so badly it became hard to breathe.

“She’ll be out someday,” Jarvis whispered.

“She still has one more year,” my mother replied calmly. “So stop worrying and come here.”

A moan followed immediately after.

That was when reality finally hit me.

This was real. My mother was sleeping with my fiancé.

The same man I went to prison for.

I slowly removed my hand from the doorknob before they could hear me breathing outside the room.

Everything inside me felt numb.

I wanted to burst into that room and destroy everything.

I wanted to scream, cry, break things. Instead, I quietly turned around and walked away.

Somehow, I made it downstairs without collapsing.

By the time I got outside, the fresh air no longer felt fresh; it was suffocating.

My chest burned as memories flooded my head: the accident, the blood, the police lights, and Jarvis panicking.

“Please, Hazel,” he cried back then. “I can’t survive prison. I swear I’ll die there.”

And because I loved him like a fool, I took the blame.

I lost two years and eighty-eight days of my life for him.

I walked for what felt like forever before stopping at another taxi.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“Arid Garden.”

My voice sounded empty.

The ride was quiet. I spent most of it staring outside the window, trying to understand how my life had fallen apart in less than thirty minutes.

My own mother. The woman I worshipped.

I almost laughed.

If somebody told me this story yesterday, I would have called them crazy.

“We’re here,” the driver announced.

I paid him with the last cash I had and walked toward the apartment building.

The moment the door opened, Betty screamed.

“Oh, my God! Hazel?”

She launched herself at me immediately, hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe.

“You’re out!” she cried. “You’re actually out!”

I forced out a weak smile as she dragged me inside.

“You didn’t even tell me you were coming today!”

“I didn’t know until this morning.”

She kept staring at me like she had seen a ghost.

Then her expression softened.

“You look tired.”

I dropped my small bag on the floor and sat heavily on the couch.

“Do you still smoke?” I asked quietly.

Betty blinked.

“You stopped smoking because Jarvis hated it.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Exactly.”

Her face changed instantly.

“What happened?”

I looked up at her slowly.

“I went to surprise Jarvis today.”

The silence in the room thickened immediately.

“And?” she asked carefully.

I swallowed hard.

“I found him in bed with my mother.”

Betty’s eyes widened, but not enough.

That was when I noticed it. She wasn’t shocked.

“You knew,” I said quietly.

Betty looked away.

My stomach twisted.

“You knew?”

She sighed heavily before sitting beside me.

“I caught them once,” she admitted softly. “It happened on your birthday.”

My chest tightened again.

“And you said nothing?”

“You wouldn’t have believed me, Hazel,” she said honestly. “You loved that man too much. Your mother was your whole world.”

Tears finally burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

I leaned back slowly and stared at the ceiling.

Then suddenly, I started laughing.

Betty looked worried.

“Hazel…”

“He slept with my mother,” I said with a smile that didn’t feel like mine anymore. “Interesting.”

Very slowly, I crossed my legs.

“He went for my mother,” I murmured. “Maybe it’s only fair if I go for his father.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“And maybe his brother, too.”