LOGINHAZEL When Harris left, I worried the whole day. I wondered most whether he would come back, and if he would come back in one piece. Every sound outside made me look toward the window.Every passing hour felt longer than the last. When evening came, I found myself pacing through the house, unable to sit still. I kept telling myself that he had promised to come back. He always came back. He would come back.Late that night, I finally heard a car pull up outside. Relief flooded through me. I hurried to the front door and pulled it open. There he was. The moment I saw him, I felt something shift inside me.He was still Harris—the same man who had left earlier that evening. But... He was different somehow. I couldn't explain it, and I couldn't point to anything specific. There wasn't another black eye, and there weren't any fresh bruises that I could see. Yet something about him had changed.I didn't let myself think about it for long. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, gr
HAZEL Ever since our talk with Harris, ever since we had a concrete plan, ever since we were finally on the same page, things just seemed to fall into place on their own.It was fun being around him. We talked for hours, and sometimes he would get phone calls and step away to answer them, but I didn't pay much attention to that. The rest of the time, we were together. We cooked together, we washed the dishes together, we watched movies together, and we laughed.For the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn't constantly looking over my shoulder or wondering what was expected of me. I could just... Be.Every night, we went to bed together, and He would hold me until I fell asleep, just like he had been doing since I got here. Little by little, everything between us felt... easy. Natural and Comfortable. Like we were slowly finding our way back to each other after everything that had happened. For the first time since Axel had taken me... I felt like I had a future again.The day
HAZEL Those were things I didn't want to talk about either. Maybe... Maybe Harris also had things he didn't want to revisit. Maybe whatever we had both done...Had brought us here. Together, moving forward."Fine," I said quietly. "I won't ask you about it anymore."I took a slow breath before I asked."Then how long are we going to stay here? When are we leaving?""Hazel," Harris said. "You have to understand that this isn't as easy or as quick as you want it to be."He gently held my hands."You have to be patient. I've been patient. I was patient while looking for you. I was patient while finding a way to get you out. I was patient through everything that brought us here..."He smiled softly."...to this moment, right here, right now. You are sitting in front of me. The two of us looking at each other."He squeezed my hands."Everything... all of this... needed patience."I stayed quiet, letting him continue."As I said, Axel isn't really looking for you."I frowned."He isn't?"Ha
HAZEL "When Axel Moretti took you away, I didn't know who he was," Harris began. "But I heard the whispers. People mentioning his name... Axel Moretti... Axel Moretti. And when you live in this city, it's a name you know to stay away from."I nodded."So I did a little digging. I asked around, and I got a gist of just who he was."He let out a slow breath."But the thing was... I didn't know where you were. I had no idea where he had taken you.""For weeks, I went to his clubs, to his betting rings, his casinos... anywhere I thought I might see you because he does everything, Hazel. Everything."His jaw tightened."Prostitution, drugs, arms dealing, human trafficking. If there's any illegal shit... he's into it."A chill ran through me."I didn't know why they had taken you. I didn't know if they were going to sell your organs... sell you... or worse. I didn't know, Hazel." His voice cracked. "I had no idea."He looked away, wiping quickly at his eyes."It was just so hard on me."Wa
HAZEL When I woke up the next morning, I was still wrapped in those same arms. Harris was fast asleep, holding me tightly.Carefully, I slipped out of bed, trying not to wake him. I quietly walked into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and got ready for the new day. As I stood there, an idea came to me. Today, I was going to change things a little. Harris had been bringing me breakfast in bed every single morning since I got here.Now it was my turn. I was going to make breakfast for him. It felt... Normal. At Axel's mansion, I hadn't even been allowed to cook, not even allowed inside the kitchen. The thought of making something as simple as breakfast suddenly felt like freedom.By the time I walked back into the bedroom, Harris was already awake. We stared at each other, and I smiled."Good morning.""Good morning," he replied, running a hand through his messy hair."Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you.""It's fine." He smiled. "The moment you got out of bed, it got cold
HAZELI waited for Harris to come into the bedroom that night..... But he never did.I wanted to go out and see if he was okay, ask him what was going on and see if everything was alright. But then I remembered, He had made me promise to stay inside the room until the men with the gun left.I reminded myself that they were supposed to leave tomorrow. I just had to be patient. So I stayed awake as long as I could. Eventually, exhaustion won, and I drifted into a light sleep.By the break of dawn, I was awake again, but Harris was a no-show. I decided to take a shower, brush my teeth, and get ready. Mostly because I needed something to do with myself. There was nothing else to do in this room, and I was about to die of boredom.I was just getting dressed inside the closet when the bedroom door opened."Hello, baby. Good morning." Harris."I'm in the closet," I called back while pulling on my shirt."Okay," he replied, his voice growing closer. "I brought you breakfast. Your favourite."
HAZELI didn’t pause, not even for a breath. Their voices drifted through the powder room, soft at first, like a secret meant only for the two of them.“Did you see Vasilisa?” the one at the mirror whispered.My pulse spiked. I didn’t know why, but something inside me…clicked. Tightened. I suddenly
AXELI sit back now, putting one leg on top of the other, leaning back on the chair, watching Damien Morozov. I can see the wheels turning in his head as he continues watching me, searching, before he looks at his right-hand man. And then he looks back at me again.He says, “As I told you, you won’
HAZELHe didn’t hug her back, but he didn’t pull away either.His arms stayed rigid at his sides while she smiled up at him...bright, happy, almost childlike. I stared, wondering what their connection was. Siblings? They could be siblings. I didn’t know Axel like that. No sibling had ever shown up
HazelI know I said I wasn’t going to talk to Axel.But how the hell was I supposed to stay silent after this?I pushed myself up off the floor, brushing dust off my palms and shaking with fury.“What is wrong with you?” I snapped at him. “I just fell and you're what...? And how did I even fall?”M







