ANMELDENHAZEL Everything got way worse after that talk. Not better. Not fixed. Worse. That night, I decided it was better to stay downstairs again. I didn't want to be near him; I didn't want to be in that bedroom. Not after everything that had happened there.So I took a blanket, found a place on the couch, and tried to convince myself that I could get through another night. I heard Harris moving around the house. The sound of his footsteps, the turning off of lights and the quiet movements of someone who was still awake. Then I heard him go upstairs. And finally... I relaxed. Just a little. I thought I was safe; I thought I could finally sleep, but that didn't happen. Because the moment I closed my eyes, something inside me shifted. Something felt different and Wrong.I opened my eyes, and there he was. Harris was standing over me. Watching me. My entire body went tense."Let's go to bed," he said. His voice was calm, too calm."I don't feel like going to bed," I responded.I immediately
HAZEL I wasn't the same Hazel who walked into Axel's mansion. I couldn't be. Being in that mansion had changed me.Axel had changed me. What happened there had changed me, and maybe... Maybe it wasn't completely bad.I wasn't as naive as I used to be, and I had seen things, Experienced things. Things that control the world. Things that I never wanted to think about again. But Harris didn't seem to see that. He only saw the pieces of me that didn't fit the image he had created. The memories of the person he wanted me to still be."I spent all this time saving you," he whispered. His voice broke slightly. "And now I feel like I don't even know who I saved."The guilt hit me immediately. Because despite everything... Despite the fear, despite the pain. A part of me still cared about him."I never wanted to hurt you," I said softly.He laughed quietly. A broken sound."But you did."I looked down. "I did," I whispered. The admission surprised him. I looked back at him."But you hurt me
HAZEL "No." I shook my head immediately. "I already told you what happened.... I was trapped."He shook his head."That's just the thing..... I don't believe you."I lowered my eyes, searching for words I couldn't find. "I wanted to come back to you," I told him. "I did. And I thought about you too, every day."He stared at me."Then why does it feel like I lost you before I even got you back?"Silence."You're different, Hazel." He added.I had no answer. The room fell silent again. Then Harris spoke."Did he love you?"I frowned."What?""Axel." His eyes were filled with something I couldn't identify. "Did he love you? Did he have any feelings for you?"I looked away and slowly shook my head."I'm not sure that man loves anyone.... Least of all me." I said bitterly.Silence settled between us again."Did he treat you better than me?" he asked.The answer was clear, Simple. Because when I thought about Axel... He had never laid his hands on me. He had never forced me to do anything.
HAZEL His voice softened."What happened while you were there?""You told me nothing bad happened to you." He added. "Then what really happened? What happened in there?"His eyes stayed fixed on me."If he didn't force you....then what does it mean? Does it mean you slept with him willingly? Does it mean you slept with somebody in that house willingly?"I couldn't raise my head to look at him. Silence settled between us. He swallowed before speaking again."Just talk to me, Hazel." He said. "Maybe you needed to sleep with someone to get something. Maybe it was food, maybe it was supplies, or maybe it was a phone call home. Whatever it was....just tell me."I didn't respond."If they hurt you... If he forced you... If he hit you.....just tell me. Let's be honest with each other."I kept staring at the floor."Hazel..." He called my name. "We can't move on like this. We have to talk this out. We have to move forward together. So please..."His voice became almost pleading."Just tell m
HAZELThose words hurt more than they should have. 'Us'. I looked back down at the book in my hands."I don't know if there is an us right now."The silence that followed was strong. I didn't look at him, but I felt him sit down on the other end of the couch, but not too close. He was careful. Almost like he was afraid that one wrong move would make me run."I know you're still angry." He began.I laughed softly. Not because it was funny, but because I didn't know what else to do."Angry?" I finally looked at him. "Harris, I'm not just angry."His face fell slightly."I'm scared." The words came out before I could stop them. "I'm scared of you."For the first time, I saw something break across his expression. Something that looked like Pain. But I couldn't let that erase what happened."I never thought I would say that about you." My voice trembled. "I spent weeks believing you were the one person who saved me. I believed you were the person I could trust. And then..."I swallowed. "A
HAZEL That night, I didn't bother going back to the bedroom. I couldn't. I found a couch downstairs and curled up there instead. Thankfully, Harris didn't come looking for me. For once, he left me alone.When I woke up the next morning, I realised there was a blanket draped over my body. I stared at it. I didn't know how to feel about that.A part of me knew it was supposed to be a kind gesture. But another part of me couldn't forget everything else. So I pulled it off and threw it aside.I stayed there, sitting on the couch, not making any effort to move until Harris finally came looking for me."Good morning," he said brightly.He walked toward me like everything was normal. Like we were still us, like nothing had happened. He leaned down, attempting to kiss me. I immediately turned my face away. The rejection was obvious. He noticed, and He didn't like it. But he didn't say anything."Breakfast is ready," he said instead. "Do you want to have it in the kitchen, in the dining room,
HAZELLet them stare. Let them choke on their gossip.Fuck the maids.Fuck Axel’s men.Fuck Axel himself.Fuck this entire house.I am not going to continue letting them dictate how I act or how I feel. Each step across the marble floor echoes louder than it should, like the house itself is announc
HAZELAngela couldn't be here because of last night right? But she has to be. Why else would she be here?Because To see Angela here with that look, telling me she has prepared me a bath… remembering my screams last night…Fuck, she knows. yeah. Everybody knows. Everyone in the house knows.... Shit
HAZELI am completely and utterly fucked.That's for sure.My stomach is tightening and I can feel an orgasm building dangerously fast. It feels like a devastating tsunami is forming that will surely kill me. The bed begins to squeak violently from how hard he’s fucking me. It feels like it’s goin
HAZELKat eats like she’s performing for an audience, every bite louder, slower, exaggerated, like she wants me to flinch. I don’t. I stay right where I am, arms crossed, face blank.But the truth is, it burns. Everything about her burns, the way she moves, the way she smirks, the way she acts like







