LOGINHAZELI closed the bedroom door behind me and leaned against it for a second, staring ahead blankly.Not exactly? What kind of answer was that?I stared at my reflection in the mirror. What even was this family? Or whatever they were? Because somehow every answer I got only left me with ten more questions. With a frustrated sigh, I walked toward my closet and pulled out something simple to wear. If I were going to spend the day trapped with Lisa, I was at least going to be comfortable while suffering.A few minutes later, I walked back out of my room.... And froze. Because Lisa was standing beside Nico with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.Actually, No. She wasn't standing beside him. She was standing way too close to him, like personal space does not exist. The second she saw me, her eyes travelled slowly from my head to my shoes.Then back up again. And she looked disappointed. "Oh," she said.I blinked."Oh... what?""I thought you'd wear something uglier."I stared
HAZEL Cassio shook his head.“You’ve got a lot to learn, little girl.”“Let’s go, Remo,” Remo practically growled.He seemed eager to get out of the house or eager to keep this conversation on a stop.Cassio rolled his eyes dramatically before turning around and walking toward the door.“We don’t need you,” he snapped over his shoulder.Remo didn’t answer, He just continued following him out.A few seconds later, the front door shut behind them and the house was in Silence. I turned to look at Nico with a question in my gaze.He only shrugged casually.“I told you everything was fine. See, nothing to worry about.”I narrowed my eyes.“Were those two the ones fighting in Axel’s office?” I asked.He merely shrugged again.“So are you going to change so we can go shopping?” he asked.I rolled my eyes at him.“Fine. I just need a few minutes to get myself together before I spend the whole day with Lisa.”“You’re forgetting that I’ll also be there,” Nico said as we started walking up the
HAZEL Nico leaned against the doorway and grinned.“So,” he asked lazily, “are you ladies ready to have fun?”“I think I’m gonna go upstairs to my room first,” I said quickly as I stood up. "I need to get something."And before anybody could stop me, I quickly walked out of the dining room. But after two or three steps, I still heard footsteps behind me.I turned around to find Nico following me.“Are you going to be following me everywhere now?” I asked.“You seem to forget I bam your shadow,” he replied dryly. “Yes, I'll be following you everywhere, that is my job. I was told to be wherever you are.”“No, you were told to take Lisa shopping,” I responded.“With you,” he added. “Lisa can take care of herself. You can’t,” he replied instantly. “And that’s why I’m coming along.”“If she can take care of herself,” I muttered while continuing toward the stairs, “why can’t she go do this shopping or whatever on her own?”“Because she needs someone to take her around since she’s kind of
HAZEL “Mamma mia,” Cassio muttered innocently. “What? I’m being friendly.”“You don’t know how to be friendly,” Cara muttered under her breath.Lisa snorted softly in agreement. I moved toward one of the empty seats far away from all of them, trying not to draw attention to myself. And just because Axel had wanted me sitting next to him so much before.... after all he had literally altered the chair the last time I sat away from him.Maybe, call me conditioned....But I hesitated briefly before sitting down carefully, half expecting the chair to snap or tilt or something ridiculous. But none of that happened.My gaze just naturally drifted toward Axel, after I had taken a seat. And of course, he was already watching me.Lisa casually placed her arm on top of his and placed a distracted kiss against his hand before he finally looked away from me again.Something ugly twisted in my stomach.“Did you sleep well?” Cara asked suddenly, completely out of nowhere.The question caught me off
HAZEL I sighed heavily and took a deep breath before finally opening the bedroom door and stepping out into the hallway.The mansion was already alive downstairs. I could hear voices and movement and the faint smell of coffee and breakfast drifting upward. For a second, I genuinely considered turning around and locking myself back in my room.But then I noticed someone was standing beside my bedroom door, and yelped, my hand flying straight to my chest.“Nico, what the hell are you doing here? What the hell?” I asked, breathing hard. "You scared me."“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, holding back a smile.“Oh my God,” I groaned. “What the hell are you doing here?”“Can’t you guess?” he said, motioning toward himself standing near my bedroom door.And immediately, I got it.“You’re my bodyguard again?”“Yes.”“But I thought you hated it..... You hated me.”He let out a quiet laugh and rubbed a hand over his face.“Let me just tell you that I did. I have been babysitt
HAZEL And I also knew I didn’t really have anything useful to say about family.... His family. I didn’t understand their world enough for that. I didn’t know their history, their rules, their loyalty, or whatever twisted line existed between love and violence in this family. Who knew what mafia laws about blood, family, and betrayal even looked like?I was just walking blindly through it all. Hoping and waiting for the day Axel finally sets me free.The silence stretched again after that and only the soft clicking of his keyboard filled the office. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself and shifted deeper into the couch, finally allowing my body to relax a little. The fear from earlier still sat inside me, heavy and ugly, but somehow the office felt safer now.Maybe because Axel was here. Maybe because no matter how terrifying he was, he still felt solid and Controlled. Like nothing could happen to me while he was in the room.My eyes drifted toward him again. I wondered if he e
HAZELNatasha was also a dead end. She didn’t like me, and she wasn’t subtle about it. That meant my only option was one of the maids, but not just any maid. One who had access. One who moved quietly between rooms, between people. Someone who heard things. Someone who saw things.I needed an ally.
HAZELThe words barely leave Axel's mouth before his face crashes down onto mine.It’s not a question.He’s not asking.He’s not waiting for permission. He kisses me like he’s starving.Hard. Rough. Desperate.His mouth consumes mine, all heat and fury and hunger, as if the last three days never ha
HAZELI run upstairs into my room after my conversation with Remo and cry. Not quietly. Not politely. A full-blown cry..... I can’t believe how stupid I was. How much of an idiot, a fool, I had been. I actually thought what happened between Axel and me meant something. It should have, shouldn’t it
AXELThe minute Remo walks into the penthouse, I know he’s about to give me another headache.I don’t even look up right away.“What’s that smile for?” I ask.I know Remo. And I know that smile.I don’t like it.He just shrugs. “Nothing.”“Anything you found out about Morozov?”“No. I’m still diggi







