LOGINHAZELAngela freezes as she stares at me.“Remo? Why?”“You told me he’s the only one who might know where Axel is,” I say flatly. “And I want to know where he is.”“That’s not a good idea,” she says. “And Remo isn’t here.”“I can wait,” I answer undeterred by her words.She studies me. “You’re looking for trouble today, aren’t you?”“I guess I am.”She quickly leaves.I eat the food she prepared quickly, the food is good as always... Or maybe I am just too hungry. When I’m done, I stare at my phone. I could’ve called Axel the moment Nico handed it back.... But I didn’t.Something stopped me. I don’t know why, but I’m scared. I’ve never called him before.What would he say?What would I ask?And what if I don’t like the answers?I sit there in the kitchen for a long time. Too long. Long enough for the silence to start pressing in on me, long enough for my thoughts to go in circles until I finally decide.... You know what? My plan was to get close to Axel. I guess I’m supposed to bite
HAZELAngela frowns and stares at me, and I can't read the reaction on her face, but I don't like it, not one bit.“What?” I snap.“Nothing,” she quickly says.That doesn't answer my question.“What happened? Where is he? Is he okay?”She comes and sits beside me, and I can't tell, but this is not the norm. This is not Angela. There's something different about her, about the way she sits close to me. It's as if the two of us are close....but Angela doesn't do close, not when it comes to me.And she asks, in a way, I can only define it as a motherly way. Not just a motherly way, a concerned mother, as she asks,“Why do you ask that?”“Can you just answer my question, please? Because I don't know what you're doing right now, but it's freaking me out.”She chuckles a little before she says, “Well, as far as I'm concerned, Mr Moretti is well and good, so there's nothing wrong with him.""Nobody shot him? Nobody even thought of shooting him?” I ask, and this time she actually laughs as she
HAZELI’m back....And whatever I did last night, whatever they did while I was drunk, I didn’t come back here on my own.What the hell? What the hell happened last night? And how the hell did I get back here? How the hell did I fucking get back here?I hate this house. I hate this room. The last thing I wanted was to come here against my will. What.....did Nico carry me out of the room? Is Axel back? Did he take me out of the presidential suite?They didn’t even have the dignity to talk to me. To tell me they were moving me from one place to another. This is kidnapping. This is a violation.The thought hits me and I laugh....sharp, broken. Even my own sound hurts my ears, since I’m still riding that drunk high. My head is pounding. My mouth is dry. I’m hungover. I’m hungry. I’m angry.... I start shouting and screaming in the room.A second later, the door opens. Of course it’s him.... Nico.I raise my finger at him, my hand shaking.“Was it you?”My voice cracks. “Was it you, Nic
HAZELBy the time people have finished with the clothes, I mean really finished, the presidential suite looks like a fashion battlefield after an apocalypse.Garment bags are empty. Hangers are bare. The staff keep thanking me as I’ve personally solved their financial problems for the next decade. I lie back on the chaise lounge in a silk robe that may very well cost more than my first apartment, eyes closed, while warm oil is worked into my shoulders.“This pressure okay?” one of the therapists asks softly.“Perfect,” I murmur.I hear Nico exhale sharply from somewhere near the door and smirk to myself.Hands move over me with practised ease. Hot stones follow. A facial mask cools my skin. Someone brushes my hair. Someone else massages my feet. I don’t move. I don’t speak. I let them do everything. For a while, I am not fighting, I am not trapped inside my own head. My body feels loose. Warm and light in the best way.When the spa staff finally pack up and leave, arms full of designe
HAZELWhile I wait, I go to the bathroom. I shower. I change. I put on makeup. I make sure I look composed, put together before I step back into the living area.Right on time, the door opens.Nico is there, opening it for the hotel staff. His eyes widen when he sees what’s coming.“I didn’t order any of this,” he says sharply.“I did,” I reply, walking past him.He narrows his eyes at me. He can’t say anything. Not really.So I stand there and wait.“Have anything to say?”His jaw tightens, teeth grinding together, as dish after dish is wheeled in. So much food that it barely fits in the dining area.Yes, I’m hungry. I'll eat what I can but not much. This isn’t about eating.This is about hurting Axel’s bank account. Annoying Nico. And finally getting a little bit of fun out of it.And for the first time since this mess started, I smile to myself.Minutes later, I pick at the food more than I actually eat it. A bite here. A forkful there. The rest of it just sits on the table like a
HAZELI take a much-needed breath, but that does nothing to reduce my anger. "I can't fucking believe this." I snap at him.“Don't push it,” he says.I laugh again, sharper this time. “I just want to go to the gym. Or at least I plan to. Please do not make this harder on me.”“You're not leaving this room,” he says, his body rigid. And I know he's not going to change his mind.I step back, suddenly exhausted._So this is it. This is how you have decided to punish me. Just put me in a little box somewhere you can contain me. Somewhere where you have all the power and all the control." I sneerI look around the room, the massive windows, the sunlight. I can't believe I was foolish enough to think that being here would give me some kind of freedom. I actually let myself believe it, for exactly one perfect day. The next day, after the horrible night Axel had left me in, this is what it becomes.“What's funny,” I say quietly, “is that if you had let me go down to the gym, I would have com







