Chapter 3

HAZEL (AUTHOR POV)

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months. For Hazel, time didn’t fly, it dragged slowly, like a heavy chain pulling her down.

Life inside the Kingston mansion remained a living hell. Every day was a repetition of pain, hunger, and humiliation.

Hazel had gotten used to sleeping on the cold, hard sofa. Her body had memorized every lump and every sharp edge of the furniture. Xander never allowed her to touch his bed. To him, she was dirty, unworthy, and just a piece of property he bought.

Every morning, she would wake up before the rooster crowed. Her injured arm had healed, but it still ached whenever the weather changed—a constant reminder of that day Xander pushed her and called her useless.

She would go straight to the kitchen. Even though there were many maids, Mrs. Kingston and Tiffany would always say, “Let Hazel do it. She has nothing else to do anyway. She’s just eating and breathing our air.”

So Hazel did everything. She cooked, she cleaned, she washed their clothes, and she polished their shoes. She worked harder than any servant in that house, yet she received not a single penny, not a single word of thanks.

THE HUNGER

One afternoon, Hazel’s stomach was growling loudly. She hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.

She was standing by the kitchen counter, chopping vegetables for dinner. Her hands were shaking. Her vision was getting blurry. She was so weak.

“Hey!” Tiffany’s voice shrilled as she entered the kitchen holding a plate full of delicious, expensive steak and fries. “What are you doing? You’re cutting the vegetables wrong!”

Hazel tried to answer, but her voice came out weak. “I… I’m sorry, Miss Tiffany. I’m just a little dizzy.”

Tiffany scoffed and walked closer. She looked at the food she was eating, then looked at Hazel’s pale face.

“Oh? Are you hungry?” Tiffany asked, a wicked smile forming on her lips.

Hazel lowered her head. “A little bit…”

“Then beg,” Tiffany said arrogantly. “Beg me and maybe I’ll give you the bones.”

Hazel clenched her fists. Pride was all she had left. “No… it’s okay. I’ll eat later.”

“Later? There’s no food for you later!” Tiffany laughed. Then, she did something cruel. She took a handful of fries and stuffed them in her mouth, chewing loudly. Then, she took the remaining food on her plate—steak, fries, everything—and dumped them all into the trash bin.

“There!” Tiffany said happily. “Now there’s nothing for you to eat. Don’t steal from the fridge, Hazel. Or I’ll tell Xander and he will kick you out. You don’t want that, do you?”

Hazel stared at the trash bin. Good food, wasted just to hurt her.

“No…” Hazel whispered, tears stinging her eyes. “I won’t.”

“Good. Now finish your work.” Tiffany skipped away, satisfied with what she did.

Hazel fell on her knees beside the trash bin. The smell of food made her stomach twist in pain. She was so hungry she could have eaten the food from the trash, but she stopped herself. She was a wife, not a dog.

She stood up, held her throbbing head, and continued working. Just endure. Just a little more, she told herself.

THE ARRIVAL OF SELENE

That night, Xander came home early. But he wasn’t alone.

Hazel was in the living room, arranging the flowers, when the door opened. Xander walked in, and beside him was a woman so beautiful she looked like she stepped out of a magazine.

Selene.

Hazel’s heart stopped. She recognized her immediately. This was the woman in Xander’s phone. The woman he truly loved.

“Xander, your house is so big!” Selene giggled, clinging tightly to Xander’s arm. She was wearing high heels and a very expensive dress. “But it feels so cold and empty.”

Xander smiled. It was a smile Hazel had never seen before. Soft, warm, and full of love.

“I know, baby. That’s why I brought you here. To bring some light into this place.”

Hazel stood frozen behind the curtain. She wanted to run away, but her feet wouldn’t move.

Selene looked around and spotted Hazel. “Oh? Who is that?”

Xander’s expression changed instantly. The smile vanished, replaced by coldness. He looked at Hazel as if she was trash.

“That? That is Hazel. My… wife,” he said the word ‘wife’ like it was a curse."

Selene covered her mouth and laughed. “Wife? Oh my god! Is that true? She looks so… plain. So simple. Like a maid!”

“She is nothing more than that,” Xander said coldly, not even looking at Hazel. “She is just here because of a deal. Don’t mind her. She doesn’t speak, and she doesn’t have a brain.”

Hazel felt like her heart was being squeezed tight. The pain was physical, sharp and agonizing.

Selene walked towards her, looking her up and down with judging eyes. She circled Hazel like a predator looking at its prey.

“Poor thing,” Selene said in a fake pitying voice. “You must be so lonely here. But don’t worry, I won’t steal him from you… oh wait, he was never yours to begin with, right?”

She patted Hazel’s cheek hard, almost slapping her. “You’re so lucky Xander is generous enough to keep you fed. Look at your clothes, they are so old. And your hands… they are so rough!”

Selene turned back to Xander, pouting. “Xander, why is she wearing such ugly clothes? It’s an eyesore. Can you make her change? Or better yet, make her stay in the kitchen where she belongs.”

“Of course, baby,” Xander said. He looked at Hazel with fury. “What are you standing there for?! Get back to the kitchen! Prepare dinner! And make sure it’s good enough for Selene!”

Hazel couldn’t take it anymore. The hunger, the pain, the humiliation… it was all too much.

“I…” she tried to speak, her voice cracking. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday, Xander. I’m too weak to cook—”

SLAP!

A loud sound echoed in the living room.

Xander slapped her. Hard.

Hazel fell to the floor, her cheek burning red. She touched her face in shock. Tears flowed freely now.

“How dare you complain?!” Xander shouted, towering over her. “You ungrateful woman! I give you a roof over your head, I give you everything, and you have the audacity to say you are weak?!”

“I’m hungry…” Hazel cried, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “Just give me a piece of bread, please…”

“Bread?” Xander laughed sarcastically. He walked to the dining table where there was a bowl of fruits. He picked an apple and showed it to her. “You want this?”

Hazel nodded eagerly. “Yes… please…”

Xander threw the apple on the floor. Then, he stomped on it with his expensive leather shoe. He crushed it into a messy pulp on the carpet.

“Eat it!” he ordered. “If you are so hungry, then eat it from the floor like the dog that you are!”

Selene clapped her hands and laughed. “Oh Xander, you are so funny! Look at her face! She looks like she’s going to cry!”

Hazel looked at the crushed fruit on the floor. Then she looked at Xander. The man she was married to. The man she had given her freedom and dignity for.

He hated her that much. He would rather destroy food than give it to her.

Slowly, Hazel stood up. She didn’t pick up the food. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

“I won’t eat it,” she said, her voice barely a whisper but filled with pain. “I would rather starve than eat something you stepped on.”

“Then starve!” Xander yelled. “Get out of my sight! If you don’t cook dinner, you will sleep outside!”

Hazel turned around and ran. She ran to the small storage room at the back of the house. She locked herself inside.

It was dark. It was dusty. There was no bed, no light. Only boxes and old furniture.

She sat down in the corner, hugging her knees. Her cheek was still burning from the slap. Her stomach was empty and hurting.

But the worst pain was in her heart.

I gave up everything for you, she thought. I sold myself for my family. But you treat me worse than an animal.

THE COLD NIGHT

That night, Xander didn’t come looking for her. He spent the whole night with Selene in their room, laughing, talking, and being happy.

Hazel was alone in the dark storage room. It was raining outside, and the wind was cold. She had no blanket. She had no pillow.

She shivered. Her body was weak from hunger and fatigue. She felt like she was going to die.

Am I going to die here? she wondered. Will anyone even care?

She thought of her father in the hospital. She thought of her mother. If she died here, would they know? Would Xander even bother to bury her?

She closed her eyes, letting the darkness consume her. She felt so small, so worthless.

But even in her deepest despair, a tiny spark of something started to grow inside her chest.

It wasn’t hope anymore.

It was resolve.

I can’t stay here, she thought. If I stay, I will really die. He will kill me slowly with his cruelty.

She looked at the small window where the moonlight was seeping through.

One day… I will leave this place. I will leave him. No matter what happens, I will find my freedom.

But for now, she was still the prisoner. She was still the Billionaire’s Unwanted Wife, forgotten and left to rot in the cold.

 

TO BE CONTINUE