Chapter 11

Chapter 11 HAZEL I know I shouldn’t drool right now but I believe yhat I am drooling. Because I haven’t moved and I haven’t taken my eyes off him. God, he looked so hot. I have seen him cook at home, apron around his body, his hair a little rough and I know this man is hot in the kitchen but seeing him here at his work place is a different shade of masculinity. I think my knees are weak. I’m gonna fall. “Aevia?” His voice snapped me out of my unholy trance. Ah! Lord…. Why have you forsaken me by placing this temptation before me. You know I am such a hypocrite. Blaming the lord when I am actually the one who drove myself here. I cleared my throat, forcing a smile, hiding the blush on my cheek which was almost impossible, “Sorry, I … uhm… never seen you at work before… it’s… never mind… sorry for staring.” “It’s fine.. come on.” He gestured towards the chair he pulled out for me, a habit he hadn’t change. He has been doing this since we got close enough to eat together. Even

Chapter 12

Chapter 12 NIKOLAI “Hazel, I am lost for words. That guy is the most handsome in your college, he is smart, he is kind, he takes care of you and he helps you with school, what else are you looking for in a man?” I heard Daston scold Hazel as I washed the shrimps in the kitchen. John is the fourth guy, Hazel had turned down since she got to college. John was nice. I actually thought she’d give him a chance. I'd have given my blessing. “He doesn’t know how to cook, doesn’t know how to dress, can’t say my name in the way that makes me feel butterflies, doesn't tease me enough and he.. he… he is too perfect, I cannot.” Hazel sighed, I heard her body collide with my pillow in the living room. I stepped out of the kitchen, grinning without even realizing it. I mean if she doesn't like him, then she shouldn’t be with him. It’s no big deal. “Hazel, come taste this and tell me what you think,” I said, stepping into plain sight. She jumped off the chair and dashed faster than my cat would

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 HAZEL My eyes settled on the ring as we drove back to the house. It looked so beautiful, so perfect, like it was made only for me. But that wasn’t the only reason I was staring at it. Nik was the one who wore it for me. He took my hand in his and he dragged the ring through my finger. In that moment, it felt so real, so soft, so beautiful. His soft palm over mine, his gentle touch and his lingering scent… It’s so…. Like a wave of cold was poured over my head, realization hit me that the man who had done all this for me, is married, and not just any married man but my brother-in-law.I felt a sharp sting inside of me. Like my heart was given a sharp twist, it suddenly got so hard to breathe and my eyes stung with unshed tears. It hurts. That the man I had always wanted was not mine but my sister’s. It hurts that he doesn't even think of me the way I think of him. I’m so pathetic. I should be over him by now. I should be… thinking of starting my own family and finding m

Hazel

CHAPTER 14(HAZEL)FIRST DAY My hands settled on my phone; it kept ringing, but Yvonne refused to answer. I texted her last night right after Nikolai and I got home.I don’t want to be the shitty sister who stole her sister’s life and even though I enjoy being with Nik and Navira, I can’t fully enjoy it because it’s all fake.My phone chimed.A response from Yvonne.Sis – Stop calling me, Hazel. The reason I asked you to stay was so you could deal with those things for me. I have a project I am working on, stop calling me.I read the message again and again.How can she be so indifferent? Navira is her child.“Aunty Hazel…we’re going to be late!” Vira’s voice roared from the living room.I stared at myself in the mirror, my throat bobbed as I watched the blue dress drop down my body, the sparkling simple necklace that settled on my neckline, my hair in a slick bun, and the beautiful ring, Nik got me.There is no going back.My demon and angel conscience appeared at the same time aga

NIKOLAI

CHAPTER 15(NIK)I simply stared at her, elegant, composed beautiful. She spoke to the ladies without batting an eye, making a promise she would be able to keep if it was up to her.As I stared at her, it didn’t look fake…It didn’t feel fake.Her smile, her chats with the other mothers, the way she spoke to them about Navira, about the other kids….it was beautiful.This was the life I wanted.A life with her. As my wife, as the mother of my kid. Holding hands and attending school functions together, laughing and conversing with the parents of our kids’ friends.I wish all of this was real…I wish…Hazel was mine.“Your husband must really love you.” One of the women said, It Marco’s wife, the Italian couple. Her eyes were twinkling with excitement, her words yanked me out of my thoughts.Shit.Can she tell that I have feelings for her?Shit… Shit.Hazel chuckled, effortlessly, unbothered, “He is my husband, of course he has to love me.”The women laughed.Oh…that was…smooth. It was a c

HAZEL

CHAPTER 16(HAZEL)Nik had Navira over his shoulders as we walked in through the front door. he halted and turned to me, his eyes settled on me and in that moment everything that happened today crushed down my mind.The holding hands, the warm smiles, the secret glance, and the stupid thing I did …kissing his cheeks.What the hell was I thinking? Why would I have leaned in and kissed his cheeks?I wanted to tease him. When that mother said, Nik was staring at me with love in his eyes, I knew it was all the façade we created to make this work but the moment my eyes locked on him, something inside me snapped.This gaze was warm and his eyes glinted and for a moment I believed he loved me…that he felt something too but I also knew he didn’t and I hated it…I hated that he was looking at me with those eyes when they were nothing but lies and I know it was stupid but I wanted to tease him…to make him pay for making me feel that way and now…I can’t even look into his eyes.“Are you going to