Chapter 5

Hazel

I was doing my best to ignore Dante's constant offers to drive me. Grandpa gave me a side look, likewise Dante.

“You don't have to make it a big deal, Hazel. It's just a drive.” He persisted.

“And I said I'm not interested. What is wrong with rejecting a drive? Don't you have to be at the hospital?” I whisper-yelled, sounding even more brat-like. It had been a while since I talked to someone like that. I never raised my voice at Adrian, not even Liam. I just went along with all of their antics.

I expected Dante to back down, after putting him down. Grandpa couldn't even look up at me.

“I don't have what to do or where to go today, Hazel. I just left the hospital and I'm done and down for the day.” He refused to leave, waiting like he had all the time in the world to argue me into saying yes.

"No," I said firmly, brushing past him.

He opened his mouth, probably to start another round of charming persistence, but Grandpa’s voice echoed down the hallway before he could speak.

“Hazel,” Grandpa called softly, “just let the boy drive you. Leon might still be tangled up with that last painting for the auction.”

I turned to him with a soft sigh. “You’re supposed to be taking your medication, grandpa. Not helping someone who's just here to take care of you or meddling in my business.”

Grandpa smiled, that same familiar, knowing smile that used to make me feel safe when I was little. “I’ve already taken my pills, sweetheart. Humor me a little. Dante’s a good man.”

I didn’t reply. Instead, I walked back and crossed the room, then I kissed his cheek. “Take your tea too. You need to be fine for me.”

He chuckled, “Yes, my darling.”

And I left before he could say anything more.

Outside, the breeze touched my skin gently. The sky was pale blue, and the scent of fresh flowers filled the air. The maids trailed behind me, silently doing what they always did, taking the bags I didn’t want to carry, and they placed them in the back of the car. I let them. I wasn’t in the mood to argue about how many hands I had or how light the load was. I was supposed to take them and go with Leon to the orphanage so I could send them out. Afterall, I wasn't going to be dressing like a disposed housewife anymore.

But Grandpa was right. Leon might still be busy with his painting, if he wasn’t, he'd have shown up before I left my bed. And so, I didn’t get in the car. Instead, I walked toward the side path that led to the upper balcony, needing air.

The garden below the balcony was in full bloom, rows of tulips and roses dancing beneath the sunlight. Grandpa’s garden. It hadn’t changed. Maybe that was the problem. Everything else in my life had crumbled, but this view, this peace, remained untouched. And yet, even here, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from spiraling.

I had been gone for so long. A marriage ruined, a child lost. Betrayal that had sliced me from the inside out. And now Dante, the one man bold enough to look me in the eye thought he could help me?

A voice broke the silence behind me.

“Why did you pretend to leave in the car?”

I didn’t have to turn to know it was him. His manly heart warming voice I refuse to acknowledge gave it away.

“And what business is that of yours?” I said without looking back.

“I just asked a question,” he replied with his calm voice. “You’re avoiding me. I get it. But I’d like to know why. Did I do something? You avoid me like you once knew me or like I'm a plague.”

I turned then, slowly. He stood with one hand in his pocket, the other holding his phone loosely. Too calm for someone who kept poking around where he didn’t belong.

“Why should I waste my time with someone like you?” I asked, my tone biting. “I haven’t even looked at you twice.”

A lie. And I knew it. I had noticed him immediately when grandpa introduced him but I couldn't afford another attachment. Not when I just got out of one.

Dante didn’t flinch. “That’s fine. But you did look at me once. Don’t worry, I’m not the type to mistake pity for attention.”

I scoffed, folding my arms. “So now you’re calling me pitiful?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m saying you’re pretending to be made of steel when it’s obvious you’re just…angry and hurt. And maybe you have every reason to be.”

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“Your grandfather told me.”

My heart dropped a little, but I masked it with coldness. “Excuse me?”

“He told me what happened. That you just got out of a marriage. And it was messy.”

I blinked. Then narrowed my eyes. “You’ve got some nerve, Dante. First, stalking me around this house, now calling him ‘grandpa’ like you are family. He's Mr Fisher to you, not grandpa.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I am family to him. I’ve worked with Grandpa Fisher for years. Spent more time in this house than you have in the last five years”

That stung. He didn't have to remind me I left my home for the family who didn't even appreciate me.

He didn’t stop there. “If you think you can just walk in and strip that away because you're uncomfortable, then maybe you’re not as strong as I thought.”

I took a step toward him. “How dare you talk to me like that? In my own home?”

“It’s not just your home,” he said, voice low but unshaken. “And maybe someone needs to talk to you like that.”

“Get out.” I snapped.

He stood firmly, not moving or speaking anymore. My breath was ragged. I hated the way his words cut through my walls. Hated even more that some part of me knew he was right. I was tired. But he didn't have to rub it in my face. And so I hated him that instant. I didn't at first, but rumbling those words and pouring them out like he knew everything about me because grandpa opened up to him, was out of line.

“You still want me out?” Dante said finally. Hurt in his voice, like he hadn't expected me to crash.

“I'm sorry.” He blurted out.

“No…no. Just leave please.”

He sighed and turned.

“And don't come back here.” I yelled right behind him.

He didn't look back. He just kept walking.

I broke down into the colorful grass. And tears streamed down my eyes, my face covered with wetness.

I suddenly felt pain in my spine, and my phone rang at the same time. I managed to get up and realized blood was dripping from my vagina.

“What the hell?” I mumbled, fear gripped me instantly.