LOGINHAZEL."I can't believe I came here," I sipped the wine in front of me. "And somehow you managed to convince me from coffee to dinner." There was a smirk at the corner of Blake's lips and a glint in his eyes even."It's the Lorenzo charm." He winked. Very few times, he said his last name, and this time brought a chuckle out of me."Don't even." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes to the back. "I think it's because for the first time in a really long time, someone has been able to take my mind off the chaos and the grief happening all around me—that night was really special and that was the best pasta I'd had all my life." I said to him."I just wish you didn't have to see me have a mental breakdown more than once." I scoffed and he downed his wine as well. "Oh please, I like to see humans vulnerable. We tend to have our guard up most of the time we forget there's nothing wrong with being vulnerable." Blake replied."Then you owe me." I struck a finger at him and he chuckled softly.
EVELYN.The car tyre rolled over a speed bump, causing me to jerk forward and inadvertently drifting me out of her thoughts. I fastened my hands against my thighs as I looked out of the windows."Are you alright?" Seeing the arch between my brows, Alex asked. It was almost as if he could sense the tension brewing behind the tightly shut windows. I threw my head over my shoulders to look back at him and with one hand around the steering wheel, he turned around for a second and our eyes met. "I'm just a little bit nervous. I mean what if she wants nothing to do with me and I just end up ruining her new family?" I asked, a little berserk and Alex scoffed. "I've watched enough movies to validate my worries, Alex.." I harkened, rolling my eyes to the back of my head.The moment his eyes darted back to the roads, the smirk across his lips seemed to vanish and just then he heaved a deep breath. "You'll be alright." Alex croaked and my eyes caught the 'Welcome to Portland' signboard which
EVELYN.The moment his eyes opened, they met mine. I was seated right next to Dylan on his hospital bed and I reached for his face, running my hands down his hot, temperature-raised neck. I heaved in a deep breath and Pios turned to face me fully with a smile across his lips.That same smile he'd faked for the longest time."Hey," I whispered, over it. Dylan, seeing the dullness in my eyes was immediately concerned and he sat up. "Are you okay?" His voice was frail and shaky, like the gaze I was locked in."No, are you okay?" I shook my head."The doctor said you were in so much pain yesterday." I grasped his hands in mine and he exhaled from his lips. "It's nothing I can't handle." Dylan chuckled but for the first time, I wore a straight face. It was because of how broken I had been all through the night that I dreaded asking him this next question."Do you want to be euthanized, Pops?" I asked him flatly."I feel like you've been dropping these subtle hints and clues but you're sca
NICHOLAS.The sound of my alarm blared through my ears, forcing me to jolt awake."Fuck this.” I cussed beneath my breath. Somehow that had become my morning mantra. I stepped out of bed and slipped into my routine. From brushing my teeth to having a shower, dressing up for work and then walking outside with my briefcase in my hand to find my driver already waiting by the Mercedes.The hotel wasn’t so far from my house so after about half an hour, we usually arrived. Marcus would pull up the car in the spacious driveway and I’d get out of it, walking up the stairs straight to my office. Today was no different.Except when I opened the doors, I was met with Harry’s face with a worrisome expression plastered on it. "I got your message" He said. I kept walking towards the elevator while he attempted to catch up with me."About a meeting?" Harry said in a questioning tone. I walked into the elevator and so did he. For a moment, there was a brief silence. "You don't look alright, sir." Har
HAZEL.I opened the letter, reading her words slowly…Dear Hazelnuts,My Hazelnuts. If you’re reading this then you've probably come back to our Geneva Home and in a fit of rage have destroyed the vase in which this letter was hidden or whatever. I guess that whenever you're reading this, I’m no more. Or maybe I sent you to get it but that's a totally different unlikely scenario. However—whenever it is, be it two years from now, or five years from this moment that I’m sitting right next to this crackling fireplace, trying to find the right words to translate my thoughts—trying to find the right way to say goodbye. Whenever it is, I hope that it's not too late, I hope that it's time.Time for you to know the truth.I always told you you were like her. Elizabeth, your mother and there was barely any difference between the two of you. It's such a shame things happened the way they did. But I’m glad I got to raise you for most of your life as well. Please understand it's much harder fo
HAZEL.With my eyes set on the open cabinet, I heaved a sigh before pulling away. And rather than coming back to the living room with a fresh cup of tea, I had in her hands a bottle of leftover booze instead which I passed across to Blake.He collected it but with an unsure scoff."Haven't done much shopping since I arrived. You're going to have to manage that." I sniffled through my nose before running my hands through her hair. Blake darted his eyes around the empty room and there was a brief moment of silence between us.I sank into the couch right across from him and our eyes locked as he sipped a mouthful of the alcohol. "How long have you been here?" He had a hint of judgement in his voice which I recognized and didn't appreciate."Look, I need you to leave. You said tea and I don't have coffee." I got defensive, standing up to cling to the curtains, from where I could see that the heavy snow had now picked up in a storm. I pressed my feet against the ground and clicked my tong
HAZEL."Giselle loves the new designs!" Evelyn said from across the room with relief in her voice. She'd just gotten off the call with Giselle after resubmitting some of her more authentic designs. She told me how their last meeting went and I watched how hard she worked her ass off these last few
HAZEL."So what made you move to Chicago in the first place?" Josef's voice whisked me out of my thoughts before I went back in. Maybe it was that question that stomped my heart or maybe it was the fact that for the first time in ages, she was on a date. She wasn't used to this, dressing fancy in
HAZEL. Evelyn had downed her hundredth glass of champagne that night. We sat around the table, she was dressed in a strident silver gown accessorized with a lavender scarf. I put on the same colors, the theme for tonight but with a lavender gown instead and silver heels. Playing behind was an orc
HAZEL. The winds rushed through my hair as I made my way down the arrival unit. I stared up at the large sign. Welcome to Seattle. The familiar scent of my hometown hit me in the face and my heart sank to my stomach. Not a lot of things had changed since I was here, six years ago. I clutched the







