"Who was that?" Ethan asked while doing some touch-ups on his painting. Hazel was shocked to realize that Ethan saw her with Damon. Now she was worried about what exactly he saw and the only thing she could think of was acting ignorant.
"Who are you talking about?" Hazel asked looking everywhere but at Ethan.
"Hazel" he turned to see her looking out of the window.
"Ethan" she answered still looking out the window.
"Look at me" he took a few steps closer to her and she finally looked at him.
"What are you hiding?" He asked gently.
"Ethan just stop, okay? When I say nothing, I mean it's nothing!".
The harshness in her tone startled Ethan. He took a step backward, keeping his eyes on her, and then shook his head.
"Is this what we're doing now?"
Hazel couldn't deny the pang of guilt she felt in her chest but did not want to look weak.
Ever since she ran away from Damon, she had always been on her guard. She felt the need to be defensive always so she wouldn't be maltreated.
Ethan never showed any sign of being like Damon. He never hesitated to care for her and love her son like his own. He never gave her any reason to doubt him but Hazel on the other hand still found it difficult to be vulnerable with anyone.
She couldn't bear the guilt she felt and the look of hurt in Ethan's eyes, just in time, Anna walked in on them with glasses of juice.
"Have you guys tried this new apple juice? It's worth every penny!" Anna noticed a tense atmosphere between the two lovers who kept staring at each other.
"What's going on?"
"I need to leave now" Hazel picked up her things to leave.
Ethan dropped his paintbrush and flung his apron on the Easel.
"I guess I'm drinking alone," Anna said to herself.
Hazel sat in her car for a few minutes, taking deep breaths. She recalled how naive she was when she met Damon. She loved him genuinely but it was never reciprocated.
No matter how hard he pushed her, she always welcomed him back with open arms. He is a ruthless mafia, dreaded by all but her. She never cared what anyone thought about him, she never paid attention to how badly she was treated by him. He was her first love and she was ready to accept crumbs if it meant she got to be called "his".
Tears rolled down her cheeks when she remembered the very night he came home drunk with stains of blood on his shirt. She ran down the stairs to meet him to make sure he was okay but he pushed her away. She fell hard and hit her head on the iron staircase railing. She groaned in pain and held her head, streaks of blood rolling to her forehead.
He showed no remorse as he walked up the stairs to his room, only for her to blame it on the Alcohol.
She placed her head on the steering wheel of her Range Rover Evoque and allowed the tears to flow freely as she said to herself "Never again. Never again will I be a fool for anyone".
Then again, she thought to herself, Ethan is nothing like him.
She trusted Ethan not to hurt her. She thought of going back to meet him in his studio.
" I'm sure he hates my guts," she said to herself as she got out of the car and went back to the studio.
He was typing away on his computer when walked in on him.
"Ethan"
He paused and looked up at her.
"Can we talk?"
He shook his head disapprovingly and continued typing.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way" she said, her words carried the weight of regret. As her words spilled out, Ethan could see the sincerity in her eyes.
Ethan sighed and stood up to meet her. He held her by the waist and pulled her closer to him while he leaned on the desk,
"I don't know what happened between you and that guy that got you so tensed up but I want you to know I care and I only want to be sure you're okay"
She nodded and pulled him in for a hug. Slowly, he reached out, gently cupping her face, and pulled her closer.
Their lips met in a gentle, yet passionate kiss and she could feel a weight being lifted from her shoulders.
******
"You both are boring. You want to stay in with Jermaine and he wants to stay with you while you stay in with Jermaine" Anna shook her head in annoyance.
After Hazel and Ethan made up, they went to meet Anna in the studio to have a drink and she was trying to persuade them to follow her for an art exhibition.
Hazel gave her the excuse of babysitting Jermaine and Ethan being an introvert tried using Hazel as an excuse not to go to the exhibition.
"It would be a great platform for you especially, Ethan" she continued.
"I would have to think about it. I have a lot to do"
"Oh spare me that!" She cut him off, "Just a few hours of your time and that's it"
Ethan looked at Hazel for help but Hazel shrugged and told him "I agree with Anna, you should go. Jermaine and I would go to the park or do something fun. You do not have to worry about us"
Ethan rolled his eyes and gave Anna the response she had been dying to hear, "Fine, I'll go."
"Yes!" She screamed with excitement as she gulped her juice and slammed her glass cup playfully on the round wooden table.
"I'll text the details and I'll come pick you up. I have to go now, bye lovebirds!" They walked her out of the studio to her Mercedes and watched her drive off.
Hazel left Ethan's studio a few hours after Anna left. She decided to branch the mall to get some groceries for the house.
Nanny Nora had called her to let her know Jermaine had run out of cereal. Jermaine's appetite reminded her of his father but she loved him nevertheless.
She walked around the mall scanning for things she might need. She decided to pick up a trolley basket for her things as she drafted a long list of things to buy. While dragging the trolley, a man dressed in a Black shirt and grey pants caught her attention, he looked familiar. She tried to think of where she had seen him but she couldn't place a finger on it.
She kept walking towards the Kids' section. Her phone started vibrating with a lot of messages. She picked up her phone from her coat pocket to check, a smile appeared on her face when she saw it was Jermaine texting her with the Nanny's phone.
She did not realize how much the text distracted her till she bumped into a woman, spilling her items on the floor.
"Oh! I'm so sorry ma'am" Hazel apologized to the woman who shrugged it off. She bent down to help the woman pick up everything that fell and apologized again.
Hazel started throwing things into the trolley until she got to a cereal pack and she examined it properly to know if this was the exact type that Jermaine liked. All the colors drained from her face when she heard a voice behind her;
"I'm not sure my son would like that".