Chris And Hazel - Volume 1 Chapter 38

‘Is everything all right?’ Chris asked as Hazel hung up.

‘It was my dad; he is at your house. But he told me that he will directly come to attend Ed’s engagement party and when I asked about it…he told me your dad invited them’ she said still unsure of what’s going on.

‘Ohh…Okay!’ Chris said nodding at her explanation.

‘He told me he will be checking in with the hotel soon, that’s why he called’ she continued looking at him.

‘That’s fine, we should go! It’s getting late’ he said getting up. In an instant, he was back to being the cold boss. If she told anyone that he had been crying the past few minutes it would be hard for them figure it out in one go. He changed his reaction within fraction of seconds.

‘Chris…’ she called out as she grabbed his hand stopping him from walking away.

Chris turned back surprised by her move.

‘…’ Hazel froze up as he turned back at her. She wanted to say a lot of things when she stopped him but now it just won’t come out. She planned on saying some things that would help him feel better but the idea didn’t work as easy as it sounded. She looked up at him blankly still holding onto his hand.

‘Hazel…?’ he called out as she sat there tightly holding onto his hand.

‘…Just sit’ she said slowly letting go.

‘But your dad…’ he started.

‘He can wait’ she answered stopping him.

‘I think we should leave Haze’ he said trying to convince her.

‘I don’t think! We will leave once you pour out everything’ she answered stubborn.

‘But Haze…’ he stopped, he couldn’t continue after looking at her.

He silently went back to sit beside her.

‘I thought you was gonna throw a fit’ she said surprised by him giving in easily.

‘I thought so too’ he murmured slowly looking away.

‘Look Chris, me knowing the truth about your past isn’t important. The most important thing here is you should face your past…I can understand you took care of everything but it is necessary to get it out of you…you needn’t pretend to be strong in front of me or the world, it’s over now. It’s ok to let it out…I am here…’she said expressing her concern towards him.

‘…So many back stabbings…so much hatred from around…I guess I was just destined to get badly torn in order to fit in with the real world. It was so much different from what we imagined in college, my life was easy back then…the worst nightmare I had back then was getting rejected by you but it changed drastically and I wasn’t ready for it. Only after stepping into my brother’s shoes I was able to understand all the struggles he and my dad went through to build such an empire. Funny, that I should realize that by losing him…forever. The price I had to pay was too much…wasn’t it?’ he asked smiling through his blurred vision. ‘I am sorry that I wasn’t able to look for you much earlier Haze! It wasn’t fair to hurt you…I just had no idea on how much you loved me… I am sorry!’ he added as he managed to wipe off his tears within they could fall off.

‘Don’t apologize…I know you didn’t mean it…I am sorry too!’ she said as she slowly wiped off the tears that fell down from Chris’ eyes which won’t stop falling no matter how much he tried to control them.

‘Why are you apologizing?’ he asked taking her hand into his.

‘I know that you blame yourself for everything that happened to me during the past six years but I had always had the pride that I knew you better than anyone but time proved me wrong…when you returned as my boss I had plenty of questions I wanted the answer to but not once…not once did I wonder how you were during the past years. I had the wildest thoughts…I thought you had a wife and then thought you were a divorcee and I even thought that you would propose me one day but I never once thought about what you might have gone through over the years. I am not gonna lie Chris but I have cried nights hoping that you would show up on my door like nothing happened…from the beginning the only question I had was why I loved you so much? I just didn’t know but I loved you so much…and I even convinced myself to wait for you not for one or two but for six years but I had people to console me and tell me it was okay to feel bad and let go and some even told me to hold on but you didn’t …you didn’t have anyone to tell you that you got this and you could do this and no one told you that it was okay to let out your thoughts and feelings and no one told you that you could have blind faith that I was gonna wait for you but you did…and that makes me fall in love with you even more than I ever was’ she answered looking into his pale moist eyes.

Chris didn’t need someone to share his burdens or someone to help him out of the situations he had faced during the past years all he needed was someone to support him and trust him. He knew his parents believed in him when he took up the company during the crisis but they didn’t know that he needed someone to stand by him when he healed himself and as a result he buried them instead of taking care of it.

Everything he faced back then was something he never encountered in his life not even in his worst nightmare did he think of them and above all his life took a new turn when he became the single dad for two kids who weren’t even a year old.

‘Thank you Hazel…thanks for understanding’ he said slowly getting up from the bench.

‘That’s it?’ she asked getting up shocked.

‘…I am really grateful’ he answered looking at her shocked reaction.

‘I didn’t pour out like that so that you could be grateful?’ she answered irritated.

‘So what you want me to?’ he asked smiling mischievously.

‘…Why are you smiling like that? No…I didn’t mean it that way’ she shouted covering her face.

‘Then?’ he asked tilting his head in confusion.

‘Didn’t you hear the last part of my sentence?’ she asked hoping he would come back to his senses.

Chris quickly nodded his head, implying that he still didn’t get it.

‘Just forget it’ she answered turning away angrily.

‘It’s getting late, we have to go’ he said looking at his watch.

Hazel gave him a look that clearly showed her disinterest in returning home.

‘Your dad already hates me Haze! And if he happens to find out that you are with me…then he’s never gonna accept me’ he said afraid that he will make a mistake in her case…again.

‘I know he accepted you’ she told giving him a cold stare.

‘HOW…?’ he asked confounded.

‘I followed you guys to that café’ she responded remorseful.

‘…Is that why you have been so understanding lately?’ he asked connecting the dots.

‘Yeah…I was kinda selfish’ she said feeling bad.

‘To be honest, yes you were kinda selfish!’ he said smiling at her.

Though Hazel wanted to comment on that, on seeing his smile she knew she had to let him have this win.

‘It’s funny…this was the place I found you six years later and I ended up confessing right by the same place’ he said as he looked back at the fountain they stood beside.

‘So this is the magic fountain in the story you tell the kids?’ she asked as she played with the water coming from the fountain.

‘…Yeah! I was able to safeguard you till you completed college but after that I had to be very careful regarding all the moves I made…I didn’t want to expose you by protecting you, so I stopped! Two years later; when I was able to clear off all the threats around, I started looking for you. But no matter how many connections I had , it was really hard to track you and the others down… but I somehow managed to track Charlotte’s house but you weren’t in her locality either but I had a feeling you would definitely be in this city. Though I couldn’t search for you in full swing, I did make time to look for you and I also had my men follow Charlotte…and please don’t tell Charlotte! Then, one day I was in this street for some business and then there you were standing in front of this fountain…praying something and you looked damn serious. I wanted to approach you right then but something stopped me…I didn’t know how to approach you, I backed out!’ he stopped as he looked up at Hazel who was deeply listening to him.

‘Then…?’ she asked quite curious.

‘I had to come into your life somehow…so I had no other go but buy your company!’ he answered calmly.

‘YOU BOUGHT MY COMPANY!?’ she screamed blacking out from his reply.

‘…I wanted to know whether you still liked me and for that I had to spend most of my time around you and that was the best solution me and my team could come up with’ he expounded trying to calm her down.

‘Wait…you had a team to give you this stupid idea?’ she asked recalling his explanation.

‘Well they were the best and the most trained people in my company’ he defended looking at her reaction which made him feel stupid.

‘Oh my God…! Chris, you are impossible’ she said as she covered her face in disbelief.

‘I think after Ed came into picture I have improved a lot’ he said trying to prove her that he isn’t as dumb as she thinks in the subject called love.

‘But why did you act like you didn’t remember me?’ she asked as she remembered the way he behaved on his first day in the company.

‘Well I was scared that if I come and talk to you, you would end up ignoring me and that would be a bit insulting and so I pretended that I didn’t remember you’ he replied projecting a look for forgiveness.

‘I thought you were innocent Mr. Finch, I guess I was wrong’ she said shaking her head in dismay.

‘I was still growing’ he answered smiling childishly.

‘…You…I just don’t know what to say’ she said smiling back at him though she wanted to be serious she just couldn’t after looking at that face.

‘Shall we go?’ she asked after a minute.

‘Sure…are you tired or something?’ he asked worried.

‘No…we should leave considering that I don’t live here anymore…it feels like we are trespassing’ she answered walking towards Chris’s car which was parked in the apartment’s driveway.

‘So…?’ he asked still confused.

‘We will go somewhere else…somewhere we could have a long walk without being interrupted’ she replied extending her hand towards him.

Chris gladly accepted her gesture; they walked away from the fountain hand in hand when Chris stopped suddenly remembering something.

‘Haze…! You didn’t tell me what you wished for that day. Did your wish come true?’ he questioned looking at her.

‘Well…yeah’ she answered nodding slowly.

‘So what was the wish?’ he asked super excited.

‘…So that’s why you believe that this fountain is magic? Just because you found me near it?’ she asked ignoring his question.

‘Actually, yeah…! But answer mine…seriously!’ he said turning serious.

‘Previously, I didn’t know about the fountain’s legacy, that day was the first time I heard of it. After I returned from work, I don’t know how but I started recalling some things about you and I happened to pass by the fountain …I still don’t know what came over me I stepped forward took a coin and wished for you to come back…’ she stopped as she looked up at him.

‘Weirdly…you did come back but with two kids! So I thought it was my cue to move on but you wouldn’t let me …whenever I wanted to move on you mysteriously appeared there so that my heart could waver into stupid fantasies again…imagining how happy I could have been with you’ she finished turning away from him.

‘I am sorry for fooling you…I didn’t mean to’ he said apologetically as he caressed her cheeks gently with his hand.

‘I know…you were just stupid! I get it!’ she said moving away afraid that her heart was gonna burst as they were insanely close to each other.

‘I was stupid only when the subject was you’ he said as he narrowed the distance between them.

‘Where do you think we should go?’ she asked moving away hurriedly.

‘It gives a wrong image if you keep moving away from me after confessing that you love me for the second time’ he said pulling her into his arms as she tried to walk away.

‘…So you heard that?’ she asked as they were just inches away from each other.

‘I wouldn’t miss such an obvious confession…Ms. White’ he mumbled teasingly as he pressed his forehead against hers taking her face into his hands. The duo were insanely close and Hazel was pretty much scared that she was gonna faint as her mind kept fantasying on what was gonna happen next. She was both excited and nervous, until today she didn’t know that these two feelings could ever combine.

‘Chris…’ she tried calling out.

‘Shhhshh…’ he hushed her slowly brushing his lips against hers.

Hazel froze right into his arms. She slowly melted into his embrace as he took her lips into his for a slow and passionate kiss. Her tensed arms relaxed as she entangled her hands around his neck pulling him closer than he already was, it all seemed perfect as she kissed him back merging into the passion. The corner of Chris’ lips twitched into a smile as Hazel kissed him back he slowly pulled her by her waist as the kiss deepened fiercely. Hazel’s mind went misty and her knees grew weak as the kiss grew more intense, her hands wrapped around his body clutching onto him for support. Her breath grew heavy, she was gasping for breath when Chris finally was merciful enough to let go. As they parted away from each other, Chris slowly moved locks of her hair surrounding her neck placing a small kiss on her neck; she tingled as his breath touched her neck. She slowly let go of him as they moved away from each other.

‘So…?’ he asked as they slowly stared at each other blankly dwelling into the awkwardness of the moment.