"" Hazel screamed as she detached her hands from both of us. "Stop fighting, please." Her words were sharp as a knife. Her tone showed how annoyed she was. She wasn't ready to make a decision. "We can make a deal." She glanced at me, nervously.

"I'm listening," I replied, confidently. "What's the deal?" I questioned as I begged her lips to make a good one. I wanted to protect her and my baby. I wanted the best for us. She was my woman and I was not ready to let her go without a fight.

"You were just telling me that you wanted to take care of this baby." My heart skipped beats as her words started to navigate through her mouth. "If you want this baby, I'm going to give it to you but on one condition, I'll marry this gentleman." She pointed her index at Max. "If you don't want to keep the child, I'll come home with you but I won't keep it."

Why would I kill my own baby? Why would I let another guy make love to my woman every night? I wanted to choose Hazel but at the same time, I didn't want to lose my only child. I wanted her to leave with Max and keep the child but I knew deep down, that I wasn't going to survive one day. What if Max kills the baby and has Hazel all to himself? I'll lose both of them and I don't want that.

Choosing was hard but I know it was the best thing to do. I didn't want Max to make love to Hazel and make her fall in love with him all over again. I didn't want him to poison my baby and keep her to himself. I didn't want my enemy to win my woman over. I knew he didn't care about the baby. That wasn't his baby and I knew he was capable of getting rid of it without hesitation. I didn't want to take that chance. I was willing to make a big sacrifice.

Hazel was the only good thing in my life. I didn't want to lose her to the devil's son.

"You can ..." I sighed, urgently. "You can get rid of the baby." I regretted my words but I knew that it was the best decision. I didn't want to lose both of them at the same time.

Jack's jaw dropped as he tried his best to make me change my mind. "Hawk? Are you sure? We're talking about your child here. Reconsider, man." He stood by my side. "Please." He gave me a friendly punch to the arm.

"I made my decision, Jack." I squeezed my teeth against each other. "I want her." Hazel forced a smile.

"Fine!" Hazel stated. "I pick you, then." She said, truthfully. "But don't forget our deal. I'll do it in a few weeks." She stared at Dr. Pen. "Doctor, I'll be ready in a few weeks." Doctor Pen nodded his head and excused himself.

Jack left the room and Max followed.

Hazel and I were finally alone.

"Thank you..." I whispered under my teeth. "It was a tough decision but..."

"Listen," Hazel cut me off completely. "I want you to keep your distance from now on. I'll keep the baby but you're going to stay away from me. You can't touch me, kiss me or make love to me." She raised an eyebrow. "Are we clear?"

"Why did you lie about the deal?" I questioned her loyalty. "Why did you make them think that you're going to have an abortion? I hate lies and that was one thing I hated about you."

"Take it or leave it." She ignored my questions. "Your choice."

"Fine, I'll keep my hands to myself." I agreed for the sake of the child. "You can count on me."

"I want to leave now." She commanded. "Can we?"

"Sure." I hesitated. "We can make it happen." I was unsure and confused. It was hard to say no to her. There was something about Hazel that drives me insane and makes me weak on the inside. Hazel had my heart and I was willing to do anything for her. Despite, everything that has happened in the past. I wanted to forgive and forget.

****

"Are you out of your mind?" Jack grabbed me by the arm as I headed from Hazel's room. "Hazel doesn't care about the baby. Why did you choose her over the child?" He questioned my mentality, angrily.

Jack wanted the best for me but Hazel was my worst addiction.

"Jack," I sighed. "She's keeping our child but..." My face went pale. "But I can't kiss her or make love to her."

"She is?" He asked, confusingly. "That's great, man." He chuckled, happily. "But you made a dumb decision a few minutes ago, I wasn't proud." He proved a good point.

"I miss her so badly." I swallowed my saliva and tried to control my temper, patiently. "I wanted to hug her for a long time and never let go." My jaw clenched. "Do you know how hard it's going to be to keep my hands to myself? The fact that she doesn't remember me kills me more. Do you think she's going to remember me one day?"

Jack uplifted his shoulders. "I don't know what the future holds. I guess you just need to be patient and be grateful that she's willing to keep the baby." He convinced me. "I'm pretty sure she's going to like you again, just give her time and please don't use your tongue to get her back." He warned me, amusingly.

"It still feels like yesterday when I was kissing her." I opened my room. "She was begging for more and now I'm the one who's starving." I sat on the bed. "When is she going to remember me? When, Jack? When?" I begged my mind to stop thinking about Hazel.

"Patience, Brother," Jack exclaimed. " Patience."

"She wants to leave the hospital today," I uttered. "What should I do, man?" My question woke his conscience up. "How can I keep my hands to myself when I'm dying to make love to her in my dirty mind?" I spoke the truth.

"You have to try to sacrifice your needs if you want her by your side." He chuckled. "You have to." He glanced at his phone. "I'll drive you to your new house. Didn't you buy the house before her parents funeral?"

"Yes, we were supposed to go over there but..." I tried to remember what happened on the day of the accident. "But two cars followed us and tried to kill me. I lost control and the next thing you know, we were covered with blood and I just couldn't move." I explained everything to him. "I thought I lost Hazel. I thought she was..." I paused, trying not to let my weaknesses take over. "Dead. I thought she was dead."

"Did you see anything?" Jack asked with a curious mind. "Their cars? Their faces?"

"No," I told him the truth. "It happened so quick. Why are you asking these questions? Do you know something?" Jack was hiding something but he didn't want to find out. "What is it?"

"I think I know who it was." Jack sighed, impatiently. "I know who was trying to kill you. Well, not you." He paused as he tried to say a name. "Hazel. She was the target."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone tried to kill Hazel at the funeral." He repeated. "Hazel was in great danger."

"Who?" I insisted. "Who tried to kill her?"

"Leah." He said, directly. "Her step-sister." He revealed the name. "She paid people to take her life. She kept telling everyone that Hazel was the reason why her father was dead. She wanted revenge."

"But?" My jaw dropped. "But she wasn't at the funeral."

"She was." He replied, confidently. "When you left, she came to me and was crying. She was telling me that she wanted to talk to Hazel and she was in pain, she wanted to hold her in her arms." He revealed. "I thought it was okay to give her your new address so I felt bad and gave it to her. Little did I know, she sent people to kill her. She knew everything about you. Your car, your name. Everything."

"Where is she now?" I asked, urgently.

"Dead." He said, dryly. "She shot herself."

"How do you know?" My suspense was getting wilder. "How do you know that she was behind everything?"

"I overheard her on the phone." He tried to hold his breath. "I called the cops and tried to stop her but it was too late. That was after I gave her the address by the way."

"Why didn't you call me?" I asked, confused.

"I did." He replied, gently. "But you didn't answer your phone."

"That's weird." I replied back, "Maybe you did. Hazel was in pain, I was giving her all of my attention. You're right."

"We should leave." Jack started, unexpectedly. "I'll drive both of you over there."

"Yes, collect my things for me. Please." I asked him to help me pack. "Let Hazel know that we're leaving tonight."

"No problem." He held the door. "I'll get coffee." He closed the door after him and his presence faded from a distance.