"It worked!" I yelled across the room. "Baby, it worked." I hopped on the other side of the bed and enveloped her entire body with a warm hug. The air was contaminated by our smiles. "I love you, Baby girl," I whispered in her left ear.

"I love you, too," Hazel replied, tears falling down her soft face, slowly. "Thank you for saving me." Her tone deteriorated the guilt inside me. "You almost killed me but yet..." There was a pause on her end. "But yet, you saved my life."

"Well..." Jack interrupted, amusingly. "I'll just leave now."

"Stop it." Hazel got off the bed and headed in his direction. "Come here." Her body was already twirling in his arms. "Thank you, Jack Walter, for everything." Hazel held on to him for a good minute. She knew that Jack didn't appreciate her actions. She wanted to make peace with him.

Despite Jack's previous behavior, Hazel remained calm and still found a way to hit his weakest spot. His sensitive heart. "I don't want us to hate each other. We are living under the same roof and I want us to be okay." Hazel apologized, using her own polite words. "I also know you love your brother and I promise you that from now on, I'll take good care of him, I'll be more mature and I'll stop with my childish games."

Jack froze.

Lost for words.

Jack expected the worst from her. "Hazel..." He took a deep breath, refusing to let go of her this time. "I don't hate you. I just hate the things you do. Thank you for being the bigger person in the situation and apologize. It requires humility and strength. I appreciate you for that. You're forgiven." Knowing Jack, he meant every single word. They were sincere. "You're like a sister to me, I'll always love you and protect you. That's a promise."

"Thank you." Hazel finally let go. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." Tears fell upon her face as she tried to wipe them away, quickly. "I'm not a little girl anymore. I need to stop being emotional." She tried to laugh it off but the pain was already crawling under her skin. "O' Lord, this is hard." Tears couldn't stop falling.

"It's okay, Hazel." Jack kissed her forehead. "Please, stop crying."

"I'm trying..." She chuckled, amicably. "Okay, okay, I'm fine."

"I'm so glad you're okay now, Hazel." Jack implied as he headed straight to the door. "I'm going to take a nap. Hawk, you can do your thing." He glanced at me, then Hazel. "Just don't moan too loud, Hazel. A guy needs his sleep." He joked around. "Peace out." He closed the door after him.

To be quite honest, I wasn't in the mood anymore. I wanted Hazel. I wanted to explore every measure, every corner of her sensuous body but I just didn't want to celebrate the situation with my electric penis.

Her presence was all I needed.

Love?

A beautiful word but yet, dangerous.

I was proud to say that I was in love with Hazel.

She can be malefic, immature, childish, liar, and self-centered but besides her toxic personality, I still found a way to fight for her love. I still loved her with all my heart and made her my wife, even though she made my life a living hell.

I was there when she needed me the most and I'm also proud of that.

"Baby Girl... Get ready, my love." I stood up, grabbed my black leather jacket in the closet. "You're coming with me." I carried her on my shoulders without her permission and headed to the living room.

Jack was in the kitchen, eating Ice Cream.

"Hawk?" He called out. "Don't tell me you're about to sacrifice Hazel in the living room?" He headed straight to our direction. "Man! There are billions of rooms in this mansion and yet, you chose to destroy my peace." He chuckled, amusingly, placing his hands on his hips for a confident look. "Come on, guys have mercy on me."

"Are you coming with us?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. "I don't want you to stay by yourself. If you don't want to, it's fine. I just wanted to..."

"Fine, fine, fine." He interrupted my incomplete sentence. "If you insist..." A smile played on his face.

First of all, Jack Walter, It was just a suggestion and second of all, nobody's forcing you to come.

"Alright, sir," I uttered, sarcastically. "Let's go."

"Oh, I'm driving my car," Jack answered, confidently. "Where are we heading?" We followed him as soon as he opened the front door. "I'll just follow your car."

"What's the point of you driving?" I suggested. "Wouldn't it be better if we all go in the same car? Just think about it."

"Fine." He finally agreed. "I'll go with you."

As I unlocked the car, we all got in. Hazel was in the passenger seat and Jack, on the other hand, was laying in the backseat, playing games on his phone. "Put your seatbelt on, Ma'" I glanced at Hazel. "Safety first."

"What about me?" Jack joked around. "Don't you care about my life?"

"Jack, you're a grown-ass man." We both laughed. "Look at you..." I gestured. "You don't even care about your own life."

"Shut up." A smile played on his face. "Get a life."

"Are you guys ready?" I asked, excited. "Two more hours until we reach our destination."

"Where are we going?" Hazel asked, impatiently. "You didn't tell me."

"I know I didn't." My tone explained every feeling, manifesting inside me. "You'll just have to wait and see, sweetheart."

"Fine." She replied, without forcing the situation. "Okay, let's go."

After two hours drive, I had to make sure that Hazel was up. She slept the whole ride. We were at our final destination, I wanted everyone to be ready to meet this wonderful person. I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to contemplate her beautiful grey hair, her ashy skin, her swollen eyes, full of bags, after ten years.

She was an Idol, once upon a time.

As soon as we got out of the car, a few maids welcomed us with a smile on their faces. Where is she? That was the first question on my mind.

Impatient, nervous, scared.

I entered the house.

"Please, follow me, Mr. Hawk Wale." One of the maids was directing us. "She's going to be happy to see you again."

Maybe I was out of my mind but the maid seemed familiar. Her face, her voice, the way she curled her jokes in a different zone made me comfortable. "Have we met before?" I gave in and asked. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable but you really seem familiar."

"Your father was a great man." She stated, nervously. "It was an honor to work for him for so many years. You look so much like him."

"Thank you." I didn't know what else to say. I was stuck between feeling sad and feeling lucky.

"We're here." She opened the bedroom door that was located near the garden. "She doesn't remember anyone. Please, don't ask too many questions."

I nodded my head yes.

When I strolled into the room, . Wearing an ancient, floral robe that went up to her kneecaps. Her hair, which was like a web of silver yarn, encased her head. Her profile was crumpled but the scars on her face made her look kind. As she smiled at me, I noticed her missing teeth. A blessing. If you ask me.

I moved closer to examine every single vein on her creepy skin. I felt blessed. The way she looked around the room, searching for something made me feel at home.

Meet my Grandmother. My father's dear mother.

"Hey, Grandma." I held her left hand. "I miss you..."

Fire! Fire! Fire!

That's all she kept saying, repeatedly.

Catherine! Catherine! Fire! Fire! Run! Run! Save my son!

"Who's Catherine?" I asked the maid. "What fire?"

"I am." She responded, quickly. "She doesn't remember anything else but that night."

"What happened that night?" I asked, rapidly. "Did something happen?"

"Your father started a fire." She responded. "You were eleven years old. I don't know if you..."

"Remember?" I completed. "Of course, I remember but I didn't know that my father was the one who started it. Did you know the reason why?"

"It wasn't his fault." She concluded. "It was an accident."

"Did Grandma take her medicine?" I asked, worried. "She doesn't look good at all. Did she?"

"Yes, a few minutes before you got here." She assured. "Three times a day, that's the routine."

"Okay, great."

"We're leaving now." I kissed her on the forehead and headed outside.

"Why are you leaving now?" Hazel followed me. "We just got here."

"I know Princess but, every time I look at her, I feel like I'm drowning. She looks so much like my dad. I don't think I can follow through."

"I understand," She caressed my face, gently. "We don't have to stay here if you don't want to. Let's go, Jack."

"Are we really leaving?"

"Yes, we are," Hazel responded, quickly. "Let's go."

Hazel was trying her best to be on my side but little did she know, guilt was crawling under my skin. I was the one who started the fire that night. My father took all the blame, I was only eleven, and the fact that my Grandmother almost lost her life because of my mistake made me vulnerable.

No one will ever know.