Chris and Hazel

'Are you okay?' Chris asked as Hazel climbed back into the passenger seat of his car in front of the courthouse.

'I am okay! It's just that it felt weird…I never thought I would ever go to a courthouse as a witness' she answered sinking into her seat.

'I tried my level best to not involve you but in order to be a stronger on our side we needed at least three witnesses and the last one didn't show up at the last moment' he explained apologetically.

'It's ok Chris; at least I proved to be helpful as a compensation for creating this whole mess' Hazel replied looking at him.

He looked a lot worse than she had expected, first of all he was upset because he was gonna miss Ed's engagement tonight and second he felt bad because though with so much influence he still had to take Hazel to the court as a witness and the last thing he wanted was to get her involved. 

'I always wanted to be there during his engagement and marriage but I always assumed that I didn't have any luck because of my absence in the past years but though I am with you guys now…I couldn't attend it' he told her smiling sadly.

'...' Hazel was at a loss of words; she couldn't get herself to console him because she knew it was partly…no…entirely her fault. If it wasn't because of her, he wouldn't have had to rush up from Ava's house to come back to their city that morning. They had to leave right away after hearing the news that the landlord's case was coming to a hearing the next day morning and they were short of a witness.

Hazel and Chris had no choice but go, because Hazel was the only witness and evidence they could produce considering the time constraints.

Chris turned his eyes off the road to sneak a peek at Hazel, but Hazel noticed him staring at her.

'You wanna say something?' she asked as he got caught red-handed.

'…No, it's nothing!' he said in a low voice.

'The call could've arrived a minute later' Hazel said as her mind wandered off to the previous day's afternoon;

'Hazel, what's wrong?' Chris asked surprised as Hazel kept holding onto him not ready to let go.

'I am sorry' she murmured barely audible.

Hazel managed to look up at him, her vision blurred with tears.

'I am sorry' she said after clearing her throat.

'For what…?' he asked pretty confused by her sudden outburst.

'…it's nothing' she said shaking her sideways trying to cover up the reason. Once again, she didn't want the situation to focus on her. She wanted to listen to Chris.

'...'

Chris obviously knew something was wrong but he couldn't get to ask her what was wrong…he didn't know the reason but something stopped him from questioning her further.

'Hazel…I need to tell you something' he said not wanting to waste any more time.

'…Go on' Hazel answered wiping off her tears. Though she wanted to tell him certain things, she knew it was more important to listen to him right now. She had a lot of questions she wanted the answers to but she also knew that it was time for her to listen. 

'I don't know why you are crying but something tells me that you aren't gonna tell me the answer to that but…there is something I want to clarify' he said after a pause.

'I will tell you Chris, just finish yours off' she said smiling through her glistening eyes.

'I love you, Haze!' he confessed.

'What?' Hazel cried out startled by his sudden confession. She tried to read his face but in vain. She imagined a lot of ways on how she was gonna be proposed but this wasn't one of them.

'I fell in love with you long before you ever did…I always thought we were gonna have a happy ending but I guess, time didn't. And the most important thing is I still LOVE YOU! Even after I left college after graduation, I assigned certain people to protect you, I couldn't be there to protect you personally so I made sure I was able to protect you somehow but it backfired too…there was so much rivalry back then and since I didn't have a strong stand at the beginning…in order to protect you…I had to let you go. Six years later, even though I searched high and low for you I couldn't find you…and then later I found you by the…'

His sentence was interrupted by a call.

'It's the lawyer' he said looking up at her, holding his phone in his hand.

'Hazel?' Chris called out shaking her off her thoughts.

'Yeah…?' she asked looking back at him.

'We are home' he answered her getting down from the car to go inside his house.

'Chris!' she called before he could walk further away.

Chris turned to look at her; she was still in the passenger seat.

'About yesterday…' she started when they heard the gate open.

Hazel got down from the car to notice a car entering through the door.

'Dad…?' Chris asked quite shocked on seeing his dad and mom coming out from the car.

'Hey Chris' his dad said smiling at him.

'Hazel…this is my dad and you already met my mom' he introduced still shocked by their sudden arrival.

'I have a surprise' his mom said excited as she walked closer. 

As they looked at her in confusion, the gate creaked again as another car entered their driveway. 

'Ava…?' Hazel shrieked as Ava got down from the car. She rushed towards the car and found Ed and Charlotte sitting inside.

'You told me that you will return only by this weekend' Hazel said still in a haze from the surprise she has received.

Chris walked over to them, more surprised than Hazel herself.

'You have your engagement party tonight and what are you doing here?' he asked looking at Ed.

The duo couldn't think straight, they were too confused to even figure out that their friends wanted to surprise them.

'It'll happen but here, with you guys attending it' Ed answered smiling at his friend.

'But didn't you already send out the invitations?' Chris asked in doubt.

'Well yeah but we cancelled it. We will be conducting the party the day after tomorrow' Ed answered looking at his friend. Ed made it sound like it wasn't a big thing to be done but Chris understood how much he meant to Ed. Ed was never good with expressing his feelings just like Chris was, maybe that's why they were best friends after all.

'You did that for us?' Chris asked touched by their gesture.

'…I guess so. I want you to be there for my engagement. Come on Chris! We have already decided to be there for each other on the day our lives were gonna end' Ed joked making his way inside.

The others slowly smiled at him before going inside the house leaving Chris and Hazel back in the driveway.

'Chris?' Hazel called as she found Chris standing in the same place for quite some time.

'He did that for me' he spoke out looking at Hazel.

'I know' she said smiling.

'I didn't think he would do that' he said overwhelmed by Ed's gesture.

'He loves you so much Chris. He would never have his engagement party without you' she answered looking at him.

Chris looked at Hazel and nodded slightly before entering his house.

'I think you should tell Hazel before Ed's engagement and then maybe you both could hold your engagement together' Chris' dad said walking over to Chris who was sitting on his bed not wanting to look up at his dad.

'I certainly don't think you should intervene' he answered bluntly.

'Chris, don't talk to your dad like that' his mom said quite upset with the way they both acted to one another.

'That's ok, Stephanie! I deserve it' his dad answered looking at his wife.

'Chris, just consider what dad is trying to say' his mom pleaded as Chris got up to leave.

'Oh really…? Okay! MR. Vincent Finch, explain!' he said looking at his dad.

'Chris I am just sorry for everything' his dad started.

His dad didn't have a slight hint on what he was gonna say but he knew he had to start somewhere before seeking for forgiveness, he didn't want to mess up like the way he did six years ago.

'You are sorry? That's acceptable and convenient. First of all, you have to be and second of all, it's not gonna make a difference now. Third, I just can't forgive the person who left me sinking into his business six years ago' he shouted his voice filled with rage and extreme pain.

'I couldn't do anything…Chris! It was too much of a loss for me, I just couldn't take it' his dad said as he looked away from Chris, clenching onto his half-filled coffee cup covered with guilt.

'Do you even consider me as a human? You think it didn't affect me? All I wanted was someone to support me but you and mom were so busy supporting each other that you never ever had the time to make time for me and your grandchildren…and I am even afraid whether Rob and Aurora remember having a grandfather' Chris spoke out as a sharp pain stabbed right through him.

'I need to go' he said walking out of the room as he controlled himself from bursting out further.

Chris managed to hold back his tears and tried his level best not to look back at his dad while leaving the room because he knew if he did, he couldn't be angry anymore but at the same time he couldn't get himself to forgive him either.

'Hazel?' Aurora called out entering Hazel's room as Robert followed her inside.

'Hey sweetie…! What is it?' Hazel asked looking at the two as they approached her with baby steps.

'Are you still angry on dad?' Robert asked as they both sat in front of her.

'...N…'

'Please don't be! It's kinda our fault, we always thought that our dad would tell you that he likes you but he didn't so we thought if we did it would solve things' Aurora said apologetically.

Hazel looked at the twins in front of her; they never failed to amuse her from day one since their meeting. They weren't like how other children were at their age but they were totally different in a good way. It was weird on how they were able to understand certain things without needing any explanation. It made Hazel wonder whether all the kids raised by a single parent were so matured like these two?

'You know that you are lot matured for your age, right?' Hazel asked smiling at the little girl.

'No, I am just understanding' she answered innocently.

'…I am not angry on your dad' Hazel answered laughing at her explanation.

Aurora and Robert looked at one another and after sometime Aurora nodded at her brother before speaking out;

'We have to tell you something' Aurora said after sometime.

'Go ahead, honey!' she said smiling.

'Remember the day we met in front of a cake shop?' Robert asked looking at Hazel.

Hazel nodded in acceptance.

'It wasn't the first time we met you, we already knew about you long before' Robert admitted not sure of the later consequences.

'How…?' Hazel asked demented.

'Our dad has a picture of you framed in his room and whenever we ask about our mom, he will say that she will be home soon and then looks at your picture on the table' Aurora answered plainly.

Hazel tried clearing her thoughts before taking in any kind of information further inside, though Hazel seemed fine on the outside, it was clear that she was torn between two worlds called the past and present but the confession from the kids was something she never expected, not even in her wildest dreams did she imagine two six-year old's helping her to get her love back. She looked at the kids who were confused on whether they should continue or stop.

'…Go on' Hazel said looking at the two who was staring at her with a frightened look on their faces.

'I recognized you from the picture and that's why I voluntarily came and spoke to you and later dragged you to see dad' Robert explained hoping he wasn't saying anything he shouldn't.

'…Since dad and you didn't react, we wanted you guys to meet often…I even overheard your plan to some café and pulled dad there' Aurora disclosed looking at Hazel.

'But why…?' Hazel asked surprised by the kids' effort.

'We thought that you were…' Aurora started.

'…Our MOM!' they replied together.

'...…'

'And we kinda liked the thought that you will be staying with us after this' Aurora answered looking up at Hazel as the corners of her lips curved to form the perfect smile.

Hazel looked at the kids, her vision got clouded with tears.

'Why didn't you ask Chris about your mom?' she asked trying not to choke up on her words.

'…Dad always got emotional when we mentioned mom so we didn't' Aurora replied wiping off the tears that flowed down Hazel's cheeks.

'We started calling granny as mom' Robert continued after Aurora finished.

Hazel pulled the kids into a hug before she could hear a word more. It was strange feeling; she didn't know what to tell them. She was spellbound! She just didn't know what to say to them but a strange feeling of calmness washed over her when she pulled the kids into her arms. It was true that Hazel loved kids very much and she was extremely good at taking care of them but whenever she was around Robert and Aurora she always felt the need to protect them and she didn't know why? She assumed that it was because they were Chris' children but still she knew deep inside that it wasn't the only reason. Somewhere along with time, she started thinking that these two kids were her family and she got used to loving that thought.

'Don't worry! I promise you guys that I will be there for you both…always. And I will not be angry on Chris anymore' she promised still holding them.

'Hazel?' Charlotte called out entering her room.

Hazel pulled back from the kids to look at Charlotte standing next to them.

'Go play, I will come and talk you guys later' Hazel said looking at the kids.

The kids nodded and walked out of the room.

'What was that?' Charlotte asked bemused by the sight she just witnessed.

'It was nothing! Come sit' Hazel said clearing the space near her to let Charlotte sit beside her.

'I heard from Ava that you were looking for me since yesterday' Charlotte answered sitting down.

'Well I already spoke to Ava about that so I will tell you that later but now I have bigger things to worry about' Hazel answered her friend going back to sort out her thoughts.

'Ok what is it?' Charlotte asked reactionless.

'It's nothing really! Just forget it!' Hazel said not wanting to talk about it.

'Haze…! Just tell me' Charlotte demanded quite stubborn.

'…Chris was trying to tell me the truth yesterday but our conversation was interrupted by the lawyer and then we had to rush here and day after tomorrow we have Ed's and Ava's party so it's evident that we all will be very busy considering that Chris wanted take over the arrangements… this is taking forever Charlotte! I just don't know what to do' she said trying to figure out on how to take things to the next level. She felt as though someone pressed the pause button in her story and things just stayed the same not moving forward at all.

'Is it only that?' Charlotte asked not satisfied with her explanation.

'Well…no! It's something else' Hazel accepted as she finally gave away her pretending face.

Charlotte patiently waited for her to continue;

'Yesterday Chris took my dad outside to talk about something. Technically I had to follow them to the café because I was afraid something was gonna go wrong but I ended up listening to their conversation. I know it was wrong to eavesdrop but I was worried when they left home…and when I heard Chris talk about his point of view…I was really ashamed for being so self-concerned. Not once, I thought about what he went through…so I decided no matter when he plans to tell me I will listen completely before judging him…but Chris has been meaning to talk to me for a week but some or the other things come up' she finished sighing heavily.

'Hazel…I will be right back' Charlotte said leaving the room in haste.

Charlotte quickly rushed out of the room as her mind wandered off to the day when Ed and the others left to Ava's house.

'Chris?' Charlotte called out catching her breath as she reached Chris' room still in a daze from recalling the events that happened the other night.

'Charlotte?' he asked quite surprised by her sudden visit to her room.

'I know everything' she said entering his room.

'What?' he asked befuddled.

'I know what happened six years ago' she explained.

'How…?' he asked walking over to her disturbed by her answer.

'...'

'Charlotte…?' he called out as she remained silent.

'Your mom told me' she answered after a short pause.

'My mom told you? No way' Chris answered confidently.

'Well she didn't want to! I kinda forced her' Charlotte explained looking at Chris' reaction.

'You…'

'Don't be angry! You weren't making any process and Hazel was going insane with each passing day…I had to do something so I went to meet your mom the day you guys left to Ava's. I tried everything…I begged her, tried threatening her but she wouldn't budge. But when she was so keen in keeping it away from me I knew it was something big and confidential but I had to know. I slowly explained her what Hazel was going through and how many sleepless nights she had hoping that you would show up and that's when your mother broke down. She was furious…out of anger she ended up telling me what you went through. She didn't mean too so just don't be angry on her' Charlotte finished hoping that Chris would understand.

'What…' he started after a moment of thought.

'I won't tell Hazel' she said cutting him short.

'Why?' he asked because he knew about Charlotte, she could never keep something as important as this away from Hazel.

'I really don't wanna help you but she has to know this from you and it is not my place to tell her but though I hated you all these years I kinda feel bad for you after hearing your story' she answered turning to leave.

'Charlotte?' he called out stopping her.

'Thank you' he said smiling.

She nodded her head slightly walking away.

'....so, we are glad to inform that the heirs of Richardson's will be taking over the company soon. Half of my business will be handled by my son Edward Richardson and the other my daughter, Charlotte Richardson' George Richardson announced as they all sat to have dinner at Chris' house.

'Dad, quit joking around!' Ed said embarrassed by the way his father was acting in front of everyone.

'I am just practicing son, just let me' George said defending him while all the others laughed looking at their petty fight.

Ed nodded his head sideways hopelessly as he knew he couldn't stop his dad from behaving like a guy who was happy drunk.

'And I would also like to make an important announcement today; my son, Edward Richardson will be getting married soon to Ava Steve and we will hold their engagement tonight' he said raising his glass for the toast to celebrate the couple.

Hazel smiled as they all lifted their glasses to toast to the couple, though everyone were just acting along with Mr. Richardson; it kinda felt real to her.

'I am so happy for them' Chris said coming over to Hazel.

'Yeah, me too' she answered glowing with happiness.

'Hey, maybe you can accompany me for a walk?' he asked looking at her expectantly.

'Sure' she answered smiling at him.

As they slowly walked towards the garden in Chris' house, they noticed Chris' dad sitting in the garden.

He got up on seeing them;

'Chris, there you are' Vincent said walking towards them.

'So?' Chris asked frowning.

Hazel found Chris' behavior very strange because he is never rude with anyone, at least not like this.

'Hi Hazel! I am Vincent Finch, Chris's dad' he introduced himself smiling at her.

'Hello, Mr. Finch!' she greeted smiling back.

'Finally I met you' he said beaming at her.

'What do you mean finally?' Hazel asked confused by his statement.

'Well we have a heard lot about your dear' Vincent explained looking at her puzzled expression.

'Dad, just stop it' Chris interrupted before his dad could talk further.

'Chris, just give me a chance, ok? Plus, I can't stay for long…I have to go back soon' his dad spoke out trying to make Chris understand.

'I am not surprised, after all you are well known to run away during a crisis' Chris said as he clenched his fists in anger.

'Chris, I am just trying to make up for the mistakes I did. It's partly my fault that you had to let go of Hazel and take over the business six years ago' Vincent disclosed, his eyes filled with guilt.