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CHAPTER 79
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A vow of hate CHAPTER 80
HAZELI had never been more confused in my life than I was at that moment. Neither had I been so scared of the look in Christian’s face. It wasn’t anger. It was pure betrayal. I couldn’t even imagine all the things that were going on in his head as he looked from that file to me. And all my words fell on deaf ears. I had gone into his office to pick up my book, and I hadn’t even been in my room since I went straight to the home gym from there, until I walked into him in my room, holding that file and looking at me like I had lodged a knife in his chest. “How could I have trusted you?”Those words kept resounding in my head over and over again, even as I staggered to my bed to sit down. I didn’t need to think that hard to understand why Christian had looked so hurt. It was just as Mia had said— the whole stealing of corporate information. He thought it was about to happen all over again.I called Mia, and the second she answered, the tears came pouring down again.“Hazel? Are you okay
A vow of hate CHAPTER 81
CHRISTIANMy meeting went well, thankfully. Even though I had to do a lot of apologizing to the stuck up shareholders who looked quite unimpressed when I barged into the boardroom with beads of perspiration dotting my forehead. The rest of the day after my meeting was pretty uneventful and I just stayed in my office and signed documents and answered emails.My phone buzzed with a text. It was Hazel.Hazel: I know how you feel right now, and I’m not going to try to push you or anything. We can talk when you feel better and are calm. I didn’t do it though, Christian. I would never. Hope your meeting went well regardless.”I tossed my phone back on my dear and sighed heavily. ‘I would never.’ But she did once before. I was torn, honestly. A part of me was heartbroken, especially when I had found the file in her bedroom, but the confusing thing was that there was the other part of me that believed that she really didn’t do it. And the point she had made earlier made sense. If she really w
A vow of hate CHAPTER 82
I went back home from my jog, expecting to hash things out with Christian. I had sent him a text earlier, but he didn’t respond. I wasn’t expecting him to anyway, and I would much rather talk about things face to face. “Is Christian home?” I asked Tina as I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water. “Yeah, he didn’t go upstairs yet, so he’s probably in his office.”“Okay thanks,” I smiled at her, already walking toward Christian’s office. The door was slightly open and I was about to push it open and take a peek in when I heard voices. “You brought this upon yourself, you did! Don’t you dare try to blame Hazel for anything.”I frowned at the mention of my name, and inched closer to the door so I could hear better. Christian sounded angry, and I wondered who he was arguing with. It was probably not a good time to try to have a conversation with him, not when he sounded that way.The next thing I heard was the unmistakeable sound of Chloe’s voice, saying I had slithered my way i
A vow of hate CHAPTER 83
CHRISTIAN“You did what!?”I bowed my head in shame as my grandfather’s angry voice made the entire room vibrate. My mother sat in the corner, staring right through me like she could barely see me. Mia stood by my side, looking as helpless as I felt. My grandfather, on the other hand, was fuming.“You brought that woman into your home? And lied to your wife about it?”“I didn’t mean to,” I whispered.“Are you a magnet for controversies? It’s been one problem after the other for years! Is it your plan to tarnish the Walker name?”“Father,” his mother’s small voice called as she stood up and walked to his grandfather. She placed her hands on his shoulder and carefully directed him back to his seat, one side of his body resting heavily on the walking stick in his grasp. “You should sit down. We can talk about this calmly.”William Walker didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. The eyes dimmed with disappointment. He listened to his daughter in law and took his seat, tapping his foot angr
A vow of hate CHAPTER 84
HAZELMy best friend held me tightly in her arms while I cried all night, and even long after my sobs died down into the occasional sniffle, she didn’t let go. And when I woke up the next morning with swollen eyes and a puffy face, she ran me a bath and made us breakfast. And then repeated the cycle again this morning. Christian had been blowing up my phone, and I turned it off. He had shown up here yesterday, but Olivia managed to convince him that she hadn’t seen me either. Maybe he believed her, or maybe he didn’t… it didn’t matter, because he did what I wanted and left. I drove down to Olivia’s apartment after standing on the bridge and staring down at the water for almost an hour. I was unable to cry then, unable to think, and just overall completely numb. Then it got really chilly and I knew I had to leave. With nowhere else to go to, the only viable option was my best friend's place. And when she opened the door with a concerned look on her face, the floodgates were opened onc
A vow of hate CHAPTER 85
CUSTODY BATTLE: DAY 1.CHRISTIANThe sterile and stale air of the courtroom pressed down on me like a physical weight. My shirt collar felt impossibly tight and the scratchy fabric mirrored the agitation clawing at my insides. I couldn’t believe I was sitting here in this courtroom, with strangers who just wanted to have a juicy bite of some gossip sitting behind me. I couldn’t believe the fate of my child’s future lay in the hands of a scrawny old looking judge and the jury who knew nothing about our lives. But the most annoying part of it all was the amount of media attention this case was getting— more articles and think pieces were released each day, and an army of paparazzi and press waited outside the courthouse, ready to pounce once we were done.Across the aisle, Chloe sat composed. She looked unbothered and poised, and that did nothing to soothe the churning in my gut. If anything, it made me mad. Beside me, Hazel’s hand trembled in my grip. Her knuckles were white against th
A vow of hate CHAPTER 86
CUSTODY BATTLE— DAY 2.HAZELThe next couple weeks that followed after our first court date were hell, to say the least. Text messages and calls from random numbers blew our phones up. It was so bad that we had to change our phone numbers. We barely left the house for fear of being pounced upon by the press, and Christian even worked from home. But thankfully, we had a great support system. Christian’s entire family drove to our home almost every single day, as did Olivia. I called mom and explained what was happening, and why I wouldn’t be visiting her as often as I usually did. She tried to make me feel better, but there wasn’t much she could do from the hospital, and that was one more thing I cried myself to sleep about. Sarah helped fill in the void a little bit though— my mother in law was truly the best and I couldn’t be more grateful. Overall, we just tried to make things as normal as possible at home for Valerie, so she wouldn’t notice a thing. Christian even got her the tiny
A vow of hate CHAPTER 87
Days bled into weeks, the sterile air of the courtroom became a constant companion. If I thought the first day was bad, it was ten times worse now. Christian and I endured witness testimonies, closing arguments, and the agonizing wait for the jury's deliberation. Each day, we returned home, barely able to breathe till the next court hearing. We tried to go back to the normal routine of thing, but it was hard. I sneaked out a few times to the hospital and sat and talked with mom. And most importantly, we showered Valerie with all our attention. Sleep came in fitful bursts, haunted by dreams of her tear-stained face.Finally, the day arrived. A nervous tension filled the courtroom as the jury filed in, their faces unreadable. Judge Moore rapped her gavel, her voice firm as she got straight down to business. "Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?"The foreman, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, rose. "We have, Your Honor," she announced. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my
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