“I am fine.” She shrugged off and her father sneered in disdain, “Moron, I am not asking, I am commanding. Stand up and disappear yourself. I don't want to see your awful face.” He growled while coughing violently.

COUGH ... COUGH ...

Seeing the bad state of her son, the old woman urged Hazel to leave.

“Hazel, go, don’t be stubborn.” When her granny ordered her then there was no room for argument as Hazel reluctantly stood up and walked towards the door to leave while she heard her father cursing her back continuously.

She looked around for Sandy and Bennett and they were nowhere to be seen. She was going to step back into the villa when the horn of the car took her attention and then the man got out of the car and started walking towards her.

Bennett was wearing straight black pants and white shit over them, his brown hair shone brightly under the sun, and he was wearing shades looking like a model for a Chopard Sunglasses advertisement but Hazel didn’t notice his awesome features as she was too focused on Albert who is an old bald man and he was changing the garage lock.

F**k

Hazel’s face fell and she closed her eyes in dismay. Bennett’s graceful walk got completely ignored as he followed her gaze and realized that she had been staring at the bald man all the time instead of him.

Suppressing a sigh of irritation, he opened his mouth calmly, “Hazel, come, we are waiting for you.”

He made a gesture with his hand for her politely leading the way to his car, Hazel followed with dim eyes as now she had to find new ways to get access to the garage.

All the way to the hospital Hazel stayed quiet and lost thinking about the years she had spent with her father blaming her for her mother’s death and never sparing her a single glance of love.

She had spent all her life without the warmth of her father’s love all she ever felt was coldness, hatred, and disgust for her. His eyes were always blaming her even though she didn’t know what her fault was.

Was it her choice to kill her mother or was it God’s decision?

How could loving someone make you so cruel she couldn’t understand and that is the reason why she never wanted to love someone or be loved by anyone. She hates marriage and she will never marry anyone and neither give birth to any child so that later the child would get tortured for their whole life in the name of love.

“Hazel.” She heard someone calling out her name breaking her trance and as she looked up, she met the intense gaze of Bennett in the rearview mirror.

"Yes,” Composing herself she replied back in a firm tone.

“Are you ok?” He asked looking concerned while Hazel rolled her eyes at his fake concern in front of Sandy, well, he doesn’t need to please her, after all, she stands nowhere in Sandy’s life. They both are like enemies and wild cats who could fight at any moment regardless of the occasion.

“Absolutely,” Hazel answered while looking at Sandy provocatively who looked like sitting on pins and needles and looked completely upset from Bennett’s behavior since Hazel had poured hot tea at the back of her hand he had not asked her once if she is ok or in pain?

But, with Hazel, he even stood up for her at the table and requested her father to let her visit the hospital while she was whimpering from the pain badly and she was eating her breakfast carelessly.

“Ahh… Ben, my hand…” She whined in pain expecting him to at last ask her about her hand but no, all she got was disappointment when he replied, “We are getting to the hospital.”

She pursed her lips and kept acting as though she was in great pain while Hazel kept rolling her eyes at her superb acting skills.

They reached the hospital and instead of opening Sandy’s door, Bennet approached the back door where Hazel was seated. Hazel ignored him completely and then got off the car on her own, he frowned but stayed tight lip.

Hazel didn’t know that Bennett is not a man who would open the door for the women, it was the women who would throw herself on him he never approached them.

Even now, Sandy had no expectation for him to open her side of the door but she didn’t even expect him to open the door for Hazel.

Hazel is like a sore sight in her eyes now, she never expected Hazel to be a woman who could easily win a man’s attention, especially the attention of a man like Bennett.

They went inside while Hazel deliberately kept her speed slow, staying behind them.

Sandy was sent for a checkup while Hazel sat outside waiting and after a moment, Bennett appeared and then sat beside Hazel. “After Sandy, the doctor will check you,” He informed and Hazel nodded her head expressionlessly.

“Do you want to talk?” He asked and Hazel frowned at his question as she sneered in response, “About what, Mr. Bennett?” She asked sarcastically.

Bennett's lips curved after hearing his name from her mouth, “So, you know my name, now.” He looks amused and Hazel again rolled her eyes feeling uneasy by his closeness.

“Hazel?” Bennett called her name after a while and she looked up at him. He put his hand inside his pocket and then took out something, “Do you want some hazels, Hazel?” He joked with a controlled grin and then laughed himself at his joke while Hazel looked at him in complete surprise.

For a second, she thought that Bennett had turned into a  laughing psychopath.  “Am I supposed to laugh?” She snorted and Bennett immediately recovered from his bad joke.

“I am not good with jokes but…” He stopped leaning on her, “Your eyes made me do that, Hazel… Hazel…” He said in a rhythm and Hazel frowned again.

"Oh really, Benny Ben.” She mocked his name and instead of getting angry his lips curved up into a huge smile looking pleasantly surprised.

Just then Sandy walked out with a bandage on her hand and Hazel stood up disinterestedly as she made her way to the room but Bennett’s hand on her wrist pulled her back, he placed a few hazelnuts in her palm and then closed it, “Hazel’s hazelnut.” He still stayed stuck to his bad joke and groaning in disdain, Hazel walked away from him.

Blockhead !!!

“How did you get those bruises? Did someone hit you?” The doctor in charge asked while inspecting Hazel’s bruises on her face.

“Uhmm… just fell down a flight of stairs.” Hazel lied and the doctor looked at her unconvinced.

“Boyfriend..?” The doctor asked while raising her brow and Hazel denied it immediately, “I don’t have one.”

“Ohh…” The doctor looked at her surprised and then without asking further questions she continued her inspection and then wrote the prescription for her.

“Hazel, right?” The doctor asked and Hazel nodded her head.

“So, Hazel eats hazelnuts, huh…” The doctor joked when she noticed the hazelnuts in her hand while handing her the prescription and Hazel suppressed the urge to roll her eyes at her.

On her way out she dumped all the hazelnuts into the trash bin surprising the doctor and then as she looked at Bennett outside, she angrily handed him the prescription, “The medicines.” She ordered him and then walked away while he stared at her back in astonishment.

This would be the first time a woman has ordered him, he looked down at the prescription and a smile crept over his face.

****