Chapter 126 126
THE drive home was nothing but tensed— inside the car with Hazel, even Hazel could feel the tension. And it was a silent ride too, neither of them spoke up. Calmness drove all the way home with them.
The minute they dropped off at home, the calm shattered.
Amelia paced the living room, her pulse racing. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
Hazel had said it was just the two of them hanging out, how come he was there?
‘Just the two of us.’ Her words echoed.
Had Adrian influenced Hazel? Manipulated her? Planted an idea? Which exactly did he do?
The questions ran mad in her head, making her boil in anger.
“What's the meaning of all these?” She rhetorically asked, reaching for her phone.
It almost trembled in her fingers as she typed a short text.
Meet me at 7:30. Same place we had coffee today. Don’t be late.
Then she pressed send.
“We have to iron this out,” she finished and stormed into her room.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Adrian read the message at once. His eyes lit up. There was no hesitation— just hope.
A few minutes to 7.30 saw Adrian on the road, heading for the coffee shop. It was almost embarrassing how he drove.
Well, he arrived early. And she arrived on time as well.
They stood in the evening cold outside the café, cars humming along the street. Although he was surprised why they didn't go in, but was happy that she asked for his presence— it meant hope.
“Amelia,” he began with a small smile, “I was happy you asked to—”
Her voice cut sharp.
“Don’t pretend you were innocent.”
Adrian blinked. “What?”
“This morning,” she said, jaw tight, “you and Hazel. You planned it. Infact , you master minded it. You told her to bring me here.”
His face went blank.
“Amelia,” he breathed, carefully, “I swear on my life, I didn’t.”
She folded her arms, every line of her body rigid.
“She wouldn’t have pulled a stunt like that without help,” she said. “You somehow convinced her.”
“I didn’t,” Adrian stepped closer. “I didn’t even know until she walked in. I thought—”
She laughed once, a short and bitter laugh.
“You thought what?”
Her voice cut him.
“That I would eat cake and suddenly forget everything you did? That I would just fall back into your arms?”
A muscle jumped in his jaw.
“No,” he said quietly. “I just thought… we could talk. Like parents. Without hostility.”
“Don’t twist it,” she snapped. “I know when someone is playing a game with me, Adrian. Stop using Hazel to get to me.”
His brows drew tight.
“Hazel is not a tool,” he said, voice low. “I would never use her. Never.”
“Yet she keeps planning things and you keep showing up!” she threw her hands. “You are just everywhere. The resort. The flower shop. The gala. Her school. Now this.”
He swallowed.
“I’m trying to be present,” he said, throat tight. “For my daughter. For you.”
“It is now you want to be present, huh,” she laughed a good one.
He heaved a sigh of regret.
“Don’t be present for me,” she said coldly.
“I didn’t ask for that.”
That hit him like a slap. A very heavy one.
Silence pulsed between them.
Cars passed, their lights flashing across their faces.
Adrian took a slow breath.
“I didn’t tell Hazel anything,” he said gently. “She wants us together. She is a child. She doesn’t understand how broken things are.”
Amelia flinched.
“Don’t tell me what she understands.”
He stared at her.
“Amelia… I didn’t know.”
Her eyes were glossy now, of anger, fear, exhaustion.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “I can’t keep having you appear everywhere I turn. It suffocates me.”
“I’m not trying to—”
“Yes, you are!” she burst. “You are pushing back into a life you destroyed and pretending time didn’t pass. Stop. Just stop this game.”
His voice broke.
“It isn’t a game. I’m trying because I love you.”
She shook her head quickly, like the words were poison.
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“You don’t get to say that.”
She turned, heading toward her car.
“Amelia, please—”
He reached a hand out, but she was already inside, slamming the door.
The engine roared next.
He stood there, helpless, staring through the windshield.
She didn’t look back, not even once.
Her car peeled away, taillights cutting red into the street until they vanished.
Adrian remained frozen under the streetlamp, the cold wind tightening around him.
He had come believing this was a step forward.
Instead, he watched the woman he still loved drive away, leaving only exhaust fumes, silence, and the shattered hope that had brought him there.
Adrian sat in his car a few moments longer, hands gripping the steering wheel like it could anchor him to some sense of control. The city lights blurred past his eyes as he replayed every word Amelia had said. “Stop. Just stop this game.” Her voice rang in his ears, sharper than any cut he had felt in years.
When he finally pulled into his driveway, the house greeted him with an empty stillness. The faint hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of the wall clock— it all felt louder than usual. He dropped into the posh leather chair in the living room, staring at the faint outlines of the room, as if she might appear at the doorway and shatter the quiet.
He ran a hand over his face, sighing heavily. Regret wrapped around him like a heavy coat, suffocating. He had thought showing up, being present, would help, that Hazel’s innocent plans could bridge the gap. But instead, he had pushed too far, had misread her boundaries, had… failed.
Adrian’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, but he didn’t reach for it. Texts from Hazel, reminders about school, mundane work emails— they were all meaningless now. Nothing could cut through the gnawing ache of seeing her go, of knowing he had let hope slip right through his fingers.
He leaned back, eyes staring at the ceiling, chest tight, every heartbeat a painful reminder of what he had lost, at least for now. His mind wandered to Amelia, the stubborn set of her jaw, the glint of defiance in her eyes. She was right. He had crossed a line.
The man who had once been certain, decisive, strong… felt small and hollow. And for the first time in a long while, Adrian admitted it to himself: he had no idea how to fix this.
But one thing was certain. He wouldn’t give up on Hazel, and maybe… just maybe, he could find a way back to Amelia too. Someday.
With that, he managed to get on his feet, and dragged himself upstairs to his room— a room that was once called theirs— he and Ame.