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chapter 5

It took a second for his words to dawn on Hazel. And when it did, she snapped,

“What?”

Aaron didn't back away and with the mischievous look in his eyes, she would not be surprised if he came closer.

“You heard me the first time, Hazel Greene.” He said.

Yet, he repeated, “Marry me.”

Hazel was perplexed. In all honesty, she hadn't expected that.

“And that's not a question, Aaron, nor a request." She said,

He shook his head, his gaze on her unwavering.

“No, it's a condition.” He stated.

Hazel heaved and tore her eyes away. She was at loss of what to say at this moment. Here she was, thinking and worrying about her daughter and he was asking her to marry him.

It didn't add up.

Why?

“Why?” She voiced out.

Aaron finally looked away from her, lowering his head with a low chuckle.

“Why!” He repeated.

When he looked up at her again, his eyes had softened and there was a repeated flash of an emotion she couldn't fathom. He crossed his arms over his chest and began to speak.

“When I met you, Hazel, I felt a spark like nothing else and when we talked for hours, I knew that was something I wanted to do repeatedly. I won't go into the details of how the night I spent with you made me feel but when I tried to reach you days after and all I got was voicemails, I felt… rejected. And when I realized you were gone, I swear it was like I had lost a part of me.”

Hazel listened.

“I would have searched for you and I would have found you cause well, I'm fully equipped and capable for that… but I didn't. Because I felt like what was the use of finding you if you didn't want me, if you didn't feel the way I felt.”

He paused again and she waited because somehow she knew he wasn't done.

“I'm saying all this because I want you to know that I wanted more then,… and I still do. And now that I know I have a daughter with you, it just feels like the next thing to do. Yes, I'm still mad at you for keeping this away from me for two years but now I know, I want to be her father… and I know it isn't just a coincidence that I happened to be in Los Angeles for business during this period so I definitely won't let go of this opportunity.”

He finally ended but his eyes remained on her.

“Aaron…” Hazel hesitated.

She didn't know if these were the right words to say after he just poured out his heart to her but she said it anyway.

“You could still be a father to her without us getting married.”

He nodded but said,

“I know, but I don't trust you to not pull off another run away stunt.”

“Aaron, I wouldn't.” Hazel protested.

“Look, once beaten, twice shy. I definitely would not be so stupid to make such a mistake.”

“Aaron, you're not listening to me.” Hazel tried again.

Aaron was not ready to give up until Hazel gave in.

“No, you're the one who's not listening. Hazel, she needs a father just as much as she needs you, and you know that. You can't possibly deprive her of that. You already did but here's your opportunity to correct your mistake.”

Hazel was quiet for a while as she pondered on his words.

“Fine!” She eventually said.

“But we can't possibly get married now. We need to find her first and we're running out of time.” She added.

“Who says we can't get married now?” Aaron asked, a little amused.

He finally backed away from her, pulling his phone from his pocket. Hazel watched him dial a number and place the phone by his ear, his eyes on her.

“Is it ready?” He asked when the call went through.

The person on the other end said something and he responded,

“Bring it to my study. Now!.” He ended the call afterwards.

“What are you doing?.” Hazel couldn't help but ask as she stared confused at him.

“A lawyer is all we need to get married, right? Oh! And a signed agreement.”

Hazel facepalmed herself muttering the words, “Oh God!.”

“What? I need to take precautions, I can't be a fool twice.” Aaron defended.

Hazel glared at him. Did he even understand the situation they were in?

Was this a joke to him?

“You shouldn't have a problem with signing it, unless you had other plans.” Aaron persisted.

“Like running away again” He added.

Hazel rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.

She was doing this for her daughter.

For Heather!

*Fine! I will sign the papers then, what next?” She asked.

Aaron responded immediately with all the certainty in the world.

“I'll find our daughter within 24 hours.”

Hazel believed him. Aaron was more than capable, she had wondered why she reached out to him at all but now it dawned on her. No one else would have been able to find Heather with the urgency she needed. And also, no one else cared.

She nodded, mumbling the word,

“Okay!.”

At that moment, a call came into Aaron's phone. He picked it up, nodded at whatever was said and hung up almost immediately.

“Wait here. I'll be right back.’ He said to her.

Hazel stepped aside for him to walk out the door leaving just her.

And her thoughts!

Was she really going to get married to Aaron?

When she had called him, this was the least thing she expected him to ask of her. She expected him to flare up and refused to help or even possibly deny being responsible for Heather. If he did accept responsibility, she expected him to ask for custody rights and all of that but getting married was out of the picture.

What would happen after that?

Her job! The life she had gotten for herself and Heather, would she leave that all behind?

Hazel heaved heavily. The more she thought about it, the more she hesitated about the decision she was about to make. She kept repeating to herself that she was doing this for her daughter. So it didn't matter, she would do anything for her daughter.

Aaron returned shortly with a file in his hand. He handed it over to her, holding back the pen in his hand.

“Go through it.” He said.

“Have you?” Hazel asked instead.

“Yes. It says that from the moment you sign them, you and your daughter are legally mine. You can't run away or take my daughter away from me or else I'll find you wherever you are and you'll be held accountable to the law.” Aaron explained.

“That's a very detailed explanation.” Hazel commented. Yet, she took her time to read through it, trying her best to ignore the goose bumps Aaron's eyes gave her. He was staring intently at her, watching her every move and she felt herself getting hot, like she was burning from the inside.

Finally, she looked up at him.

“Is it to your satisfaction?” He asked.

Hazel shrugged.

“ As if I was doing this for myself" she said matter-of-factly.

Aaron nodded.

“You're right. We're doing this for our daughter.” He said.

The more he repeated the words, ‘our daughter’, the more she was somehow convinced that Aaron would be the best father Heather could get.

So she stretched her hand to him and he placed the pen in it. Taking a deep breath, Hazel scribbled down her signature beside Aaron's.

As he took the file from her, he said,

“Congratulations! We're married now.”

Hazel didn't know what else to say or what else to think so she kept mute.

*Now that's out of the way, I have information on who has been stalking you. Looks familiar?” Aaron asked, stretching his phone to Hazel.