~ HAZEL ~

"Yes, Mrs. Anderson." I smiled at her as Sherri handed over a mug of coffee to her as she had requested.

"I was wondering why you weren't at work, and why you weren't answering your phone calls. I'd have come earlier, but it was so hard for me to find your home address." She said with a smile she never displayed to me before my marriage, not stopping herself from staring around the house.

"Really? I thought I already submitted it. I'm so sorry for not calling to let you know after waking up." I apologized sheepishly.

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved a hand over her face with a grin, taking a sip from the coffee. "Your house is really beautiful."

"Thank you." I stared at Tristan who was staggering down the stairs in his shorts and a large robe that didn't do anything in hiding his bare chest. He looked tired, which was totally understandable, judging from how he had been working his ass off lately, still trying to cover up for the time he had missed. Being a Billionaire and keeping up with it was definitely not an easy task.

"So...how about the new bakery plans? You said you were going to assist me. You know, the business isn't progressing that well these days." She cleared her throat, leaning forward in her seat.

"Yes, I know that. I'm sorry for always missing so many days." I returned my gaze to her, glancing at Tristan at short intervals.

"Nah, it's fine." She burst into laughter, finally catching Tristan's attention to us. "It's nothing a sum of money can't do, right?"

I quirked an eyebrow at her, not liking where this was heading to.

"Hey, ladies." Tristan said, walking up to me with the happiest expression on, ignoring that his black hair was so disheveled, and he wasn't dressed like the to-die-for magazine Tristan.

"Mr. Hendrix!" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed, rising to her feet to extend her hand to Tristan.

Tristan stared at her suspiciously, then at me. "Who's she?"

"Mrs. Anderson, my boss from the bakery."

"The bakery? So you still work there?" he didn't look pleased to hear that, but I might've probably appreciated it if he had expressed his discomfort after she left.

"Yes, Tristan." I said through gritted teeth, trying to pass information to him with my glare.

He only chuckled, accepting her hand for a shake. "It's nice to meet you."

"Yes! Nice to meet you too." Her excessive grinning was starting to piss me off for some reason. "I was just discussing with your wife about-"

"Hazel," Tristan cut her off and let go of her, plopping himself on the spot on the couch beside me, placing his arm over my shoulder, "when you're done with your meeting, we need to speak immediately, okay?"

"Okay."

He smiled then said into my ear "you're so beautiful, no matter what your facial expression is."

"Tristan, get out."

He burst into laughter, then rose to his feet and took his leave.

Mrs. Anderson and I continued the so-called meeting. She tried to talk about money from Tristan multiple times, but I cut that topic off without seeming rude.

After a while, we finally came to the conclusion of adding my ideas to improve the bakery by adding my new recipes and also multiple forms of simple advertisement; I was certain it was going to work out, but she didn't seem pleased with me at all.

"I guess I'll take my leave now." She said, not wearing her stupid fake smile anymore.

"Okay, ma'am. I really hope we'll consider my ideas." I said, rising to my feet as well as her.

"Should I prepare a car to drive your guest?" Sherri asked, unfolding her hands.

"Yes, please." Mrs. Anderson replied on my behalf.

"Okay, I'll accompany you to the door." I offered.

"No, no. Your husband wishes to speak with you. What if he has something to say about sponsoring our bakery?" our bakery? Ew. I didn't know if she tried to wink or there was something in her eyes, but if that was a wink from her, it was the worst I had ever seen. "Bye, Hazel."

I forced a smile. "Bye."

Sherri accompanied her out of the house.

"Phew! These people have their souls at the feet of money." I sighed, grabbing my phone from the center table and started up the stairs in search of Tristan.

My phone started to ring, and I stopped mid-step, answering the call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" I gruffed.

"Uh... I wasn't expecting such a rude tone. It's Indy. I'm sorry if I called you at the wrong time, I can call you later."

"No, no, it's fine. I thought it was someone else." I continued walking up the stairs.

"Oww... someone else, uh? Who is it? A boy?" She teased like she used to in old days.

"A boy?" I chuckled.

"Oh, shit. You're married now, that teasing isn't valid anymore." She moaned playfully, then we both burst into laughter.

Where on Earth did this 'best-friendish' Indy arrive from again?

"By the way, where have you been? No sight of you for a long time now, no news."

Noticing Tristan in the second living room, I walked in and shut the door.

"Just chilling, been with my parents. You know, adventures?" She chuckled. "Anyway, let that be. I called you to let you know that I'll return soon; I really need to talk to you, it's important."

"Finally!" Tristan said on noticing me.

"Okay, sure." I creased my forehead, puzzled a bit.

"Great! I'll call you later. Bye." She hung up.

"Who's my wife calling now?" Tristan asked, extending his hands to me.

I didn't understand what his gesture meant, but I walked up to him, letting out a squeak as he pulled me to sit on his lap.

"It was Indy." I answered his question, keeping my arms around his neck.

"Indy?" He quirked an eyebrow in disgust. "Why'd she call all of a sudden after vanishing?"

"She said she'll be back soon and needs to talk to me." I chortled, stroking his messy hair with my fingers.

"She shouldn't return." He frowned.

"Don't you dare frown in my presence." I joked.

"Of course, I won't."

"You said you needed to discuss something with me. What is it?"

"Must I discuss a specific thing with my wife? What if I just missed you so much?"

"So you interrupted my work-related meeting just because you missed me?" I wanted to sound angry but was failing at it.

"Yes, and also because we need to discuss something."

"Tristan," I stopped fiddling with his hair.

"Remember before I traveled?" Oh no, I hope he wasn't traveling again. "I had said that we were going to begin a new phase of our life and plan out our lives?"

I internally sighed. "Yes, I remember."

"So... we should plan our lives to get the best of our marriage." He kept his hands on my waist. "I love you, Hazel, and I'm more than certain that I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Hearing him say that he loves me still always felt like a dream. It was so damn hard to believe.

"I'd do anything to spend the rest of my life with you." I replied.

He had a pleased smile on. "I was thinking of doing our pre-marriage activities. We didn't get married on our own agreement at first and we've missed out on these fun couple things before marriage. We can do them."

"Pre-marriage activities?"

"Yes, so we can get to know each other better. There are many things we still don't know about each other, you know? For example, I don't know some of your favorite things, most embarrassing moments, and a lot more things about you."

"Then pre-marriage activities it is!" I got off his lap, staring at a beautiful portrait on the wall. "This room is very beautiful. I really wonder why the house is so big with so many rooms."

"It brings the feeling of extravagance and supremacy among rich men peers." He replied, grabbing a half-opened chip pack.

"Tristan, I clearly remember that you said you had a surprise for me before you left." I turned to him in akimbo. "Have you forgotten?"

"Definitely not! I thought you had forgotten about it and was glad that the surprise would be even more amazing if you had forgotten. I'm still on it."

I felt excitement flicker in me at the thought of a surprise from Tristan.

"By the way, we're going over to my parents. Get ready. Aunt Amanda and Uncle Tyler will be there. They're all so excited to spend time with us."

***

"I feel nervous to meet everyone now." I said, holding Tristan to pull him back from opening the car door.

"Nervous? Why?" He laughed.

"I'm being dead serious here. I know your Mom likes me already, but what if she goes back to not liking me for something I stupidly do? What if your parents think I've wasted your time and limited you from doing things while I was unconscious? What if your parents think I'm spending your money too much, because to be sincere, lately, I think I've been eating too much and spending your money too much and it has made me fat and ugly, and I'm becoming more expensive. What if they-"

"Gosh, Hazel. Where on Earth are all these coming from?" He held my hands, shifting closer to me. "Mom will definitely not hate you and nobody has the right to question the extent to which you spend my money."

"But-"

"Plus, you're not any fatter, neither are you ugly."

"That's a lie. I can feel extra fat."

"You can't possibly expect to remain the same size forever. Okay, I'll admit that you've added just a little weight, but you've become even more curvy, and I love it. I secretly drool over your body as much as you drool over me." He admitted with a smirk.

"I don't drool." I rolled my eyes at him, feeling heat rise up to my cheek to form a blush.

"There, there. That's the smile. Not exactly drooling... Let's get in now."

He helped me out of the car, then we walked to the door, giving it a slight knock.

Shortly after, a very tall dark-skinned lady threw the door open and welcomed us in, leading us to the couch and left to call the Hendrixs.

Imogen strolled down the stairs with a grin that washed every form of nervousness in me.

"Tristan! Hazel!" She stopped in front of us.

I rose to my feet and she took me aback by pulling me into a really tight hug. "Gosh, I missed you. I was so scared something was going to happen to you. We were all so worried and were praying for you."

"So you didn't miss me?" Tristan asked while she rolled her eyes.

"Tristan," someone called from behind us.

I let go of her, turning my head in the direction of the voice as a woman and a man, walking with Hames, sauntered to us.

"Aunt Amanda and Uncle Tyler." Hearing Tristan call them that always made me see him like a cute child.

"It's so good to see you again," Aunt Amanda said as she pulled him into a hug.

"Hazel dear, how are you?" Hames asked, stopping beside me with a worry-filled expression. "I'm so sorry for not paying you a visit. I've been extremely busy lately."

I smiled at him. "It's not a problem. I'm completely fine now. Thank you."

"If you're all done with this, can we just attend to what we came here for?" Uncle Tyler said with a playful roll of his eyes.

"Here for?" Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"Dinner, duh. Aren't you hungry?" He said and everyone laughed at him before agreeing to go to the dining table.

Tristan, holding the small of my back as we walked to the dining table, whispered in my ear, "I have something to show you, and I have a gift for you."

"What gift?"

"You'll see..." He placed a kiss on my forehead.

***

Dinner went by greatly. We all went along pretty well. Amanda and Tyler had insisted I called by their names and not like Tristan called them.

Imogen was the most amazing cook I had ever met and Hames was like the sweetest father I had always wished to have.

Every single one of them made me feel loved and like my life was complete; I had the best family time of my life and was secretly glad that Nikita wasn't around.

After a long and interesting chat with one another, Amanda and Tyler took their leave for their house.

"You're sleeping over, right?" Imogen asked, taking a seat beside Hames who encircled an arm around her waist as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Uh... it depends on Hazel." Tristan shrugged.

"It's late already. Just sleepover. Plus, Imogen made sure your bedroom is perfect." Hames added.

"Of course. I don't have a problem with it."

"Great!" Imogen exclaimed.

"Okay. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad." He said and held my hand.

"Goodnight," they replied in unison.

"Goodnight." I added.

Tristan, still holding my hand, led us to his room. After we got in, he locked the doors then plopped himself on the bed like a starfish.

"I'm so exhausted." He sighed heavily.

"Really? I'll pour a glass of water for you." I walked to the bedside table.

"No, I don't need water." He tapped the spot in the bed beside him. "Just lay here. I need you."

With a smile on, I got rid of my shoes, then lay on the bed. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him so our faces and bodies were only a few inches apart, placing his leg over mine.

"I love you so much. It's so undeniable; I can feel it in every part of me." He brushed a few strands of beachy waves brown hair away from my face, pulling me even closer. "You complete me. Do you realize that?"

"I love you too," I replied, biting my lower lip in extreme blissfulness. "You complete me too."

He planted a soft kiss on my lips, then rested his head on my chest while I stroked his hair.

We remained like that for a few minutes, till I realized I was feeling sleepy but hadn't had a bath.

"Tristan, are you going to fall asleep without taking a bath first?" I asked, unsure of whether or not he was sleeping.

"No." He pulled away and sat up straight. "I'll take a shower soon."

I also sat up straight, just staring around, only realizing how beautiful the room was and how it had multiple pictures of Tristan as a child, teenager, and adult hung up on the wall.

"You were such a handsome child." I turned to him.

"Yes, I was." He rose to his feet, then bent to the floor to pull an old box out from underneath the bed, dropping the box beside me as he cleared dust off of it.

"What's this?"

"Earlier, I said I had something to show you. Here." He sat beside the box and opened it, revealing a beautiful collection of photo albums and other smaller boxes in spaces in the box.

"Photo albums?"

"Yes. These are photos of me from when I was born till recently. Plus, there are video tapes of me as a child here." He pointed at a bunch of videotapes in a space in the box.

"Wow. I'd like to see them all!"

"Well... you can, but before that," he took a small box out of one of the spaces and dropped it on the bed to open it, revealing a beautiful necklace with a glistening heart-shaped diamond pendant. "Here." He took it out and wore it around my neck.

"Tristan," I called with a grin.

"This necklace is special to me. I had bought it when I was still a child and kept it to give it to my future wife, which is you."

"Gosh." I fiddled with the pendant, unable to hide how happy I was. "Thank you so much. It feels so special already."

"It's not as special as you are to me."

As much as I didn't want to, I felt a drop of tear roll down my face which I quickly wiped away. "I feel so emotional right now."

He smiled and cupped my face, connecting our lips for a kiss.

He let go of me and rose to his feet. "Take a shower. I'll get something you can wear for the night."

I nodded.

He turned and took his leave while I left for the bathroom to take a shower and brushed my teeth, after which I returned to the bedroom with a neat towel around my body.

A nightdress that was clearly for me was on the bed, but Tristan wasn't here. I got into the underwear and nightdress then sat on the bed to check out the pictures in Tristan's photo album.

Soon, Tristan returned, then he joined me to look at his pictures, explaining events that had happened in references to the pictures while I couldn't stop laughing at how he either looked cute or funny or grumpy.

We started advancing to his older pictures, but it wasn't as exciting to see him with multiple ladies, also photos of him being romantic with Indy. As much as I wanted to stop, I didn't stop looking at the pictures.

"You must've been such a Bad Boy, uh?" I said, referring to a photo of him where he looked so gothic with about 6 half-naked ladies around him.

"Uh..." he nervously scratched the back of his head, "... that was in the past."

I saw a picture of him with Nikita, Hames and Imogen, as well as a man that looked really familiar. "This man," I squinted my eyes, tracing my fingers around the man's image.

"Yeah. This fucking idiot who scammed Dad. He almost ruined us." He sounded angry at the man.

"Oh... he just seems familiar, like I've seen him before."

"Really? Where?"

I tried to recall where I saw him or if I knew him, but didn't remember anything, so I shrugged it off and reached for another photo album.

"No, no, not that one." He tried to grab it from me, but I dodged.

"Why not?" I smirked.

"Shit. I forgot to get rid of it."

My increased curiosity made me open it, and My eyes went agape: there were multiple pictures of Tristan and an all-too-familiar-looking blonde woman with honey eyes. They were half-naked and too clingy in the photos. I'd have gotten annoyed by that if I wasn't too taken aback by her face.

"I told you not to open it."

Multiple dangerous memories were flashing in my head which caused me to feel sweaty as my breath quickened.

"Tiffany?"

"Tiffany?" He quirked an eyebrow at me.

"The woman."

"No. That's Lucy."

"No way. I've seen Lucy on social media; she doesn't look anything like this."

"That's because she did plastic surgery. She said she didn't think she was beautiful enough, so she performed facial and body plastic surgery to change her physical appearance to social media standards." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh my gosh! So Lucy is Tiffany?" I slapped a hand to my mouth.

"What the heck?"

***

A/N: Dear readers,

Gift here.

I'm so sorry for not updating this book for such a long time. I was stuck with an annoying writer's block, so my brain for writing was completely numb and no meaningful words could roll from my head to this book. Believe me, it was frustrating.

I would try my absolute best to make sure it doesn't happen again and I'll also try as much as possible to update daily or at least five times in a week.

Thanks for reading! Love y'all❤️

Fâceboök group: Author Gift Odulesi (Gift's readers).

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