My Courageous Heart

Hazel Morton had woken up earlier to quickly make Ethan Roy a hangover soup and then leave before he would wake up as she was seen rummaging through the cabinets to collect the necessary recipes.

Earlier, she had caught a clear view of Ethan's living room, she could tell it was one with a look of extravaganza. Decadent and very much spacious, decorated with high quality home furnitures. But more was at stake, the reason she had dashed off into the kitchen to quickly finish up her business and then leave quietly.

She tried to avoid making much noise in the kitchen; she wasn't ready to face Ethan that way, as she felt embarrassed by what had cropped up between them last night.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find any suitable ingredients for a hangover soup.

"How does he feed himself when there are no ingredients to cook?" Hazel mused to herself.

After much searching and finding no recipe, she left the kitchen and tiptoed to the room to pick up her pair of shoes and bag.

Her heart romped as she saw Ethan sitting on the bed, already in an awoken state, with a confused expression plastered on his endearing face.

"How did you come in?" Ethan asked with a hint of frostiness in his voice.

"Em. Actually, I managed to bring you home last night after seeing you in a bad state in your office. I'm sorry for that, boss. I'll leave now." Hazel spoke timidly while stuttering, and she hurriedly picked up her belongings to avoid more interrogations from Ethan.

"Hold on."

Hazel paused abruptly, hearing Ethan's cold sounding order.

"You mean you were the one who had brought me home last night? Which means you would have helped me to my bedroom, and then, you stayed back till this morning?" Ethan gave her a suspicious look.

"Did anything transpire between us last night?" His baritone, cool voice queried in a suspicious manner.

"Nothing at all boss! I only stayed over due to the state you were in. "I couldn't bare to leave you all alone in such a state." Hazel lied, trying to cover up whatever had gone down the previous night.

Ethan was smart enough to discern she had cooked up a lie as he could perceive a strange but mild scent on himself.

He walked proximately to Hazel and snuffled her gently, and he could tell it was her scent that had rubbed off on him.

Hazel shivered at his action, she recalled how fascinated she had been last night and how she couldn't resist Ethan.

The winsome eyes that had stared deep into hers with tenderness and pleasure the night before, were now fixed on her in contempt.

I should have just left! Hazel scolded herself inwardly, when she heard Ethan frosty voice pierced through her ears again.

"Why did you lie?" Ethan's voice sounded calm but terrifying.

Hazel knew she'd been caught, and to keep lying would only put her in a more difficult situation.

"Em. President Ethan, I'm truly sorry, I was only carried away. I never meant for anything to occur, I'm sorry, please." Hazel felt so embarrassed as she pleaded guilty.

"From your tone, it truly means we had an encounter yesterday, right?" Ethan probed more, wanting to be sure, as his anger slowly increased.

"It's my fault, please. I'm truly sorry!" Hazel pleaded as tears rolled out of her eyes. She truly regretted letting such a thing ensue.

"Did you do this because of money? Or so you could blackmail me? Or did someone send you to ruin my image, and you feel getting on my bed is the best way?"

"Well, that has been achieved! But note, I won't let this go." Ethan threatened her, meaning every word he'd uttered.

"No! No! It's really not what you think; I could swear on it... I only lost control; that was all. I dare not blackmail you. Do not worry, boss, I will treat this like it never happened; please, President Ethan, believe me." Hazel pleaded more as tears kept rolling out of her eyes.

"Believe you? You know what? I only find you despicable! Because even if I had seduced you due to my drunken state, you could have pushed me off or run out; you could have stopped it! But I see you have your selfish notions; the reason you'd allowed it! And I so much detest people like you!" Ethan thundered at the top of his voice as he felt cheated. His eyes full of chills that could ice up a furnace.

"Now-get-the-hell-out-of-my-house." Ethan said it carefully while panting from anger.

"President Ethan, I'm so...

"Get the hell out!" Ethan yelled louder, not letting her finish her statement.

Hazel could only pick up her shoes and bag and walked out in sheer embarrassment.

****

Hazel headed straight home and didn't bother to resume work for that day.

She flumped on her bed and cried bitterly. She'd never been embarrassed the way she had been at Ethan's house earlier.

She had suffered heartbreaks from two different relationships, and in these recent years, she had gradually healed from the pain and permitted an affection to slowly surge in her heart again, even though it was one sided.

She criticized herself.

She blamed her selfishness and wishful thinking.

How could she think Ethan would want her?

A man like Ethan would surely have a lot of women around him, right?

And if he could have truly loved someone so much, then it meant such a lady couldn't be compared to anyone; every other woman would surely be like dirt to him.

What was she assuming?

Hazel weeped more at her conceptions.

She switched off her phone, as all she wanted was to be alone and cry her heart out.

****

The next morning, Hazel awoke, feeling famished. She strode to her less spacious kitchen to prepare an omelette for herself when she heard her doorbell rang. Earlier, it didn't occur to her to check what the time said as the hunger in her was more intense.

She strode forward to check and she saw the familiar face while she unclinched the door to let him in.

"You seem to be idle, coming to a spinster's house early in the morning." Hazel said while stroding back to the kitchen.

"When it comes to you, I don't mind being idle." Alfric Gagmon replied with a beaming smile that Hazel missed as she was turning her back against him.

Alfric leaned on the kitchen door casually staring at Hazel as she prepared her omelette. One could tell, he was very much apprised with Hazel's home.

"Do you care?" She asked Alfric, referring to the omelette.

"I care!" Alfric replied while he laughed.

"Why do I seem to feel like you're hiding your face from me, huh? It ain't the first time I've seen your morning look when you appear to look like a little witch, especially with your ruffled hair. Alfric teased mockingly.

Hazel couldn't resist the urge to hurl back as she turned and snapped at him.

"Say one more word, and I'll throw you out of my house!"

"Oh, here comes the little witch threat..." Alfric paused his speech and gazed closely at Hazel.

"Hazel! Is there something I need to know?" Alfric questioned in curiousity.

Hazel realized Alfric had caught a glimpse of her swollen, red eyes, and she swiftly spun around to continue cooking, not giving Alfric a response.

"For real? You aren't going to tell me?" Alfric sounded playfully hurt.

"It's nothing, Alfric; I was only reminiscing on the past; you know, that's human nature; we recall some past event once in a while." Hazel replied eventually, not being entirely truthful.

"I already told you to let me kick their asses then, but you refused. I really don't know why you have such a kind and soft heart, Hazel." Alfric took the bait, believing all that Hazel said was the truth.

"Enough of the talk; let's eat." Hazel lifted the two plates of omellete she had placed on a tray to the small wooden table in her crampy living room.

She went to her fridge and brought out a jug of fruit drink. She sat down, poured some into a glass cup, and passed it to Alfric.

Alfric picked it up immediately and gulped some down his throat.

"Madison brought this three days back." Hazel spilled this, seeing how Alfric had hurriedly drank the juice.

"Pfft!!!" Alfric spat out the juice left in his mouth in shock. His dark-brown eyes turned reclusive instantly.

★★★

"Why didn't you tell me it belonged to that weirdo?" Alfric questioned.

"You never gave me the chance." Hazel said while she shrugged, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Now tell me, who looks like a little wizard now?" She added with mockery, seeing the ugly look on Alfric's spunky face.

Alfric placed down the glass cup in anger while he focused on the omellete in front of him, chewing with all seriousness.

"You and Madison should dam acting childish and try get along." Hazel scolded him.

"She's the childish one, not me; she's the one having a weird thought about me, it's best you say that to her instead." Alfric snapped back at Hazel.

"Jeez! "I don't know what I'll do with you two." Hazel shook her head and continued with her meal.

"Anyways, what brought you over so early?"

"I missed your face, ever since you've been working in RD group, you hardly create time for a dear friend. So I resolved to bringing my self over. Alfric spoke in a sarcharrine manner.

"I'm sorry about that buddy, just got to take my job serious." Hazel replied trying to hide her distress.

Something seemed to pop up in Alfric's head, and he glanced at his wristwatch.

"This is already past 9 a.m; aren't you late for your work?" Alfric asked trying to lay an emphasy as he wasn't approving of Hazel working in RD group.

Hazel froze as she recalled on what she had settled on to do the previous night and she just couldn't tell Alfric the whole thing yet.

She was going to hand in her resignation letter to the company-But won't getting to work late only add to her problems? Hazel mused in her head, unknowingly to Alfric.

"Uhm... Yeah, I'll surely go; I was just a bit weak earlier. You better hurry so I won't be more late than I already am." She scolded Alfric, trying to cover up her niggles.

Twenty minutes later, Hazel was done as she surged out of the house with Alfric.

Alfric offered her a ride, which Hazel gladly accepted as she was very familiar with him and she also wouldn't have to make expense on her transport fare.

****

It was just a twenty-minute ride to RD Group of Companies, as the traffic on the way was light.

Hazel alighted from the car; she remembered something and turned to Alfric.

"Hope you didn't forget about the 12th of next week?" Hazel asked in a confirming tone.

"12th?... Oh yeah! Sure, I'll be there to accompany you as always." Alfric replied with a smile after realizing what Hazel meant.

"This time, you and Madison will accompany me; No saying no! Hazel stated firmly, giving Alfric an emotionless gaze.

"Inviting that Weirdo again?..damn! Well, I need to go now, Hazel; Dad needs me in the company." Alfric made an excuse to leave.

"Also, if you find this new job of yours tiring, be assured I can get you an offer in Gamo oil and gas; Dad won't refute me." Alfric added a hint of assurance.

"Thanks, Alfric, but you need not bother; I'm cool as always." Hazel replied, giving Alfric a warm smile.

She felt grateful to have a friend like him, but she wasn't the type to place her burdens on others, no matter how close.

Alfric gave her a nod and drove off afterwards.

Hazel twirled around, and her expression became somewhat bitter, as she had known what she had come for.

She exhaled loudly and brazed herself up as she bunged into the company.

****

"Hey you! Why are you so late, huh? There are documents for you to type, so hurry." Her manager, 'Laura Clemson', attacked her immediately she got into the staff office.

Hazel hesitated and wanted to see her privately to hand in her resignation letter when Laura spoke again.

"Oh yeah! Miss Kate inquired of you not quite long; she asked for you to come over whenever you've resumed." Laura informed her and walked back to her office.

Hazel could only hold her breath and go upstairs to see the boss' secretary, as she didn't know what it was for.

Getting to the last floor, she got out of the elevator and walked to the secretary's table.

"Good morning, Miss Kate. I was told you asked for me to come see you." Hazel spoke politely, while standing opposite Kate in a composed manner.

"Yes, Miss Hazel, actually, it's about your job. Did you in any way offend President Ethan?" Kate probed.

"Offend?... uhm... I don't quite understand." Hazel acted naive.

"Anyways, he called me in, earlier this morning to prepare your sack letter; although I tried to ask him the reason, he only said you aren't qualified for your job anymore." Kate explained.

"If you feel there's anything you've done to infuriate him, you can tell me; I can help you talk to him in my best way." Kate said it with a hint of concern.

"Thank you, Miss Kate; it's fine. Since the boss himself had chosen to let me go, who am I to refute? " Hazel said this with a bitter smile on her face.

Kate sighed deeply and finally brought out the sack letter, which she passed to her.

"Thank you, Miss Kate." Hazel nodded and walked out of Kate's office.

She had initially come to resign, but now that she has just received a sack letter, what is more embarrassing than this? It seemed Ethan had already hated her to the bone.

She surged forward to take the elevator when she heard voices coming out of Ethan's office, and she instinctively turned to look.

"Thank you very much; we'll be very glad to work with you, President Ethan," the first person said.

"We will send you all the necessary information after today," The second added.

"It's alright, Chairman Gagmon; I'll be expecting them," Ethan replied, giving Turner Gagmon a friendly handshake.

Hazel furrowed her brows in queerness, as she felt the chiarman Ethan had called out, could be Alfric's father; she also knew the Gagmons were family friends to the Roys, as she had once heard from Alfric, but she couldn't tell who the other man was; probably a friend to Turner, she thought.

Although she had never met Alfric's father before or even seen him, her instinct told her she might be correct.

After the duo had exchanged pleasantries with Ethan at the front of his office door, they turned to take the elevator when Turner saw her, and Hazel acknowledged them respectfully.

"Hey, young miss, how's work going?" Turner replied to her greeting with a smile as he headed to the elevator.

"Very well, sir." Hazel responded while her eyes met Ethan's associal gaze fixed on her as he stood at the entrance of the office.

Hazel twitched and quickly retracted her gaze, while Ethan took the initiative to close the door, but paused when he saw Turner walk back and speak to Hazel.

"Young Miss, I sense you look familiar; have we met before?" Turner probed, trying to recall where he had once met Hazel.

"I don't think so, sir; probably you mistook me for someone else." Hazel replied politely.

"Oh, my bad! I'm very sorry. Do you work here?" Turner probed further.

"Uhm-"Hazel hesitated this time as she was lost for words, knowing Ethan was still listening to their conversation.

"Not anymore."A deep, standoffish voice replied abruptly.

★★★

Turner and Hazel shifted their heads to look and realized it was Ethan who'd just replied, standing at the entrance to his office.

Turner, being an elder, could denote something wasn't right with the manner at which Ethan had reponded, coupled with the scowl on his face, but he chose not to interfere and only gave Hazel a friendly smile before departing with the other person.

Hazel couldn't bare to look in Ethan's direction anymore, and she only spun to take the next elevator when she heard the door slam!

She could tell it was Ethan who had just slammed his office's door in rage.

She brazed her shoulders and stepped into the elevator without glancing back.

She got to her office floor and immediately went into Laura's office.

"Here are the documents you have to re-type; be fast about it!" Laura said, slamming the pile of documents on her table for Hazel to pick up.

"There's no need for that, Mrs. Clemson." Hazel spoke softly and dropped her staff card on Laura's table, then stormed out in a jiff to avoid any question from Laura as she'd already on the verge of breaking down.

****

Hazel got home in a sullen mood, she glanced at the sack letter the secretary had passed to her at the company earlier, she couldn't help but let out tears.

She had refused her friends' assistance on many occasions and just wanted to stand on her own, but at the moment, nothing seemed to be working in her favour.

Hazel turned to the frame she had placed on her table in her living room and her expression became more sad.

"Mom! I'm tired." Hazel muttered, staring at the frame with tears in her eyes.

12th of next week would be her mother's death anniversary which is why she had invited her two close friends to accompany her.

She felt so exhausted and could only sit and stare at her mother's picture in a gloomy state.

****

GAMO OIL AND GAS, LTD.

"Dad, I'm done, got to leave." Alfric said to his dad who had just returned to his office.

"Alfric! Are you really my son?" Turner asked in annoyance.

"Dad, please do not start this." Alfric replied in a pissed manner knowing what his father was driving at.

"What do you mean by that? I see no reason why I would keep pestering you to have a stable position in your own father's company... How I wish I was blessed with other children, I wouldn't give a hoot concerning you." Turner raised his voice in provocation.

"I'll see you later Dad, take care." Alfric turned to step out avoiding more of his father's scolding.

"Eh you! Wait, I saw a la..." Turner wanted to tell Alfric of the lady he had seen at RD group as he'd finally remembered how he had come accross her, but he paused in his statement as Alfric had already shut the door and left irefully.

Alfric ignored the staffs' greetings while exiting the company as he was much pissed with the drama his father was always creating about him not working in the company.

He had wanted to leave a free life and not having to succumb to certain rules mainly cos' he was a young master of the Gagmons.

He got into his car in a jiffy and drove off infuriatetively. He connected his phone to his iPod to make a call.

"Let's go play golf." He said and hung up afterwards.

He had just spoken to his cousin brother and the other party was always interested in golf sport, which left no room for him to refuse Alfric.

Alfric sighed deeply and drove off at high a speed. He doesn't really like his identity as a young master. To him, it attracts so much trouble and stress.

****

"Hello mum." Ethan's voice went through the phone.

"You have to come home after you leave the office. The Wilsons invited us for a family dinner.

"Dinner?" Ethan was taken aback.

"Yes, and why are you surprised? Aren't they your late girlfriend's family?" Maltida said, unsure of why Ethan sounded suprised.

"Alright; it's fine, will be home soon." Ethan consented and they both hung up afterwards.

"Amel." Ethan muttered. He had so much missed her and hadn't been able to move on after her death.

His mind shifted to Hazel, and a deep frown appeared on his manly, striking face.

He couldn't believe he had unknowingly had a fling with his staff on the night his late girlfriend's death clocked a year.

To him, Hazel was his worst nightmare, it was difficult for him to sinker that a mature lady as such would be so shameless to get on his bed, claiming It went out of her control-did she expect I'll believe such?

But one thing remained certain, he still couldn't figure out exactly what Hazel wanted to achieve to have done that, well, he would wait and see what action she takes next. He deluded this.

****

Wondering what might have transpired before now to cause such a rift between Hazel and Ethan? Let's do a brief flashback.

****

★Few months back★

Hazel strode in a café to get an ice cream for herself, she happened to be in a delightful mood and a dazzling smile could be seen on her face which revealed her purely graceful face.

She quite appeared like a high school student who had just been given a sudden scholarship and had felt so elated to celebrate such achievement.

She got herself a cup of strawberry ice-cream, stepped out and strode forward playfully.

With her look and stature, one couldn't easily tell of her real age as she appeared so young like in her late teens. Meanwhile, she had just celebrated her 25th birthday few weeks back together with Alfric as they both shared thesame birth date.

Anyone around could discern that Hazel was indeed delightful mainly because she'd just secured a staff position at RD group. One of the biggest known companies in the country of England, located in Manchester, Rochdale.

It wasn't easy for one to get a job in such a big company, Hazel could only bring it down on her luck or probably life had just chosen to favour her.

As she strode forward, a male kid who was riding a bicycle playfully, lost control and hit her accidentally.

Due to the fact that Hazel wasn't vigilant enough and was hit unexpectedly, she was already on the verge of sliding hard on the ground and was already envisaging the aftermath awkwardness.

Unexpectedly, a strong but warm arm held her firmly and prevented her from slumping, after Hazel regained her senses, she immediately turned and beheld the man who had just saved her bacon.

Hazel's eyes lit up instantly, as she wasn't expecting the man to appear stunning and fascinating.

She had actually dated cute guys and even seen some, but to her, none of them was as sightly as her friend 'Alfric' but beholding this man, she affirmed Alfric was on seventy percent while the man was on one hundred and one percent.

Ethan, who had come to the area for a site survey with an investor and was smart enough to have caught the scene and hurriedly saved the lady, saw how she was staring at him and couldn't bother much with her.

"Thank you so much for saving my neck, I'm grateful." Hazel said with a bazing smile revealing more of her appealing beauty.

Ethan only gave her a glance and nodded, then left immediately to proceed in conversing with the investor.

Hazel was in a daze as she stood rooted on her spot with her ice cream melting away.

'What kind of man would be this spunky?'

'I am liking him already.'

Hazel notioned to herself, and she reluctantly walked away after seeing that the man had left in his black Bentley flying spur.

★★★