THE DON'S CAPTIVE MISTRESS

Abandoned

HAZEL

I hesitate.

More than a second. More than I should.

Slowly, I turn toward Axel. He’s standing in the darker part of the garden, just beyond where the string lights end. His figure is a silhouette in the night, with broad shoulders, still posture, and hands in his pockets like nothing in the world could ever surprise him.

But his face?

I can’t see it. I can’t tell if he’s mad. Or angry. Or pleased. Or bored. With Axel Morelli, any of those could mean the same thing.

If what happened a few minutes ago hadn’t happened...if I hadn’t kissed Nico, then the second Axel told me I could go home, I would’ve run, barefoot if I had to.

But now?

Now I feel frozen.

Given what Nico told me.

Given my own panic.

Given every way my life has twisted tonight… I can’t shake the fear that maybe Axel wants me away from Mac because he plans to kill me tonight instead. Maybe I would be walking towards my grave.

My mind starts spinning out the worst possible outcomes, painting pictures I don’t want to see. Death behind a closed door. A car disappearing in the dark. Blood soaking into sheets.

'Run,' a voice in my head whispers.

Run while you still can.

“Hazel. Let’s go,” Nico urges, voice low.

He’s a few steps from me, close enough to guide me, far enough to show Axel he’s not touching me. His hands are stiff at his sides, like he’s forcing them to stay still.

His expression says everything: Don’t make this worse. Don’t tell him anything. Move.

But I don’t move. I keep staring at Axel.

Trying to read a man who is unreadable.

Trying to see the future in the slope of his shoulders or the stillness of his breathing.

Trying not to drown in the realization that he holds every card and I don’t even know the rules of the game.

I can feel his gaze. Even from here, the white glint of his eyes catches the low garden light.

He’s looking right at me. And I just… Can’t look away.

But I can also feel Nico’s restlessness.

I can see it in the way his jaw ticks, in the way he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. This isn’t the Nico I know. He’s usually calm, a little cocky, but calm. Now, he’s struggling to keep his composure, to keep that soldier face on.

And I know...God, I know that the moment Axel really looks at him, really pays attention, he’ll realize something is wrong.

I don’t know where the courage…..or maybe it’s just plain stupidity—comes from, but I choose to move. Maybe it’s bravery. Maybe it’s desperation. I just go along.

'Smart or stupid,' I whisper under my breath, like I’m asking myself which one I am right now.

“I thought I was going with that Mac guy,” I say aloud, breaking the silence. I try to hide the flinch that voluntarily overtakes my body when I ask the question.

Axel’s head turns slightly, his voice calm but cutting when he speaks.

“Is that what you want?”

His tone is low and unreadable, and the fact that he sounds unbothered bothers me more than if he’d shouted.

“No. I’m just… confused, that’s all,” I murmur. I could slap myself right now for my foolishness. What if he decides to change his mind and give me to someone else anyway...?

He doesn’t answer. Thankfully... or not.

Nico just shakes his head at me. It's a plea, a silent let's go, don't push it. So I scratch my neck, swallow hard, and start walking.

But before I can pass him, Axel’s hand suddenly shoots out and grabs my arm.

I freeze. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest. For a split second, I think he’s going to strike me. I can see it happening in a dozen ways in my head: his hand raised, his voice sharp, the pain following after. I nearly scream, but he doesn’t move.

He just holds me still.

And then, slowly, almost deliberately, he lets me collect myself. Now we’re standing face-to-face, one side of his body in the darkness, the other barely brushed by the garden light.

Axel's expression is unreadable, but his eyes… they’re cutting right through me. He raises his hand again, and I flinch. I close my eyes, hold my breath, bracing for the hit I’m sure is coming...but it doesn’t.

Instead, his fingers brush my cheek, soft and deliberate. He wipes something away from my eyelid—tears I didn’t even realize had fallen. For a moment, I can’t breathe.

When I open my eyes, my gaze drops to his shirt. There’s something red on his collar...blood maybe, but I can’t tell if it’s real or if I’m imagining it, because I can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes again.

Then he gives a small nod toward Nico.

That’s all it takes.

Nico starts walking, that silent soldier’s signal that it’s time to move. So I swallow hard, force my legs to work, and start walking too.

Nico follows, a few paces behind me. We leave Axel all alone in the dark garden.

Outside, the car is already waiting. Nico doesn’t even look at me as he grabs his keys. He doesn’t bother opening the door for me either; he just walks to the driver’s side. I open my door, slip in, and wait.

But he doesn’t start the car.

He just sits there.

Still.

“Is there something wrong? Shouldn’t you be driving?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

He exhales sharply. “I can’t do this.”

And before I can ask what he means, he gets out of the car.... Just like that.

I watch him walk away, back toward the house, maybe, or maybe just away from everything... Maybe he decided to run away before his Don strikes. I don’t know.

I sit there, alone, watching people from the party trickle out, my head spinning, trying to figure out if this is how I die...abandoned in a car outside the country's finest.