Hazel was getting ready for the office. Today was her second presentation on the Midnight Perfume Project. The issues raised by investors in the last meeting were meant to be addressed today. Since the main branch had completely taken over the project, all the work was now being handled there.

She took a deep breath, staring at herself in the mirror. Why am I getting nervous? she thought. It’s just a presentation.

Shaking off the feeling, she adjusted her dress and picked up her bag along with the files. As she turned to leave, her eyes landed on the dress Chris had sent earlier that morning.

This man is something else, she muttered under her breath. She clicked her tongue, brushing off the thought, and walked out.

As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted him. Chris stood near her gate, waiting, hands tucked into his pockets, looking as if he had all the time in the world.

She sighed and walked toward him. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

Chris had been smiling, but the moment his gaze swept over her, his expression darkened.

"Why didn’t you wear the dress I sent?" he asked, voice firm.

"That’s not an answer to my question," she shot back.

"Neither is that an answer to mine." His eyes locked onto hers, unwavering. "Why didn’t you wear it, Hazel?"

She folded her arms. "Why would I? Last time, I wore it because you wouldn’t stop insisting—and we weren’t going to the office that day. But why should I wear a dress sent by you now? If you’ve forgotten, let me remind you—I’m only accepting your feelings, nothing else."

His jaw clenched. He just stood there, staring at her, saying nothing.

Hazel didn’t wait for a response. She turned away and headed toward her car.

"Where do you think you’re going?" His voice followed her. "I came to pick you up."

"No, thanks," she said without turning back and kept walking.

That was it. His patience snapped.

Before she could reach her car, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

She whirled around, eyes flashing. "Chris, what the hell are you doing?"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled her along, ignoring her protests. With effortless strength, he opened the door of his car and pushed her inside.

"Chris!" she yelled, struggling against his grip.

Without a word, he leaned over, secured her seatbelt, and shut the door firmly.

Hazel’s anger flared. She immediately unbuckled the belt and reached for the door handle—only to hear a soft click.

Her door was locked.

She tried again, but it wouldn’t budge. She looked up, furious, only to see him standing outside, his key fob in his hand.

"Chris!" she shouted. "Open the damn door!"

Ignoring her, he walked around and slid into the driver’s seat. His fingers gripped the steering wheel, knuckles slightly tense. Then, he turned his head to look at her, his eyes dark and unreadable.

"I see what you’re trying to do, Hazel," he murmured, his voice dangerously calm. "If you think pushing me away like this will make me back off, you’re wrong. You’re only making me more certain about what I want."

She scoffed, crossing her arms. "What I’m doing? I was always like this, Chris. I never accepted you before—it just looks like you never noticed."

His jaw tightened. "I did notice." His voice was rough with frustration. "But you said you’d give me a chance. Then give me one. Because all you’re doing is pushing me away—worse than before. You must be hoping that if you keep this up, I’ll lose interest in you. But trust me, Hazel, that’s not going to happen."

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning white. He turned to face her fully, his eyes burning with unrelenting intensity.

"I won’t stop."

.......

The drive was silent after that. Chris kept Hazel’s side door locked, making sure she couldn’t get out. She shot him an angry glare, but he remained focused on the road, his expression unreadable.

Hazel let out a frustrated sigh, crossing her arms. "It hasn’t even been a day, and you’re already this annoyed," she muttered.

Chris’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, but he didn’t respond.

"You’re wrong, Chris," she continued, her voice firm. "You will lose interest in me. I’ve refused your gifts before, but you never reacted like this. So why now? Because I’m closer to you? Because you think you’re finally getting what you want?" She let out a dry laugh. "No, Chris. You’re just feeling the rejection more because you let yourself believe I’d change."

His jaw clenched, and for the first time since the argument started, he turned his head slightly, eyes flickering toward her. There was something dangerous in his silence, something unsettling.

Hazel exhaled sharply. "This is exactly why I said I’d only accept your feelings and nothing else. Because the moment you start believing you own me, the moment you think I owe you something for your love, you react like this."

Chris’s fingers drummed against the steering wheel, his patience clearly wearing thin. His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he let out a slow breath and pressed harder on the accelerator.

........

The drive was silent.

Chris thought about changing the topic to ease the tension between them.

"Are you ready for the presentation?" he asked.

"Yeah—unless you start questioning every line I say," she replied, remembering her last presentation, where Chris had kept interrupting with questions.

"That was fun, actually," he said.

"Fun?" she repeated, unimpressed.

"Yeah, I was doing that just to annoy you because you look too beautiful and cute when you're annoyed," he said, smiling.

"Unbelievable," she muttered.

Just then, her phone rang. She glanced down, and he did too.

"Didn't I tell you to block him?" Chris asked, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"Hazel, I'm asking you something," he pressed.

"I can't just block him like that. He's my friend," she said.

"But we decided—" he started, pulling the car to a stop.

"We decided that I accept your feelings. Nothing else, Chris," she said firmly.

She saw a flicker of something in his eyes—maybe the fear of losing her to someone else.

"I accept your feelings, not your control. You can't decide what I do and what I don’t," she added.

He put the car in park and just stared at her. Hazel noticed something in his expression, something he was trying to hide.

"What?" she asked.

"You’re scaring me, Hazel," he admitted, his voice carrying a hint of hurt.

She didn’t answer and looked away.

"We're near the office. Drop me here. I'll go myself," she said.

"You’re not going anywhere. We’ll go together," he insisted and started the car.

"Chris, what will people think? Why am I coming with my boss?"

"Let them think what they want. At least it’ll stop someone like Vincent from pursuing you," he said.

.......

They reached the office parking lot, and as soon as he parked the car, she got out. Chris looked at her angrily.

"Can't  give you another  chance to get your  way" she said and walked away.

Chris closed his eyes and took a deep

breath to calm himself. Then, he got out of the car.

"You're playing with fire, Hazel," he said as he stepped out.

Hazel smiled, satisfied that she had done exactly what she had intended.

Her phone rang again.

"Why is he calling so much?" she mutterec before answering.

She picked up .

What she heard stopped her in her tracks. Chris reached her side.

"Why did you stop? Come on, we're getting late," he said.

Hazel ended the call and turned to face him.

"What?" he asked.

She didn't say a word-she just slapped him. The sudden impact made Chris's face turn to the side.

His anger flared instantly.

Hazel was just as furious.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

She grabbed him by the collar. "You lied to me! You said you wouldn't hurt him-then why?" she shouted, her voice

filled with anger.

To be continued...

Author note: sorry chapter was small cause if got bigger It would be filled with unnecessary details like the presentation itself lol