Dale crouched in front of Hazel, who looked like she had just seen a ghost.
The familiar concern etched across his face told her he was real, not just some cooked up imagination. And yet, her stupid mind refused to catch up.
"Are you hurt?" he asked softly, reaching out to help her up.
The moment his hand touched hers, everything collapsed.
Hazel's eyes burned instantly. Her throat clenched so painfully she could barely breathe.
"D–Dale, I—I'm sorry," she stammered, gripping his hand. "I didn't mean to—I don't even know how I got here! I—" Her voice broke completely.
Tears welled up, blurring her vision, threatening to spill. She was this close to breaking down.
How could she explain this?
How could she tell the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with that she had betrayed him by letting another man touch her, without understanding how?
Dale's brows furrowed slightly in confusion, but he still pulled her gently to her feet.
The moment he tried to let go, Hazel desperately clung to his arm, almost panicking.
"You have to believe me! I—I was on my way to meet you. I swear. Then the car crashed, and I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I—"
"Dale?"
Hazel stiffened as a beautiful girl walked to them, slipping her arm naturally around Dale's. Before she could even process it, the girl leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Dale didn't pull away. When he willingly returned it, Hazel felt something inside her crack.
The girl was stunning in a way that felt effortless. She had a flawless skin, her soft curls cascaded down her back graciously, and she wore a confident, yet beautiful smile.
Her eyes finally landed on Hazel after her little display, and a faint frown creased her perfect face.
"Avril? What are you doing here?"
Hazel's grip on Dale's arm slowly loosened, like her body had finally caught up to the damage already done to her heart.
Instinctively, she turned to look behind her, but there was no one there.
Her brows knitted together in confusion.
This was the second time she'd heard that name today.
First, the strange man, now this woman.
That wasn't her name. Why were they calling her that?!
"Are you okay?"
Dale's deep voice pulled her back, but this time, it didn't comfort her.
Hazel took a step back.
Her gaze dropped to the way the two of them stood together, how his arm rested so naturally around the other woman's waist, how he stared at her like she was his world, and her chest clenched painfully.
She shook her head slowly in disbelief. She wasn't hallucinating and this certainly wasn't a misunderstanding! Dale was...
"No…" Her voice was barely there.
A tear slipped free from her eyes, and Hazel turned away instantly.
She had a lot of questions, but there had always been one rule she lived by. One rule she never broke.
Never let a cheating scumbag see you cry!
She started walking. At first, her steps were stiff, but the tears didn't stop. They kept coming, blurring her vision, choking her throat. Her walk turned into a hurried pace, then it got faster.
She didn't look back. Instead, she ran as their beautiful memories betrayed her.
It felt like yesterday when Dale knelt in front of her, swearing she was the only woman he would ever love, when he had proposed to her right in front of her dead parent's graves, promising them she wasn't alone anymore.
She'd thought he was perfect. She could've sworn with her life that Dale would never look at anyone.
Her chest burned as she laughed weakly through the sobs.
What a fool she'd been!
Hazel didn't see the figures ahead of her.
She slammed straight into someone and cried out as she lost her balance, crashing hard onto the ground. Pain shot through her palms and knees.
Why did she keep running into people today?!
"Mrs. Avril!" They both reached out and helped her to her feet.
Hazel yanked her arms free, her fury spilling over before she could stop it. "Get your hands off me! Are you blind?!"
The two men bowed immediately.
"We're sorry," one said calmly, though his tone hardened. "But you're not supposed to be here. This area is off-limits."
She froze.
Her breaths came uneven as she finally lifted her head and looked around. She wasn't on some random path anymore.
She was standing in the middle of a breathtaking garden.
A beautiful lush greenery stretched endlessly, and amongst them flowers in colors she didn't recognize bloomed perfectly. Stone paths curved elegantly beneath her feet, and soft lantern lights flickered even though it was still daylight.
Her eyes drifted past the men to a beautiful, modern gazebo that stood proudly at the heart of the garden.
She could barely see past them but she caught a faint sight of a man inside the gazebo. He was talking to someone else but she couldn't see the person.
"You really need to leave now, Mrs. Avril," the other man said firmly. "You're not permitted here."
Her frustration snapped.
"That is not my name. Stop calling me that!" The two men exchanged glances. "And do you think I want to be here?! I don't even know where here is, so, yes! To hell with your permission!"
The entire place went quiet. Her little outburst attracted the attention of the people inside the gazebo.
She turned sharply to leave, but—
"Stop there."
The voice was calm, barely audible, but it stopped Hazel cold.
Why did this feel like deja vu?
She slowly turned back to the gazebo. The men who tried to stop her earlier moved to the side, giving her a clear view of the man inside the gazebo, standing behind an old woman sitting inside.
The old woman's cold gaze was fixed on her.
Her heart skipped.