Chapter Five

Hailey's POV:

When we entered the hospital room, the first thing that came to my view was a fragile old man lying on the bed with different tubes and wires attached to his body. He had an oxygen mask on his face, helping him to breathe. When we moved closer to his bed, we realized that he was sleeping. His breathing was slow and coming out as a gasp.

My eyes started to sting with tears while looking at him. The state he seemed to be in, reminded me of my grandma. I was ten years old when my Grandma died, leaving me all alone in this huge world. She was my only best friend, my savior, and my mentor. She took care of me like my real mother would have if she were alive today. My grandma was always there for me, not my stepmom. My stepmom stopped playing the role of a mom when I turned eight, and grandma had to take her responsibility.

I was devastated after my grandma's death, and that led me towards depression. I was so close to her, and her death broke me apart. The school was already hell, and after her death, I started sinking into depression because I had no one to console me. Later, I started having nightmares. They were horrific, and they would appear almost every night. As usual, I hid it from everyone, and the condition got worse. My pleas and screams turned so loud at nights, and that was how mom and dad found out. I had no other option but to tell them the truth.

After that day, my dad took me to a psychologist. I was diagnosed with MDD (major depressive disorder). I had to attend a session every week to get better. The nightmares decreased gradually, but they never disappeared completely. I still had a fear of losing people that I loved, and whenever there was death, my mind took me back to the past. Sadly, I couldn't control my mind while I was asleep.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Chase said, "Granddad, wake up. We are here to meet you."

Slowly, his granddad opened his eyes and looked at Chase with confusion. Chase smiled at him and tilted his head in my direction. His granddad followed Chase's gaze and looked at me.

I gave him a wide smile, and said, "Hi."

He removed his oxygen mask and put it on the bed. I walked closer to him.

"Who is this pretty girl?" he asked him.

"She is Hailey Edwards." Chase placed a hand on my back and pulling me towards him.

My heartbeat accelerated hearing my changed last name.

His granddad's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, so Chase said, "She is my wife, granddad."

His granddad's eyes widened, and then a smile broke on his fragile face.

"Are you David's granddaughter?" he asked me.

"Yes. I am his granddaughter." I smiled at him.

"Great, come sit here," he said, telling Chase to move and making me sit on the chair beside his bed.

Chase narrowed his eyes at his granddad's antics then grumbled something in annoyance. I stifled a giggle at Chase's expression, catching his attention. He glared at me, and I fell silent.

"Hello, I'm Joseph. David and I used to study in the same high school," he said.

"I'm Hailey." I placed my hand on his fragile ones.

He smiled, and my heart swelled looking at the happiness in his eyes. If Chase agreed to marry me because of his granddad's happiness, then the smile on his granddad's face was worth everything.

"I hope my friend didn't point his old pistol at your head to make you marry my grandson," he said, making me laugh.

"No. He didn't use any villainous tricks to convince me to marry your grandson. He left the decision to me, and I did what I felt was right to do." I glanced at Chase.

Chase stared at me, and I found myself spellbound under his intense gaze forgetting where I was.

"Good. I must say I am very happy with both of your decisions. If his grandma were still alive, she would be ecstatic to see you both bound in a beautiful relationship," his granddad said, snapping me back to reality.

His granddad noticed how Chase was still zoned out from the conversation.

"He is a bit off, but I assure you, he could be nice when you talk about his favorite sports; soccer. If you find him sad or upset just put anything made up of chocolate in front of him and let the sweetness of the dessert work its magic."

I memorized it. It was the first thing that I got to know about Chase Edwards.

"He can get upset about small things like a small kid, so you can scold him if he doesn't listen to you," his granddad said with a mischievous smile.

"Hey! Don't feed her lies."

His granddad and I laughed.

Then his granddad started to tell me embarrassing stories of Chase and his brother Cameron. I couldn't stop myself from laughing at every story that his granddad shared with me. They were hilarious.

"Now you know what to expect from your children in the future," his granddad said.

I didn't get his joke and glanced at Chase to find him blushing.

The nurse came to check on Joseph and gave him his medicine. After a few minutes, he was asleep, and we decided to leave.

***

When we came back home, Chase went straight to his room, leaving me alone in the living room. I switched on the TV and watched my favorite movie Tangled, which was playing on TV. The movie ended after two hours then I went to my room to freshen up and change into something comfortable.

I changed into my grey sweatpants and black dolman sleeve cold shoulder top then sat on my bed with the book that I didn't complete the night I found out that my life was a lie. The woman I tried to impress my whole life wasn't my real mother, and I was a product of my dad's affair. I stopped myself from thinking further about that night and started reading the book.

My stomach growled, and I checked the time on the wall clock to see that it was already three o'clock in the afternoon. I was hungry, and I didn't know if I should ask Chase for anything. Whenever he was around me, I felt scared and ended up doing something stupid.

I decided to go to the kitchen and find something to eat. I went downstairs and hoped that my mother-in-law wouldn't get angry with me for snooping around her kitchen without her permission.

I found some milk, cheddar cheese, a pack of macaroni, and chicken. When I was a kid, I used to help my Grandma in the kitchen a lot, so I knew my way around it.

I put the pot filled with water on the stove and boiled the macaroni. I cooked the small pieces of chicken with some salt and black pepper. Then I started to prepare the sauce by melting butter in a saucepan over medium heat. I stirred in flour, salt, and pepper until it was smooth. Slowly, I poured milk into the butter-flour mixture while continuously stirring it until the mixture was smooth and bubbling. Then I added cheddar cheese to the milk mixture and stirred until the cheese was melted.

When the sauce was ready, I put the cooked macaroni and chicken pieces into the sauce then simmered it for a minute. I dished it out in the serving bowl and stared at it. It looked good, and I hoped it would taste good too.

Should I go and ask Chase if he wanted to eat?

He would probably throw the plate in my face if I disturbed him. I shook my head and dismissed the thought of asking him, but then I thought again. It is basically his house, his food, and I should ask him even if he would get mad at me.

I made my way upstairs and knocked on his door, but he didn't answer, so I twisted the doorknob and peeked inside. Chase was sitting on his bed with some papers and books spread around him. His head was bobbing up and down, and that was when I noticed, he was wearing headphones. He looked busy, and I didn't want to distract him.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped up and caught me staring at him. I gulped scared to death. He narrowed his eyes at me and removed his headphones then placed them on the bed. He got up from the bed and made his way towards me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a stiff voice.

"I... I came here to... uh, ask you if you want to have lunch." I stuttered.

He intimidated me, and I didn't know why. It was the first time that I was alone with a guy and probably that was scaring me.

He frowned then glanced at the wall clock in his room, and his eyes widened.

"I am really sorry. I was busy with the assignment and forgot about lunch. Give me five minutes, and I'll order something for you," he said, looking upset.

"No."

He frowned.

"No?" he asked while scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

I found his small action cute.

"I have... prepared pasta. Do you want to... eat with me? If you don't, I can bring it for you here," I said, stuttering.

"No, thanks. I am not hungry."

I nodded my head and went back to the kitchen with a sulking face. I wasn't even expecting him to join me and eat with me.

I put some pasta on my plate then took a bite. It tasted good, and I was happy. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps coming down, and Chase appeared in the kitchen. I was frozen and stared at him.

He made his way to where I was sitting on the stool near the kitchen counter and sat across me. Then he glanced at the pasta and picked up the spoon. He put some of the pasta on the empty plate and then started eating it.

I was beyond shock and forgot I was eating before he walked into the kitchen. Oh god! What if he didn't like it?

"He will throw it on you," my mind taunted.

He didn't complain, and I relaxed a bit. We ate in silence.

"Did you make it?" he asked me, catching me off guard.

"Yes."

He stood up, and said, "It wasn't bad."

Then he left the kitchen before I could say anything to him.

It wasn't bad meant it was good. He complimented me, and it made me smile like a Cheshire cat. The smile didn't leave my face even when I was washing the plates and cleaning the kitchen.

Around six o'clock, my in-laws arrived. They were now sitting in the lounge with me.

My father-in-law smiled and asked me, "Did you meet my dad?"

"Yeah, Chase took me to meet him in the morning. He was very nice and friendly," I told him honestly.

My mother-in-law asked me, "Did you like the room? I decorated it myself."

"I loved it! Thank you so much for giving me such a beautiful room." I kissed her cheek.

She looked at me lovingly, and said, "No. You don't need to thank me, dear. You are like a daughter to me, and it was just a simple decoration."

For her, it might not be a big deal, but for me, it was very special. I was never pampered by people like this before, so least to say I was extremely happy receiving so much love. The tears brimmed in my eyes when I realized that she could be the mother figure in my life that I didn't have all these years. I could experience how it felt to be loved by people.

I looked at her and thought maybe this could be my dream family that I wished all these years to have.