Will was too emotional to be as careful as he should have when he was trying to comfort Hazel after she learned of his worthless father's death. Will had to tell her the part of what he had done that he could sort of own up to. Pretending he wasn't the one doing the suing for the sake of his cover.
In being a bit too honest about how he felt while pretending to be a third party, he was shocked to discover she didn't have a problem with him. She thought it was nice of him to feel sorry for her and want to apologize.
That was what threw him off even more. He shouldn't have said anything about never hurting her. She hadn't read the book, so she didn't know what that hateful creep Abramson had written about him.
Hurting Hazel was something Will wasn't even capable of. He had been protecting her since he was seven years old and always would. He loved her far too much to hurt her.
Honestly! How could anyone believe he wanted to kill someone so perfectly lovely? Charlie only had because he was insane. Will hadn't thought that information would ever get out, but now everyone who had read that cursed book believed he wanted to kill his wife. It really pissed him off!
He held her tightly to calm himself down more than he did to comfort her. He thought the whole thing had blown over until the next day when she came into his office.
"I need you to know that I love you no matter what, but I also need answers. I think I deserve them, don't you, Billy Thornton?" she asked with her hands on her hips.
Will's head was reeling. Hazel knew?! Oh, she must have looked him up after he said too much yesterday and put it together! It was that stupid picture from when he was a kid. He was sure of it!
He didn't understand. How could she still love him when she knew who he was?
His throat had gone dry but he managed to get out, "About what?"
"Everything. About how and when we really met would be a good place to start. I know you only told that monster what you did to save me. But why did you care that much? What did I do for you?"
"It was July 31st, during the summer before second grade. I couldn't get school lunches during the break so there weren't any guaranteed meals. Charlie was already off stalking his victims, though I didn't know that at the time, and would leave me alone for days, if not weeks.
"I had to scavenge for food. One of the places I liked to go was a park in the nicer part of town because people tended to leave a fair amount of it behind. I was dizzy from malnutrition and ended up tripping and slicing my knee open.
"I sat there on the ground, completely defeated with my head on my knees, when you appeared offering me a Hello Kitty bandage. I looked up and…Hazel, you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
"You put the bandage on for me and kissed it better before offering me some fruit snacks. I hadn't eaten anything all day. At that moment, you appeared like a beacon of hope—an angel come personally to drag me out of the darkness of my life—and I couldn't forget you.
"I looked for you every time I went to that park after that, but never saw you again until you were in a file on my kitchen table. You were the only one who had ever been truly kind to me. I couldn't let him kill you, I just couldn't.
"I said whatever I had to so he would let you live. I never thought you would end up so traumatized…but I guess I underestimated little girls' feelings because I grew up differently. For me, it was enough to be alive.
"I saw you in the mental hospital the night they brought me in. You were going out to look at the moon. It was then I knew how horribly my plan to save you had gone wrong. I knew I needed to make it up to you, but wasn't able to meet you again for another three years.
"I was so excited when I finally caught up with you. I hadn't expected you to be mute or suffering from nightmares, but I didn't care. You were still my angel. I had to do whatever I could to help you. I didn't think you would let me if you knew my father killed your parents. And that's the honest truth."
A small, disbelieving laugh escaped Hazel. "An angel? Really?"
"I didn't know your name—Charlie never included names in his files—so I thought of you as 'my angel' for more than three years. The night you thought we first met…everything I said and asked about you was sincere.
"All I knew before then was that you were a good person and what happened to your parents. I am sorry about that, by the way…I couldn't stop him. It was a miracle that I was even able to convince him to spare you," Will said miserably.
"That was so long ago and you were just a kid. That doesn't matter to me. I just want to know the truth."
He would rather have the ground swallow him whole than be having this conversation. But he was cornered now. Hazel said she loved him no matter what, but he couldn't help but worry. His past was so awful.
"What more do you want to know?"
"Where did you learn how to create realistic aliases and disguise yourself to look like another person, for one. Also whether you had something to do with your father's death."
Hazel guessed that?! She really was too smart for her own good. Will shouldn't have underestimated her. Or overestimated himself.
"…I burned down the hospital so I could escape. In my defense, it was the best thing my dumb eleven-year-old self could come up with at the time. I didn't know if you would ever be able to talk again and if I didn't have a diploma or any skills, there was no way I could take care of you. I knew they would never let me out before I turned eighteen, so I created a distraction to slip away.
"I never imagined the fire would spread so fast. You can't imagine my panic when I realized it reached the girls' wing. I went looking for you immediately and as soon as I knew you were safe, I took advantage of the chaos to leave.
"I stole some provisions and hitchhiked down to L.A., where I met the head of a smuggling ring. He took me in. I didn't realize it at first and was so desperate to have food, shelter, and a paycheck that I turned a blind eye.
"By the time I realized they were smugglers, it was too late to back out. You wouldn't understand. Out there, you only leave in one of two ways: in a casket or if you're at the top of the food chain.
"I did my best there to get acknowledgement and worked my way up so I could make it back to you. I took my chance once he died and I was in charge. You saying you expected me to come get you after you graduated made me speed up my plans to get out. I didn't actually win the lottery. I stole an entire shipment of goods before I disappeared and made sure the ring was taken down by the cops.
"My alias and disguise there were so thorough that no one will ever find me. I can finally live a normal life with you, just like I always wanted. And to answer your other question, I paid to have my father killed so you wouldn't have to worry about him ever again. I didn't tell you earlier because I thought you wouldn't be able to accept the truth. I'm so sorry!"
Will was terrified of the repercussions now that it was all out, but what he feared didn't happen. Hazel hugged him like nothing had changed at all and he soaked it into his soul.
She had meant what she said. She truly did still love him!
"I forgive you. How could I not? You're all I have, Will. This isn't enough to tear us apart. Nothing could be," she said firmly.
"Nothing? You promise?" Will asked, tears of relief welling up in his eyes.
"Yes. You're mine and I'm yours. We're each other's salvation, remember? It doesn't matter that you were mine because I was yours first."
He hugged his wife tighter, full of joy that all his secrets were finally out in the open so he didn't have to worry about keeping them anymore. She still loved him. He could finally breathe.
"I love you so much, Hazel!"
"I love you so much too. Like you said, we'll put this behind us once the trial is over and can continue living happily. We still have an awful lot of adventures to go on, don't we?"
Will pulled back slightly to beam at her. "Yeah, we do. Where do you want to go after this is over? As a celebration of our freedom."
Hazel's expression grew thoughtful. "Somewhere we can go scuba diving? We haven't done that in Fiji yet."
"Fiji it is!"
Will kissed her after that, unable to hold back his love for this incredible woman. She had always been so full of light, but even hearing about his darkness wasn't able to drive her away. She was the one person who was capable of accepting him exactly as he was. As long as he was with her, he knew he would be happy for the rest of his life.