80. Unspoken Burden

Book:Marrying the Chairman in the Wheelchair Published:2024-12-6

Alden sat in his study, thinking about Hannah’s words a few days ago. Hannah had seemed emotional when she mentioned the subject of death, which made Alden suspicious. What exactly was on Hannah’s mind?
Although Hannah had calmed down considerably, Alden could still see a sadness in her eyes that she didn’t express outwardly. It worried Alden; he knew he had to find out what had deeply hurt Hannah.
A knock on the study door interrupted his thoughts, and Edward entered, nodding respectfully to Alden.
“Sir, I’ve brought the information you requested,” Edward said with a smile, “for your vacation with Mrs. Hannah.”
Edward placed the printouts of the fantastic places Alden had requested as vacation references. Alden had planned to take Hannah on a trip, even though he knew she would probably refuse.
“Edward, have you noticed anything unusual about Hannah’s behavior lately?” Alden asked suddenly.
“I beg your pardon, sir?”
“Hannah has been glum, though she tries to hide it. Has she said anything to you?”
Edward shook his head, his expression puzzled. “Sir, we’ve never had a personal conversation. I apologize if I haven’t been paying attention to Mrs. Hannah.”
“I was just asking in case she mentioned anything to you.”
“Actually, no, sir. But last week, I saw Mrs. Hannah come home in tears,” Edward revealed. “I didn’t dare ask her about it because it’s not my place.”
“Alright. It’s okay.”
Edward left the study, and the room returned to silence. Alden picked up the holiday dates Edward had given him and began searching for options that might make Hannah happy.
Unfortunately, Alden’s mind was too confused to make a decision.
He decided to leave his study and go to Hannah’s room, where they now slept together every night. When he entered, Alden sat on the edge of the bed.
Hannah had been so busy with work lately that she only went somewhere between home and the office.
Could she be hiding something from him?
“Okay, here we go,” Alden muttered.
Without Hannah’s permission, Alden opened her closet and nightstand, looking for anything suspicious. He finally found a torn piece of paper in Hannah’s closet under a pile of clothes.
Alden pulled out the paper and saw that it was a medical report.
Half of the paper was missing, but what was left was clear: Hannah was not pregnant and might be unable to have children.
As he read it, Alden was devastated.
“Oh, God,” Alden whispered in disbelief.
With shaking hands, Alden put the paper back in the closet. He sat back down on the edge of the bed, feeling utterly defeated.
“Why didn’t you tell me about this, Hannah?”
Alden’s phone rang, startling him. He reached into his pocket and saw Sarah’s name on the screen.
“Yes, Sarah?” Alden answered.
“Aren’t you coming into the office? It’s already eleven. You didn’t mention you were taking the day off.”
Alden cleared his throat. “I was going to, but not today.”
“Are you sick? Should I come to your house?”
“No. I’m fine; I just need some time to think.”
There was a sigh on the other end as if Sarah was worried about Alden now.
“What’s wrong? Won’t you tell me, Alden?” Sarah asked.
“It’s just…”
Alden found it hard to speak. He didn’t know what to do after learning such a shocking truth.
“I’ll come over,” Sarah decided.
“No, don’t.”
“Alden, I can’t just sit here if there’s something wrong with you. I’ll be thinking and worrying.”
“All right, let’s meet outside. I’ll let you know when I’m almost there.”
“Okay.”
*
Meanwhile, at Texco, Hannah’s melancholy behavior over the past few days had made Susan suspicious. Susan approached Hannah, who was reviewing some files, and closed the folder Hannah was reading. Naturally, Hannah was confused.
“What is it, Susan?” Hannah asked.
“I should be asking you that.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
Susan sat across from Hannah and studied her with a concerned look.
“Did you have a fight with your husband?” Susan asked.
Hannah shook her head. “No, we’re all right. For now.”
“For now? What does that mean?”
Hannah’s lips pressed together, refusing to answer. She didn’t want Susan to know what was really going on. After receiving such a harsh diagnosis from the doctor, Hannah was at a loss.
“Hannah, aren’t you going to tell me?” Susan asked.
“There’s nothing wrong, Susan. Everything is fine.”
“I don’t want us to spend the day in denial, and I don’t want to seem pushy.” Susan crossed her arms. “But don’t act like that, Hannah.”
Hannah suddenly fell silent, looking conflicted. Gradually, her face paled, her eyes reddened, and she began to sob softly.
“I don’t know what to do, Susan,” Hannah whispered.
“Oh, dear…” Susan stood up immediately and hugged Hannah. “Tell me what’s really going on.”
“I’ve been told I can’t have children.”
Susan gasped. “What? But you said…”
“I’m sorry, I lied. I didn’t know how to face that reality.”
For a moment, Susan said nothing, letting Hannah release her pent-up emotions. She just held Hannah close. It must have been so hard for Hannah to hide what had happened.
“How am I going to tell Alden, Susan? He’s going to be so disappointed in me,” Hannah cried.
“Listen. You’ve only seen one doctor, and there are many doctors in the world you could consult. You didn’t even get a second opinion.”
“I don’t want to go from place to place chasing empty hopes.”
“Empty hopes? That’s called giving up.”
Hannah wiped away her tears. “I can’t think straight right now.”
Susan looked at Hannah. “Remember when Mr. Harrison couldn’t walk? And you were the one who searched high and low for a doctor to help him? Where is that Hannah now, the one who never gave up?”
“I don’t know if I can do this, Susan.”
“You can… you definitely can.” Susan hugged Hannah even tighter. “Don’t think Mr. Harrison will leave you because of this.”