The following day, Aspen entered the Goldtime building and approached the receptionist. Aspen was eager to meet Alden; she hadn’t been able to sleep all night. She had even argued with Jeffrey, but Aspen didn’t want to reveal the reason.
Because Aspen had promised Sarah, this affair needed to be resolved solely with Alden. It was up to Alden to decide Hannah’s fate. Sarah was confident that Alden would kick Hannah out of the Harrison family residence.
“Do you have an appointment, ma’am?” the receptionist asked after Aspen stated she wanted to see Alden.
Holding back her frustration, Aspen gritted her teeth. “Tell Mr. Alden that his sister-in-law wants to meet him immediately.”
“Of course, ma’am.” The receptionist quickly nodded.
The receptionist returned shortly and escorted Aspen to Alden’s office. With her heart pounding faster, Aspen tried to keep her emotions in check. Though she wanted to unleash her anger on Alden and Hannah immediately, she followed Sarah’s instructions. After all, the money Sarah had promised was worth holding back for.
When Aspen entered Alden’s office, she saw him sitting and typing on his laptop. Alden looked very charismatic, and Aspen slightly regretted not marrying him. No wonder Sarah couldn’t move on and kept pursuing Alden to be hers.
“Please have a seat,” Alden requested.
Aspen stiffly nodded and sat down, glaring at Alden, who seemed friendly. Wasn’t Alden Harrison known to be arrogant, proud, and intolerant? Had Hannah really changed this man? Aspen wondered in surprise.
“What can I do for you, Aspen?” Alden asked directly.
Aspen pulled her phone out of her bag and opened the photo gallery. Then she showed it to Alden.
“I assume you didn’t know about this, did you?” Aspen’s voice trembled. “I warned Hannah not to disturb the peace of my little family again.”
“But…”
Alden barely blinked at the photo of Hannah embracing Jeffrey. It wasn’t doctored; that was clear. But Alden needed to be sure whether it was an old or recent photo.
“When was this?” Alden asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s recent.” Aspen pointed to the coat Hannah was wearing. “She didn’t have branded items when she was still with my Jeffrey.”
Alden didn’t respond; he just stared at the photos with his lips tightly closed and a pale face. Hannah had always been honest with Alden-at least, that’s what he thought.
“There’s gotta be an explanation for this,” Alden said, in denial.
“The explanation is clear. Hannah and Jeffrey are having an affair behind our backs,” Aspen stated firmly. “I could easily spread this to the media and make Hannah pay, but I’m thinking about my family.”
“Aspen, I…”
“Listen, Mr. Alden. If you can’t control your wife, then maybe you shouldn’t be taking care of her anymore,” Aspen interrupted. “If Hannah stays at Summerhill, she won’t stop haunting me.”
“I’ll talk to Hannah about this.”
“You better. Because I’m done talking to a woman like Hannah.” Aspen’s hand clenched into a fist. “I could ruin her, and I’m not afraid of your family’s wealth.”
Aspen stood up and left Alden’s office without saying goodbye. After Aspen left, Alden sat silently in his chair, feeling a surge of emotions.
Hannah wasn’t honest about not being able to have children with Alden. Did that mean she took advantage of the situation, claiming to love Alden while knowing she could never have kids? This way, Hannah could continue her relationship with Jeffrey without any worries. There was no risk for Hannah.
Alden tried to push away these dark thoughts but couldn’t find an excuse to make him believe in Hannah. All this time, Hannah had strongly objected to Jeffrey returning to Texco. Was that just part of her act?
Alden got up from his chair, intending to confront Hannah in Texco because he could no longer contain his burning emotions. But just as Alden was about to open the door, Dane suddenly entered.
“Are you ready for the board meeting, sir?” Dane asked with a broad smile.
“Board meeting?”
“Yes, it’s a very important meeting. You told me about it last week,” Dane replied. “You’re the one who scheduled this meeting. Everyone’s already waiting in the meeting room, sir.”
“Ah, is that so?” Alden just nodded. “Alright, I’ll head there now. Thank you, Dane.”
Alden sighed and continued his steps toward the meeting room. But his mind was filled with anger and pain because of what Hannah had done behind his back all this time.
*
Hannah returned home feeling drained, still experiencing the headaches that often appeared out of nowhere. Strangely, Hannah’s weight had gone up, though not drastically. What kind of illness causes weight gain instead of weight loss?
Hannah reached for the door handle and was startled to see Alden sitting on the edge of the bed in the dimly lit room.
“Sweetheart?” Hannah called.
There was no response from Alden, which puzzled Hannah. Alden was never this cold. She walked over to her husband and sat beside him.
“Alden? What’s wrong? Did something bad happen at work?” Hannah asked.
“Worse than bad.”
Alden’s curt and cold response sent chills down Hannah’s spine. It had been long since she’d heard him speak this way. Alden seemed like his old self, the man who once terrified Hannah.
“Is it a work thing?”
Hannah touched the back of Alden’s hand and gently squeezed his fingers. But oddly, Alden didn’t respond warmly; he clearly ignored Hannah.
“Do you want to know what’s really going on?” Alden asked in a half-whisper as if holding back his anger.
“Yes, of course. Haven’t we always faced everything together?”
“Maybe the tough times, yes. But the good times… I’m not sure who you’ve been sharing them with.”
Hannah’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. “Sharing? I don’t understand what you mean.”
Suddenly, Alden swatted Hannah’s hand away and pushed her onto the bed. He pinned her hands to the side, breathing heavily.
“Tell me right now, do you still love your ex-boyfriend?” Alden snapped. “Tell me the truth, Hannah!”