Hannah stepped out of her office to meet Ashton in the children’s ward when she heard a commotion coming from the ICU. A woman was crying hysterically and screaming, “Mom! Mom!” Naturally, this caught Hannah’s attention.
Hannah approached and was shocked to see that it was Aspen crying uncontrollably. Next to Aspen was Jeffrey, holding her daughter’s hand.
“Aspen? Jeffrey?” Hannah called out in disbelief.
When Aspen saw Hannah, she looked like she’d seen a ghost. She immediately backed away and hid behind Jeffrey. Jeffrey, on the other hand, seemed relieved to see Hannah.
“Oh my God, Hannah! Is it really you?” Jeffrey greeted her. “Thank God you’re okay. I thought you…”
Jeffrey couldn’t go on. He was on the verge of tears.
“We’ll talk later, Jeffrey. What happened? Is something wrong with Mom?” Hannah asked.
Jeffrey nodded quickly. “Mom collapsed at home earlier. We brought her here because it’s the closest hospital.”
“Don’t worry. The doctors will take good care of her,” Hannah assured him. “I’ll make sure Mom gets the best treatment here.”
Aspen glanced slightly, but said nothing.
“I’ll make sure the administration covers the cost of Mom’s care,” Hannah said, glancing at her watch. “I hope it’s nothing too serious.”
“Thank you, Hannah,” Jeffrey replied with emotion.
Hannah hurried off to the administration office, leaving Jeffrey and Aspen behind. Once Hannah was out of sight, Aspen scoffed in irritation.
“She’s so arrogant, acting like she owns this hospital,” Aspen sneered.
Jeffrey shot her an exasperated look, tired of Aspen’s constant negativity toward her stepsister.
“Are you sure she’s sick? She looked fine to me. You two are probably just avoiding the cheating scandal from before,” Aspen muttered again. “You two won’t get away with it!”
“What are you talking about?” Jeffrey snapped, barely holding back his anger.
“I-I…” Aspen stammered.
“Enough. You stay here with Mom. I’m going to get Jacy something to eat,” Jeffrey said, ending the conversation.
He took their daughter to the hospital cafeteria, ignoring Aspen’s continued grumbling.
Jeffrey had done his best for his family and he didn’t want to be dragged into false accusations of infidelity. Even Alden had accepted that there had been a misunderstanding. Why was Aspen still dwelling on it, especially after meeting Hannah?
There was so much Jeffrey wanted to explain to Hannah, but seeing her calm and content made him hesitate.
On his way to the cafeteria, Jeffrey texted Susan:
“Susan? Did you know that Hannah is at Summerhill? It looks like she works at The Miracle Hospital.”
*
After finishing Francesca’s paperwork, Hannah went to meet Ashton. He was in the children’s chemotherapy room, chatting warmly with some of the patients. As soon as he saw Hannah, Ashton smiled.
“Oh, look… my beautiful angel is here,” Ashton said.
The children giggled, some gazing in awe at Hannah, who looked so elegant and graceful.
“We’re getting married soon. Please wish us luck, okay?” Ashton added.
“Doctor, are we invited to your wedding?” one of the children asked.
Ashton tapped his nose playfully. “How about we have it here at the hospital? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
The room filled with happy laughter. Hannah shook her head, amused by Ashton’s antics. But that was who Ashton was- always striving to bring joy to others, especially the young patients.
Ashton followed Hannah out into the hallway where they began to talk.
“My stepmom is in the ICU. They’re treating her here,” Hannah said.
“Oh my God, how is she?”
“I don’t know yet. But I’ve taken care of everything,” Hannah replied. “Is it okay? I’ll just put the cost on my bill. I just-”
“Why are you worried about that? The bill? Forget about it. I’ll take care of it. Don’t think about anything else,” Ashton insisted.
“Ashton…”
“Please, I just don’t want to burden you with more than you already have. You do so much,” Ashton said quietly.
“All right,” Hannah agreed.
Ashton looked at Hannah intently, his admiration and love for her obvious.
“Hey, after lunch I have an appointment with a real estate agent. I’d love for you to come along if you’d like,” Ashton said.
“Yeah, sure. I’d love to.”
“But our lunch plans may have to be postponed. I have a meeting with some doctors after that, so I’ll have to go to the cafeteria for lunch,” Ashton explained.
“Oh, okay. No problem,” Hannah nodded. “I’ll go check on Mom then.”
“I’ll stop by your office later, okay?”
Ashton didn’t hesitate to kiss Hannah on the forehead and waved as he left. Hannah sighed and smiled. Living with Ashton for the past two years had been wonderful.
Eventually, Hannah returned to the ICU to check on Francesca, but when she arrived, Jeffrey and Aspen were nowhere to be found.
“Where did they go?” Hannah muttered in confusion.
“Hannah!!”
The sudden call made Hannah turn around. She saw Susan standing at the entrance to the hospital. Seeing Hannah, Susan rushed over and threw her arms around her.
“Oh my God! Where have you been?” Susan sobbed.
“Susan, I’m so sorry…”
When Hannah had lost her phone, she had also lost contact with Susan. Elizabeth had told Hannah to forget all about Summerhill. Especially after the court finalized her divorce from Alden, Hannah had cut all ties with her hometown.
“You disappeared, and I was so worried,” Susan cried. “I just heard from Jeffrey that you’re here.”
“Let’s talk in my office, Susan.”
The two of them walked into Hannah’s office, where Susan was stunned to discover that her friend was now the hospital’s CEO. Susan stared at Hannah in disbelief, but didn’t dare say anything.
After sitting down on the couch, Susan finally found her voice.
“You’re the hospital director? How did that happen?” Susan asked.
“This hospital is run by me and my fiance. Actually, my future mother-in-law owns most of the shares,” Hannah explained.
“Fiance? Mother-in-law?”
Hannah nodded. “Yes, I met some wonderful people in Europe, Susan.”
“And what about your child?”
“Henry? He’s with me. He’s two years old now.”
Susan gasped. “My God, how time flies.”
“What about you? Are you still working at Texco?”
“Yes, I’m still there. Mr. Gulfman is in charge of Texco now and he’s also representing Mr. Harrison at Goldtime.”
Hannah was stunned by this. She didn’t understand why Alden had given Bernard full control of Goldtime.
“Where is Alden?” Hannah asked.
“For the last six months he’s been concentrating on taking care of Miss Sarah. Didn’t you know? Miss Sarah has cancer, and her condition is very grave.”