Francesca was ready to go home and looked refreshed. The middle-aged woman linked her arm with Hannah’s. The two laughed quietly as they left the room.
Aspen, Jeffrey and Jacy were waiting for Francesca in the hallway. They all walked down the hall to the main entrance of the hospital.
“Come by the house later, Hannah. I want to see my grandson,” Francesca said.
“I will. Maybe this weekend? I’ll ask Ashton if he can come.”
“I hope he can. I’d like to meet your fiance.”
From another hallway came the sound of hurried footsteps. Hannah turned to see Ashton jogging toward them, waving. Hannah smiled, surprised that Ashton had taken the time to meet Francesca.
“I ran here as fast as I could,” Ashton said, breathing heavily.
Hannah giggled. “Just slow down, honey.”
Francesca, Aspen, and Jeffrey were startled to see the handsome doctor who had arrived. Ashton’s face resembled Alden’s, only this one was younger and friendlier.
Ashton walked up to Francesca and hugged her. “Hello, mother-in-law. I’m Ashton, nice to meet you.”
“Oh, dear.” Francesca was surprised. “Nice to meet you too. You’re very pretty.”
“Ah, that’s because it’s early. By this afternoon, I’ll be a mess and look terrible.”
Francesca laughed heartily at Ashton’s statement. In her eyes, Hannah’s stepmother saw Ashton as charming and kind.
“Take care of your health, get plenty of rest, and do some light exercise,” Ashton advised Francesca. “If anything comes up, you can contact Hannah or me here.”
“Sure, I will,” Francesca nodded.
Hannah looked at Ashton. “I’m going to take Mom up front. I’ll meet you in the children’s ward later.”
“Okay, take your time.”
Ashton kissed Hannah’s forehead before saying goodbye again and hurrying to his station.
“This is definitely better than your ex-husband,” Aspen remarked.
Hannah and Aspen exchanged glances, and Aspen smiled awkwardly. Hannah just chuckled softly at Aspen’s comment.
“Do you think so?” Hannah asked, almost as if to convince herself.
“He doesn’t have the arrogant face or the sharp gaze of Mr. Harrison. Although…” Aspen paused. “… you do realize they look alike, don’t you?”
Hannah shook her head quickly. “Just a coincidence, I guess.”
Aspen nodded. “You’re right.”
In truth, Aspen wanted to point out that if Hannah had found someone who looked like her former partner, it could mean that she still had feelings for that person from the past.
She’d read that in some articles. Or maybe Hannah was subconsciously looking for a similar type.
But when Hannah had married Alden, they hadn’t loved each other at all. It was clear that Alden wasn’t the type Hannah was looking for. Now, with Ashton, it wasn’t impossible that Hannah still had feelings for her ex-husband.
After saying goodbye to Francesca and the others, Hannah returned to the hospital. She took a shortcut through the outpatient corridor to the children’s ward. As she rounded the corner, she immediately ran into Alden, who was with Sarah and Kenneth, coming out of the doctor’s office.
Seeing Hannah, Sarah’s pale face turned even whiter, like bone.
“Ha-Hannah?” Sarah stammered.
In this situation, there was no way Hannah could avoid her. Maintaining a completely neutral stance, Hannah approached Sarah.
“Sarah? Are you okay?” Hannah asked.
Hannah already knew from Susan, but there was no way she could mention Sarah’s illness directly. Besides, the question was just polite small talk.
For a few seconds, Sarah held her lips tightly shut. She suddenly felt that life was unfair to her.
Standing before her, Hannah looked beautiful, with her lovely wavy brown hair. Meanwhile, Sarah had lost all the hair from her crown.
“You must be happy to see me like this, aren’t you?” Sarah said, her emotions rising.
Hannah looked at Sarah confused. “What?”
“Sarah, stop,” Kenneth warned.
“It should be you in my place! Not me! You!” Sarah began to scream.
Kenneth quickly pushed her wheelchair and nodded politely to Hannah. He had to get Sarah out of there or she would throw a tantrum and cause a scene.
Alden stood there, torn. On the one hand he had to stay with Sarah, but on the other hand he wanted to talk to Hannah.
“Did you get my message?” Alden asked.
“Good day, Mr. Harrison,” Hannah replied, ignoring her ex-husband’s question.
Hannah walked away quickly, taking the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Alden watched her go with an empty feeling in his chest.
Why was it so difficult for Alden to apologize? Why didn’t Hannah want to hear his explanation?
Alden followed Kenneth and Sarah with a heavy heart.
Sarah sobbed softly, and Alden’s heart ached for her.
“Sarah, don’t cry. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here with you,” Alden whispered into her ear.
“You’re going to leave me. I know it.”
“No, Sarah. You’ve seen for yourself-I’m by your side every day. What are you worried about?”
Sarah didn’t answer. She just took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. She gripped Alden’s hand tightly as they made their way to the main entrance of the hospital.
As they waited for the driver to bring the car to the lobby, Sarah looked at Alden.
“Alden?” she called softly.
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
Alden smiled and nodded. “Anything you want, I’ll make it happen.”
“I want us to get married, Alden.”
Hearing Sarah’s request, both Alden and Kenneth were shocked. The two men exchanged glances, but neither said a word.
“I don’t want you to see Hannah again. After today, I don’t want to come to this hospital again,” Sarah added.
“But, Sarah…”
Sarah quickly interrupted her brother. “I don’t want to be treated here, Kenneth. Even if the doctor says I have a chance to prolong my life. I might die faster if I keep running into Hannah here.”
“Okay, let’s just go home first,” Kenneth replied.
“Alden? Don’t you want to marry me? Why don’t you answer?” Sarah pressed.
Alden nodded. “Okay, we’ll get married. I’ll take care of all the paperwork so we can get married right away. Is that okay with you?”
Sarah nodded, and for the first time, her previously sullen face began to light up. “Yes, as soon as possible, Alden.”