“Kenneth! Look at my wedding dress, isn’t it beautiful?”
Sarah pointed to the wedding dress on the mannequin in the living room and showed it to her brother. Kenneth had just walked in and just nodded.
“Where’s Alden? It’s late and he’s not back yet,” Sarah complained. “He said he was just going to the courthouse.”
“Alden had to go to Goldtime for a meeting he couldn’t miss.”
“But Bernard is in charge of the company now.”
Kenneth approached Sarah. “Alden is still the owner. If he doesn’t take care of the company’s future, everything he’s worked for could collapse, Sarah.”
Sarah immediately pouted and crossed her arms.
“Are you sure he’s at Goldtime? Not looking for Hannah?” Sarah said suddenly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Listen, Kenneth, Alden must never find out that Hannah had a child with him.” Sarah glared at her brother. “I want you to swear! Until the day I die, you must never say anything to Alden.”
“Wait, I don’t understand.”
“I worked so hard to keep Hannah and Alden apart. And now… this. Why is life so unfair to me?”
Sarah began to cry, throwing a tantrum, and Kenneth rushed to calm her down, hugging her tightly.
“Calm down, Sarah. Breathe… don’t worry about anything, I’m here for you,” Kenneth said.
“Promise me, okay?”
“I can’t promise you anything until you tell me what’s really going on.”
Sarah took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay, here’s what happened…”
*
Sarah looked at the wedding dress draped over the mannequin in her bedroom, her eyes shining. After Alden had registered their marriage at the courthouse, Sarah had picked out a dress from a famous designer. The designer wanted to make a few adjustments to the dress, but Sarah insisted on taking it home. She wanted it in her room.
Alden stood at the door and looked sadly at Sarah, who still hadn’t gone to bed and was staring at her dress.
“Aren’t you sleeping?” Alden asked as he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I can’t sleep,” Sarah smiled. “I can’t wait for this weekend, Alden. We’re finally getting married.”
Alden nodded, but his heart wasn’t in it. He didn’t want to make Sarah feel any worse.
“Well, you should get some rest. I want you to be well for our wedding,” Alden said.
Sarah looked at Alden. “Are you happy we’re getting married, darling?”
For a few seconds, Alden froze. He had agreed to marry Sarah out of guilt and responsibility. It wasn’t about love anymore. Everything was for Sarah.
Even when Alden divorced Hannah, it was because Sarah had pressured him to make up for the accident Sarah had been in. But after that, there was never any real love for Sarah.
Alden had sacrificed his own happiness to make Sarah feel better.
So why did she ask if he was happy? Did it even matter?
“Alden?” Sarah called out.
“Yes, what is it?” Alden snapped out of his thoughts.
“You’re daydreaming instead of answering me,” Sarah complained quietly. “I asked you if you were happy about our marriage.”
Alden nodded quickly. “Sure, Sarah.”
“Thank you,” Sarah whispered.
“Now off to bed,” Alden said, kissing Sarah’s forehead. “We’ll talk more in the morning, okay?”
Sarah smiled and nodded weakly. Alden tucked her in and left the room after turning off the light.
Alden sighed heavily, feeling that every step forward was harder than the last. Seeing Sarah’s condition every day weighed on him. Sometimes he wondered what it would be like if it were Hannah in Sarah’s place, all alone.
But that dark thought wasn’t reality. Hannah was healthy and well.
Strangely, Alden couldn’t understand why he felt obligated to take care of Sarah when he had put everything aside with Hannah instead of looking for her. Alden was filled with regret.
As Alden was about to enter his own room, he saw Kenneth at the end of the hall. Sarah’s brother quickly approached Alden, looking uncomfortable.
“Alden, can we talk?” Kenneth asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
“Let’s talk in my study.”
Without suspicion, Alden followed Kenneth into the study. Kenneth sat down on the couch and faced Alden.
“Are you sure you want to marry Sarah?” Kenneth asked abruptly.
For a split second, Alden stared back at Kenneth, his mind blank. Then he nodded quickly.
“I know you’re trying to make up for your past mistakes, but that’s enough, Alden.”
“Kenneth, I don’t know how much longer Sarah has,” Alden replied. “This is the least I can do for her.”
“By leaving your wife? And your child? I don’t want you to regret what you’ve done.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know Hannah’s getting remarried, and if you let that happen, I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life, Alden.”
Alden stared at Kenneth in confusion. Kenneth had never talked much, only about business or Sarah’s illness. But now he was bringing up Hannah?
“I should have been firm earlier and taken Sarah away from here whether she liked it or not,” Kenneth said. “But my love and compassion for her blinded me.”
“Wait, Kenneth, what are you really saying?”
“Hannah never betrayed you, Alden. It was Sarah who manipulated Aspen, leading to this misunderstanding,” Kenneth said.
Alden sat in silence. He had already figured that out, but by the time he had, Hannah was gone. And he couldn’t find her anywhere.
After that, Sarah demanded more and more of Alden’s attention, and he went along with it. Alden had stopped caring about the affair, and in the end, it was Alden and Sarah who had ended up looking like the cheating ones.
“Yes, but Hannah and I are divorced now, Kenneth. There’s nothing left to discuss.”
“But you still love her, don’t you?”
“Kenneth, Hannah has someone else now.”
Kenneth’s face looked worried. “That only happened because you made a mistake. I’m sure Hannah still loves you deep inside.”
“Wait, what are you really saying, Kenneth?”
“Leave my sister and don’t marry her. That’s my request, Alden. Leave Sarah and walk out of this house.”