Concentrate!
That’s what Hannah kept telling herself on her wedding day. After the fight between Ashton and Alden, there hadn’t been any more incidents. Alden seemed to disappear, especially after Sarah’s funeral.
Alden had sent the deed to Hannah’s house to the hospital, but the guardianship papers for Henry had not yet arrived. Ashton was already very upset, but Victoria kept reassuring her son that Alden might need some time.
Days passed and the wedding day arrived.
Hannah sat in front of the mirror and looked at her own reflection in the beautiful white gown. It was Hannah’s dream to walk down the aisle and say her vows before God.
“Almost time,” Aspen said, looking at her phone. “The ceremony starts in fifteen minutes.”
“Stay calm and smile brightly, Hannah,” Francesca advised.
Hannah nodded.
“Mom, come on… you need to sit down now. Jacy and Henry are going to walk Hannah down the aisle,” Aspen instructed.
Since early that morning, Francesca and Aspen had been busy helping Hannah. It made her feel very grateful to know that they had resolved their past issues. Deep down, Hannah was sure that her father would have been happy, too.
Francesca stood and gently massaged Hannah’s shoulders. “Pray, Hannah.”
“Of course, Mom,” Hannah replied quietly.
As Francesca opened the door to go into the hall, a commotion could be heard in the hallway outside the room. Hannah turned to go, but Aspen quickly stopped her.
“Stay here,” Aspen warned cautiously.
Francesca, standing in the doorway, looked shocked to see Alden arguing with Ashton. Bernard held Alden back while Jeffrey restrained Ashton.
“Why are you here? To ruin my wedding?” Ashton shouted angrily. “Get him out of here!”
Alden stared coldly. “I came because I was invited.”
“Who invited you?” Ashton was truly stunned by Alden’s stubbornness.
“I did.” The voice came from behind Ashton.
Victoria approached and glanced between her two sons. Alden and Ashton immediately fell silent, avoiding eye contact with their mother.
Ashton gave his mother a quick look. “What do you mean, Mom?”
“Alden had to come because he was part of the family,” Victoria explained bluntly.
Both Alden and Ashton looked at Victoria in confusion.
“He’s Hannah’s ex-husband, not family,” Ashton hissed.
Victoria paused for a moment, as if gathering strength for what she was about to say. Then she took a deep breath and looked between her two sons.
“Alden is your biological brother, Ashton,” Victoria revealed.
Everyone who heard this was stunned.
“Alden and you are both the sons of Maxim Harrison. I divorced Maxim and we each took a child. I didn’t want you to know about your father or your older brother. That’s why David adopted you after we were married.”
Ashton shook his head in disbelief and stormed off to the groom’s room, followed closely by Jeffrey.
Meanwhile, Alden stood frozen, unsure how to process the revelation.
“I didn’t think it was fair that you didn’t know about your brother all this time. Especially now that Ashton is about to marry your ex-wife, Alden,” Victoria explained. “That’s why I invited you here, so you could learn the truth.”
“I-I…” Alden nearly fainted.
“I’m sorry I never knew what your life was like with Maxim,” Victoria began to sob. “You must have wondered why I never came to see you.”
“Dad was a strict man,” Alden replied. “I understand if you wanted to get away from him.”
“But I shouldn’t have ignored you. I thought about you often, Alden.”
“That’s okay…” Alden nodded. “I understand.”
Victoria opened her arms and Alden rushed into her embrace. They cried together for a moment. Then Victoria motioned for Alden to talk to Ashton.
When Alden opened the door to the groom’s room, he found Ashton sitting quietly with Jeffrey standing by his side. Ashton looked up, his eyes red from holding back tears.
“That explains why we both liked the same woman. Because we’re brothers,” Ashton said with a bitter smile.
“That’s just a coincidence.” Alden looked at Ashton. “I never thought of competing with you.”
“Neither did I.”
“I didn’t want to keep you from adopting Henry. I just wanted some time to get to know him so Henry would know I’m his father.”
Ashton didn’t answer. He didn’t even look in his brother’s direction.
“Besides, if you adopt Henry, you’ll still be his father. He carries our blood.”
“You’re right,” Ashton agreed.
Alden exhaled and cleared his throat quietly. “Well, we’ll talk about this later. You should prepare for your wedding.”
As Alden started to leave the groom’s room, Ashton stood up and approached him.
“Can you answer a question?” Ashton asked. “Do you still love Hannah?”
Alden nodded. “I do. But I want Hannah to be happy, and if she’s happy with you, that’s enough for me,” he answered. “Are you afraid that I will interfere in your marriage later?”
“Well, as a matter of fact, I am. You’d certainly be tough competition.” Ashton chuckled slightly.
“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t hurt her, I won’t get involved in your marriage.”
Alden suddenly pulled Ashton into a hug, startling his younger brother. But Ashton eventually hugged him back.
“I’m sorry, for everything. Please take good care of Hannah and Henry for me,” Alden whispered.
“Okay.”
After their hug, Alden left the room, leaving Ashton behind. Jeffrey gestured for Ashton to go into the hall as the ceremony was about to begin.
“Come on, it’s time,” Jeffrey said.
“You go ahead. I need to use the restroom.”
Jeffrey nodded and walked out of the room.
*
Hannah waited anxiously in her room, wondering what had caused the earlier commotion that had suddenly gone silent. Aspen had gone out, leaving Hannah alone with her curiosity. No one had come to tell her what had happened.
But soon after her anxiety began to build, Aspen reentered the room.
“Mrs. Victoria said that Mr. Harrison and Mr. Ashton are brothers,” Aspen said, still in shock. “It’s completely insane.”
“What? Victoria said that?”
Aspen nodded. “I thought everything was settled. Even Alden is already in the hallway. But, Hannah… there’s a new problem now.”
“What’s that?”
“Your groom is missing.”