Chapter 10

Beatrice had married the year after Hannah's plane crash before getting divorced three years later. She'd remained single since then. Her husband was one of Hannah's acquaintances—Louis Whitman, one of their college mates. After the divorce, Beatrice had focused on her career. She'd turned Novastar Cosmetics into the reputable company it was now. "The year after her divorce, she told me she wanted to repurchase the shares under your name…" Joseph told Hannah. Beatrice had used Joseph's feelings for Hannah against him, telling him that that was what Hannah wanted. Ultimately, Joseph had agreed. "She's gotten a lot of benefits from me over the years." Joseph held Hannah and nuzzled his cheek against hers. His tone turned pitiful as he continued, "She would bring you up whenever she had something to ask of me. "She would tell me things about you that I was unaware of. Maybe she thought she hid her intentions well, but she didn't know I was just going along with her because I wanted to hear more about you." For the past 15 years, hearing or seeing anything that had to do with Hannah was a moment of respite and healing for Joseph. "I'm telling you about Beatrice because I want you to be prepared, Anna. You're still you, but your friends may no longer be who you remember them as." This was the core of Joseph's message. Everything else had laid the foundation for this. He wanted her to have her guard up around her friends but was afraid of being too blunt because of Hannah's temper. Once bitten, twice shy—Hannah had almost dumped him in the past because of something similar. Simply put, Joseph didn't like any of Hannah's male friends. She'd never been flirty or amorous with them—Joseph had merely been jealous for the sake of being jealous. Hannah had initially coaxed him when he'd gotten jealous because she thought it would add some spice to their relationship. Later, she'd put her foot down when he'd gone overboard. To this day, he remembered what she'd told him. "I love you, Joseph, but if losing myself is the price I have to pay to keep our relationship going, my love for you will become cheap and worthless. Eventually, I'll stop loving you." Hannah had sounded calm and light-hearted when saying that, but it had scared Joseph. From then on, he hadn't dared to make a peep about Hannah's social circle. That was why he proceeded with caution when telling Hannah about Beatrice—she'd been Hannah's best friend in college. His tone was amicable, and he didn't dare to sound pushy. "I know. I saw what happened online." Hannah caressed Joseph's face before handing her phone to him. She showed him Beatrice's message. "I don't want to let her use me anymore." She curled up in his embrace, sounding a little glum. To her, enjoying meals with Beatrice was something she'd done days ago. Yet everything had changed in the literal blink of an eye. She hated that Beatrice had treated Joseph like an ATM for so many years, using his feelings for her as currency. "Alright. We'll do as you see fit." "Speaking of which, how should I explain my sudden appearance? Everyone will think I'm insane if we tell them the truth." "You don't need to explain anything." Joseph held Hannah and gently patted her back. "There's no need to explain yourself to people, even if they ask. Tell them you've been recuperating abroad or brush them off with any other excuse. You don't owe them an explanation." Hannah straightened up and cupped his face. "Even if the sky were to collapse…" "…I'll hold it up for you," Joseph finished. They smiled while looking into each other's eyes, seemingly taken back to their college days. They used to lie on the field and cloudgaze when they didn't have classes. "I'm glad you haven't changed, Jojo. I'm glad you're here for me." Hannah leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Joseph's neck. She wriggled a little. Joseph smiled and held her tightly. He buried his face against her neck, his actions filled with love and longing for her. Underneath his lashes, his gaze was dark and unfathomable. … Hannah kept busy for the next few days. She was getting used to life 15 years in the future. With how advanced technology was these days, significant changes occurred every three to five years, let alone 15. Everything around Hannah was new and novel, and she couldn't help but be amazed by the technological improvement. She was like a new player in a game, and she explored the world with the help of Joseph, her guide. Hannah waited for Alexander to contact her, but he seemed to have disappeared. When she lost patience and wanted to call him, Joseph stopped her. "Alex is working on something with his advisor now. He's busy." Hearing that, she decided to wait until Alexander was free. There was no rush, anyway. She'd jumped the gun. Just like that, a week passed, and Penelope returned to the country. She should've only returned in two days but left school earlier to catch Joseph and his new lover off guard. She was still baffled that she hadn't managed to get the money from Joseph—it had never occurred to her that he would reject her. Penelope had never held back when spending and was not in the habit of saving. Generally, she would spend whatever money Joseph transferred to her and ask for more once she ran out. That was why she had to ask Joseph for money when she wanted eight million dollars to buy a car—she didn't have enough. Just as she was puzzled by Joseph's rejection, she received a call from Maureen. Only then did she find out Joseph had a new lover—she was the reason Joseph hadn't given Penelope the money. Penelope didn't sleep well over the next week. She asked the people in her social circle who had experienced similar situations and found that many of them had evil stepmothers. After their fathers had remarried, their stepmothers had sowed discord after having children of their own. Their tricks had been dirty and all over the place! That made Penelope spring into action. She had to head home to check on things! However, as soon as she landed, she received a call from Sean. Once she answered it, she heard an unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line. "You have an hour to come to the private room on the second floor of The Plum. We'll break his legs if you don't get here." "What? You wouldn't dare! I'll head over there right now!" Penelope hurriedly hailed a cab and left the airport, her eyes red from her anxiety. … "I blocked her everywhere; she probably thinks you did it. Either way, I don't want to speak to her." Hannah lazed in the rocking chair on the second floor while eating grapes. She looked relaxed and light-hearted. Joseph was on the other end of the line. He'd spent a few days at home with Hannah, and work had piled up at the company. He'd had no choice but to return to work. Those CEOs who had time to run around without working only existed in novels and TV shows. In reality, CEOs were busy as heck! How could they be free when they were responsible for the livelihoods of a company's employees? Joseph had to work late that night and wouldn't be home early. He and Hannah had gotten to talking about Beatrice. She'd texted Joseph on WhatsApp, perhaps because she hadn't received any replies to her direct message on Twitter. He didn't want anything to do with her and asked Hannah whether he could block her. She had no objection to it because she'd already done it! Hannah and Joseph chatted for a while. After hanging up, Hannah got up to head back to her room for a nap. She'd just gotten into bed when Ned knocked on the door. "Ms. Quill is back in the country, Mrs. Quill, and we've received a call from the police station in Pinion. It seems they need someone to head over to bail Ms. Quill out," he said. Joseph had told him that Hannah called the shots, so Ned had decided to check with Hannah upon receiving the call from the police. Hannah shot up in bed when she heard this, her drowsiness immediately dispersing. Penelope was back? She was at the police station? She needed someone to bail her out? The situation these words painted didn't seem too promising. Ned asked, "Should I report this to Mr. Joseph?" Hannah shook her head. Either way, they would need to bail Penelope out. It didn't matter whether she or Joseph went. She'd prepared herself for a reunion with her children. The three kids had different personalities, so she couldn't use the same method to reunite with the twins. She was sure the twins wouldn't take her hair for a DNA test, even if she were to shave her head. In fact, they would likely think the DNA test results were fake despite the report being right before them. "No, it's fine. I'll handle this." Hannah wanted to see what was up.