Chapter 3

Bill Jones was a traditional medicine practitioner. He looked serious as he felt Hannah's pulse. After a while, he exhaled and glanced at the incense as he retracted his hand. He was the one who had prescribed it, and he knew it was the reason Hannah was so deeply asleep. "Based on her pulse, there's nothing wrong with her. However, I can tell she's a little anxious and uneasy…" Bill said tentatively. Joseph hadn't taken his eyes off Hannah from the moment Bill had entered the hotel room. The coldness in Joseph's gaze would only melt when he was looking at her. Bill had stolen a few more glances at Hannah out of curiosity, and Joseph had glared at him. After that, Bill had kept his gaze lowered. Before leaving, Bill said, "Don't use the incense too often…" Joseph had never taken Bill's advice seriously before, yet he put out the incense as soon as Bill mentioned it this time. Joseph was a severe insomniac, and Bill had been heavy-handed when preparing the incense. Despite that, it wasn't effective on Joseph. It would work perfectly on anyone else, though. Hannah was a perfect exhibit. The incense was also calming, so using it occasionally was fine. This was Bill's first time seeing Joseph so obedient and compliant—it was surprising. He'd never been a gossip but couldn't help being curious about Hannah. Even as he left the hotel, he wondered whether Hannah could keep an unruly patient like Joseph in check. Joseph relaxed now that he knew Hannah was fine. He continued watching the surveillance footage without speeding it up. From when he'd left to when he'd returned, no one had entered the room, not even the cleaners. He had been almost crazed with joy by Hannah's reappearance, but there'd still been a sliver of his rationality telling him to watch out for this whole thing being a lie. Over the years, many people had searched for women who looked like Hannah, hoping they could get close to him through them. Each one looked more like her than the last, and he'd taught the masterminds lessons time and time again. It had been some time since someone had dared to butter him up in this manner, but it wasn't impossible that Quill Group's competitors had suddenly decided to employ such methods again. Joseph kneeled by the bedside and pressed Hannah's hand to his face, caressing it gently. He stared at her face, which he'd dreamed of for countless nights. His gaze darkened and became unfathomable. He'd yet to find any loopholes or flaws. If this were an upscale trap, he would admit defeat. He was more inclined to believe Hannah was indeed back. … Hannah had a deep sleep. When she woke, she saw Joseph lying beside her with his arms around her. He had dark eye circles, and she stared at them for a long time. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he and the children had gone through during her 15-year disappearance. "Good morning, Anna." Joseph was first panicked when he woke up. Then, he relaxed and smiled when he saw Hannah still beside him. This was the first time Hannah had seen him smile since last night. He used to smile all the time. She thought about him saying that the children misunderstood certain things about him. He'd used "children", which meant their two younger children, Penelope and Nicholas Quill, were also on bad terms with him. She was worried about this but didn't push Joseph for answers. She wanted to see how the kids were doing before proceeding with anything. After a simple breakfast, Hannah and Joseph got on a plane home. Joseph could tell that Hannah was preoccupied with thoughts of their children. He didn't dare to mention anything because they weren't just aloof with him. They weren't on the best terms with each other, too. Joseph and Hannah had three children. The eldest, Alexander, was six when the plane crash happened. The two younger ones were fraternal twins and had only been two. Before returning home, Hannah had considered speaking to Alexander on the phone. On second thought, she couldn't really explain her freaky situation, which might lead to Alexander misunderstanding everything. It would be better to wait until she could talk to him in person. She couldn't help feeling bitter at the thought of her children spending so many years without her by their side. … Hannah wasn't the only one who felt horrible—Alexander, who was in Berdon City, felt the same. He was mainly pissed, though. He'd hurried back to Quill Manor early in the morning to find that a new patch of Damask roses had been planted in the garden. Those were Hannah's favorite flavors. Was the woman who'd spoken to him on the phone copying that, too? Things at Quill Manor had remained the same since the day of Hannah's plane crash—not even a vase had been changed. Now, plenty had been changed. The couch was new, the staircase had been polished, and even the rugs had been replaced. Had Joseph lost his mind? Was he going to wipe away everything that had to do with Hannah for his new lover's sake? Alexander's gaze turned menacing. "Stop! You're not allowed to change anything!" This scared the bustling maids. They stopped and looked at the butler, Ned Bolton, for help. Ned jogged over and said, "Mr. Joseph ordered this, Mr. Alexander." "What else did he tell you to do?" Alexander asked coldly. Ned shuddered at his tone. He knew what Alexander was like and didn't dare lie. "We're to give the manor a deep clean and plant Damask roses in the garden. The master bedroom on the third floor also needs to be cleaned…" His voice became softer toward the end of his sentence as Alexander's expression became increasingly hideous. All the household staff at Quill Manor knew the third-floor master bedroom was off-limits. That was where Hannah had lived, and only Joseph could enter the place. He personally cleaned the room, never allowing anyone else to do it. This time, however, Joseph had instructed the maids to clean the room. That and all his other instructions made it clear to everyone that there would be a new lady in the household! Ned signaled the maids to continue with their tasks. He thought Alexander would drop the matter after getting his answer. "I said not to do anything! Didn't any of you hear me?" Alexander wasn't that understanding and tolerant. He could accept Joseph moving on with another woman but couldn't believe he was doing something so revolting. Since Joseph had a new lover, he could just move out! Why did he have to wipe the traces of Hannah's life from the home they'd once shared? Besides, the impostor had evidently won Joseph's heart because she looked like Hannah. Did she think she could take over everything that once belonged to Hannah because of that? No way! Ultimately, Ned didn't dare tell the maids to continue cleaning the place. He was a little anxious when he saw how murderous Alexander looked as he sat on the couch. It looked like the latter would throw a fit once Joseph returned with his new lover. Ned kept trying to contact Joseph but to no avail. His calls didn't go through. Then, he heard a car pulling up outside the manor. His jaw trembled. Joseph was back! The maids didn't dare make a sound due to the tension in the air. Ned hurriedly opened the door to see Joseph's "new lover", who wore a pale green dress. He was taken aback. The Quill family employed him ten years ago, so he'd never seen Hannah in person. Despite only seeing her photos, he could tell Joseph's "new lover" looked just like Hannah! He'd initially thought Joseph was faithful enough to remain single for 15 years, but it was clear Joseph had yet to move on. "Mr. Joseph, Mr. Alexander is home. He—" Ned had yet to mention Alexander was in a bad mood when Hannah's eyes lit up. She cried, "Alex is at home?" She didn't expect to be able to see Alexander immediately upon arriving. She released Joseph's arm and ran into the manor. Joseph's gaze darkened as he looked down at his arm, feeling bereft. Then, he followed Hannah in. Ned was lost for words. Was Joseph's "new lover" in a rush to suck up to Alexander? That probably wouldn't turn out well!