I nodded, but I felt sad. I knew I would break down the moment I started talking, so I felt relieved when Cameron came in. “Talk to granny for a bit, Summer. I’ll be back in a second.”
Cameron wanted to ask me something, but since I was in a hurry, she stopped herself.
My tears finally fell when I got to the staircase. Anthony called me, but I waited for a bit before answering the call. He was silent for a while before asking, “Have you taken dinner. Is Summer fine?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “What about Jared? Did he agree to it?”
“Yes. I’ll take him to the hospital tomorrow. What happened? Your voice sounds hoarse. Are you crying?”
I wanted to say no, but I knew I couldn’t hide it from him. “Summer’s just skin and bones now. It’s heartbreaking whenever I see her.” I didn’t know how to break the meeting with Armond to him. First, I didn’t know what Armond was trying to do; secondly, I couldn’t understand why Armond said it was easy for him to get a suitable kidney for Summer.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to Summer. Mrs. Dune told me you look tired. Don’t forget to rest up when you get home. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself,” he said gently. Well, he did mellow out over the years.
I stayed at the staircase for a bit after hanging up, then Nora called me. I thought it’d be awkward, but I took the call anyhow. Nora was as vivacious as usual though. “Can you pick us up at the airport, Sienna? We just got here, so everything’s really unfamiliar.”
I froze up. “You’re in K City?”
“Yeah. Armond said you’re really worried about your daughter when I called him. I can’t really help you, but I can take care of her for you. I won’t trouble you, I promise,” she said a lot, and I was surprised, but I felt touched.
I could feel tears coming up again, but I answered, “Thank you. I—”
“Oh, stop yammering and come pick us up quickly. K City’s freezing. I should have worn more clothes. It feels so chilly right after we landed, you know,” she grumbled.
I smiled. “Alright, I’m coming over. Wait, ‘we’? Who did you come with?”
“A new friend I got to know. She’s here on a business trip, so we came together. I’ll introduce her to you later.” Her teeth were chattering from the cold.
“Okay.” I hung up and told Cameron a few things before leaving.
She wasn’t wearing anything thick, and it was already winter in K City. It was impossible for me to take some clothes from the house, so I had to pick her up first.
It was hard to get a ride at the hospital, so I was left waiting, much to my chagrin.
“Sienna!” someone called out to me, much to my surprise. I looked around to see who was calling me and saw Hannah, which was quite a shock.
She was wearing a tan-colored jacket, and her hair was tied up in a bun, making her look younger. She was also wearing an elegant pair of pearl earrings. Hannah didn’t have the cute look of a young lady, for she was already in her thirties, but she was mature, attractive, and elegant.
“Why did you come to the hospital? Are you sick?” I smiled at her.
She returned the smile and came up to me. “Not me. My boyfriend’s mother. We came to visit her. I was just going to call you to see which room Summer is in so we can see her too.”
At the same time, Hannah’s boyfriend parked his car at the roadside and greeted us.
Hannah asked, “Are you going somewhere? We can give you a lift. It’s hard to get a ride right now, and you guys can get to know each other. Don’t want you guys to feel awkward if you bump into each other next time, you know.”
I paused for a moment, then I smiled at her boyfriend. “I need to go to the airport. It’s quite a distance away, but let’s catch up some other time.”
“Eh, it’s fine. We don’t have anything to do today, so I’ll go with you. I have something to discuss anyway. You’re really busy lately, aren’t you? If I let this chance slip, god knows when the catching up will happen.” Hannah took me to the car and went into the backseat.
She told her boyfriend, “To the airport, Chandler.”
The man nodded and revved up the car.
Hannah held my hand. “He’s Chandler, my boyfriend. He works as a programmer.”
The man gave me an honest smile, and I smiled back. Hannah continued, “And this is my friend, Sienna. I told you about her.”
We got to know each other after that. Chandler looked like an honest man, and he seemed to be younger than Hannah. I met him before at the restaurant. He was about six feet four in height. A towering giant, really. He wasn’t conventionally handsome, but he sent out a good vibe.
Then, I looked at Hannah. I never bumped into her again after leaving the Stanhope residence. Well, it was just a few days though. I was about to ask her about John, but it looked like she had probably decided to dump him.
I kept my mouth shut since her life was peaceful at the moment. Dating John was not a golden experience for her. To say it was torture might even be an understatement. In any case, nobody could fault her for leaving.
“Oh, are you picking someone up at the airport?” Hannah asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. My friend from A City came. It’s chilly right now, and it’s hard to get a ride there. Moreover, she isn’t wearing a lot of clothes right now either.”
Hannah nodded. “I think we have some clothes here.” Then, she asked Chandler, “Chandler, did you take the clothes in the trunk home? You know, the ones I put a few days ago.”
Chandler shook his head. “No. Work has been hectic these couple of days. I’ve forgotten about it.”
She pouted. “You always forget what I told you. Man, you and that bad memory of yours, but this is actually good.” She smiled at me. “Your friend’s a girl, right? If it’s fine for her, I can lend her my clothes. Winter in K City can be a nightmare Don’t let her fall ill.”
I nodded. Hannah seemed different somehow. She used to be elegant and hard to approach, but she was warmer and more approachable now.
She was surprised to see me smile though. “Are you going to ask about John and I?”
I froze up for a moment, but she explained, “It’s fine. Chandler knows about it, so you don’t have to hold back. Ask away. Oh, I almost forgot about this, but Chandler and I are getting married. I was going to ask you to come with me to the bridal house for the gown fitting. You know I don’t have many friends, so you’re the first person I thought of. But with Summer being hospitalized, I know you must be busy as well.”
I stopped for a moment to process what she said. Then I smiled. “My mother’s looking after Summer. Tell me in advance if you’re going to try out the gowns. But you sure you talked it out with my brother? Kiki’s still young, so I support you, but…”
She nodded at me. “I know what you’re trying to say, but I’m going to be thirty-three soon. My best years are coming to an end. I’ve let go of everything and did everything I had to. I thank god for having met Chandler when life seems to be at a dead end. He spoils me a lot, and thanks to him, I found out that love can come in such an adorable way. We may fall in love with a lot of people throughout our lives, but there can only be one person who walks with us until the end. I want to live my life with Chandler, and I know the kind of life I want to lead. I know you’re worried about your brother and Kiki, but I think of you as my friend, Sienna. I hope you can think about this from my perspective, alright?”
Yeah. Hannah had kept herself exclusively for John for too long. She accepted every sh*tty thing he did for the sake of a twisted love. Because of that, she had forgotten that she too, was in need of love.
She resolved to leave because she wanted to live her own life. I guess John would never know who he had lost. I guess he would never come across someone who’d wait for him for years anymore. He lost someone who’d give everything up just to give him a home.
I held her hand. “Uncle Louis and I will support you no matter what, Hannah. Uncle Louis sees you as his own daughter, and I know he’ll give his blessing. We’re grateful for you because you gave us Kiki. We’re your family, so tell us if you ever need anything.”
She chuckled. “I know you’d support me.” She poked Chandler. “Don’t ever try to bully me, you hear? I have a family behind me now.”
Chandler grinned. “You always had a family behind you.”
I smiled. Then, I realized that we couldn’t get what we wanted a lot of times because we were obsessed with the illusion of a grandiose love, but happiness had always been about the little things.
Hannah had dated John for many years. All she wanted was a peaceful life for her family, but John didn’t catch up on it even though he had the same wish. Eventually, she slipped away from him.
The moment I got out of the car, I saw Nora before the airport’s entrance. She was wearing an autumn trench coat and a dress, and she was shivering.
Nora trotted up to me with her luggage in tow. “Oh my god, you’re finally here,” she gushed. “I was freezing, gosh. The winter in K City can kill, literally speaking. I mean, why is everyone flocking to this place anyway?”
She kept grumbling as I helped her with the luggage. Before I could put it in the trunk, Chandler had already taken it from me. He grinned. “Leave this to me.”
Hannah took out a thick down jacket from the trunk. “Is this fine?” she asked me.
I nodded and covered Nora with it. “You should have called me. I could have gotten you some clothes. Oh, you came with a friend, didn’t you? Where is she?”
The down coat warmed her up a little, and she looked around. “She said she was going to warm her hands up. Oh, there she is.” She pointed at the exit, so I looked in that direction. Much to my surprise, I saw a familiar face. It was none other than Hailey, who texted me a lot just a few days ago.
She was in even thinner clothing than Nora was, and she was pushing her luggage while coming up to us. Hailey’s constitution wasn’t that good, to begin with, so she was starting to turn blue from the cold. Of course, she looked surprised to see me too.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply