“Sure, take a photo next time. I won’t stop you,” Hannah said in a huff.
“All right, I’ll stop teasing you. On a serious note, let me ask you something,” Helen said, suddenly sobering up.
Seeing Helen’s solemn face, Hannah rearranged her features to match her sister’s unsmiling look. “Sure, ask away.”
“Hannah, when are you planning on getting married to Fabian?” Helen asked, looking at Hannah searchingly.
When? Helen, I’m still wondering when Fabian will decide to divorce me! I really don’t know how to answer this question. Hannah thought to herself ruefully.
Seeing Hannah lost in contemplation, Helen probed, “What’s wrong, Hannah? Don’t tell me you haven’t even decided on whether or not to marry Fabian?”
Hannah nodded her head slightly mournfully. Fabian had neither given her adequate information nor a proper introduction to his family.
Horrified, Helen cried, “Hannah, how can that be? Where else can you find a man as good as Fabian? If you don’t seize this opportunity, you might never get another chance like this one!”
Helen’s rave review piqued Hannah’s curiosity. Has Fabian drugged or hypnotized Helen? She’s completely under his spell! Hannah mused to herself.
“You haven’t been bought over by Fabian, have you? Did he leave just so you could try your hand at convincing me?” Hannah demanded.
“Hannah, how could you have such low regard for me? I’m very hurt by that presumption,” Helen declared. She pursed her lips, sulking.
“Hannah, I’m your sister. I always have your best interests at heart. All I want is for you to live happily ever after! After what happened at the mall, it’s evident that Fabian is a responsible man. Besides, he showed you a lot of care when you had your operation. Over these past two days, he’s practically moved into the hospital to be with you! He’s even willing to forsake the company he’s president of in order to look after you all day and night. Isn’t that enough to show how much he cares for you? How much he loves you? Besides…”
Hannah listened to Helen diligently analyze Fabian’s affections for her, unable to refute any of the points that had been raised in earnest. However, Hannah couldn’t help but wonder if it was all a facade. Until that very moment, Hannah was still unable to decisively characterize the type of person that Fabian was. He seemed venerably cold at times, but Hannah couldn’t deny that Fabian had shown a great deal of care for her lately. However, past encounters with Fabian’s heartless side prevented Hannah from whole-heartedly committing to the idea that Fabian was a good and reliable man. Hannah was thus torn between the multiple personas she’d seen Fabian put on in turn.
Perhaps they’re just two different sides of the same person. When he’s in high spirits, he’ll treat me with a little more kindness. When he’s upset, he’ll treat me a little worse. What do you do with a man like that? Hannah thought, conflicted.
“Hannah? Hannah? Are you listening to what I’m saying?” Helen called. Hannah immediately recovered herself, then exhaled slowly.
“We’re still thinking about the wedding. There are a lot of considerations to make. Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle it.” Hannah replied thoughtfully.
“In that case, I won’t interfere anymore. Anyway, the Fabian that I see now is a pretty good guy. If I manage to find someone like him for myself, I’ll be perfectly content,” Helen added as her final parting shot.
“Oh, are we talking about you now? What about you? Have you turned disillusioned with love yet?” Hannah asked, vividly recalling Helen’s breakup the day before. She wasn’t too worried about Helen, however, confident that Helen was more level-headed and reasonable.
“No, no. I’ll never lose faith in love! I firmly believe that I’ll eventually meet my Prince Charming. You never know. He may treat me even better than Fabian treats you now!” Helen declared, erupting into peals of laughter. An undercurrent of sadness, however, rippled beneath her cheery exterior.
Helen had thrown herself whole-heartedly into her relationship, only to be cast aside for money. It would have been heartbreaking enough to receive that treatment from a friend, much less someone Helen had given her entire heart to.
Helen, however, buried her hurt deep within herself. Even Hannah was unable to detect any unusual shifts in Helen’s behavior. Hannah thus broached the question tentatively, “So, Helen, what do you think about Jason?”
