Hannah entered the kitchen where Axel was already waiting for her and saw the man filling cups with water. It wouldn't be weird if he was filling two or three cups, but Axel had filled so many cups that she was beginning to wonder how he even had the time to do that given that she had walked in only seconds after him.
Axel on the other hand kept filling the cups with an expressionless face. His eyes were cold and his breathing was slower than usual.
He was so damned pissed right now!
His fingers on the cups tightened as he tried to control himself and not raise his voice at Hannah. That was why he was filling those cups. If Hannah got angry with what he said, he would pour the water on her and if he got angry with what she said, he would just have to pour the water on himself. That way, both of them would remain calm enough to communicate like normal, civilized human beings!
Hannah watched as Axel dropped the last cup and turned off the tap. He slowly turned around to look at Hannah and when Hannah met his eyes, she froze.
She just froze.
Axel looks so angry right now and no doubt, that emotion was directed at her. She didn't know what she did to earn that angry look in his eyes. She has never seen him this angry before, hence she was nervous. She had a feeling it had something to do with Penelope.
"What happened?" Hannah managed to speak without stuttering. Seeing her flustered, Axel was satisfied. She totally deserved this!
"I took Penelope to the hospital today". Axel deadpanned in a low voice. He was really trying his best to act rationally. He waited for Hannah to speak or at least ask him about what happened to Penelope but she just stood there, staring blankly at him without saying a word. He was starting to think that she didn't hear him. "I said I took Penelope to the hospital today, didn't you hear me?"
His voice was a few octaves higher than normal and he finally got a reaction from Hannah. Her face paled and she seemed lost for a moment before coming back to her senses and looking at him fearfully.
"What happened to her?!" Hannah asked frantically, her voice shaky. "Why did you take her to the hospital?"
"She fainted. She said it happened a few times and the doctor said that her health isn't very good". Axel said flatly and watched as Hannah's face paled more. Now it seems like she was going to faint.
Seeing her reaction, Axel was left speechless. He thought that she would act guilty and apologize for neglecting the child but she wasn't doing any of that. She seemed clueless.
Completely clueless.
As expected.
"She was fine. R-Raymond said she was f-fine!" Hannah stuttered as she tried to understand what was happening. She knew about Penelope's medical history and what the child suffered from but Raymond said she was fine. He said that nothing would happen to her! He told Hannah not to worry about Penelope's health. Penelope had to be fine! "She is alright". Hannah stated, more to herself than to Axel.
She wasn't going to believe that Raymond lied to her, especially not about Penelope.
But if she had fainted before, why did Hannah know about it? Why did Penelope keep it away from her? She could have told Hannah…
Axel saw Hannah musing to herself and he couldn't help but feel irritated. It wasn't entirely her fault but most of it was her fault. "What were you thinking, leaving a child at home, all alone?" Axel asked angrily, not even bothered about keeping his voice low.
Hannah flinched slightly as Axel's voice reached her ears. She took a step forward and looked up at Axel. "She is fine. Nothing happened to her''.
Right?
She wasn't saying all this to defend herself but she didn't want to believe it. Penelope was sick and she was under Hannah's care. Why didn't she tell Hannah if she felt unwell or that she fainted? Penelope had to be alright!
Hannah would die if she wasn't!
"Nothing has happened to her!" Hannah stated out loud making Axel crease his brows. Hannah was in denial, he could tell. She wouldn't believe that Penelope was not alright. He looked into Hannah's desperate eyes in front of him and he was confused.
Hannah was a confusing person.
She felt guilty, no doubt, but she was scared. Frightened even. She didn't want to believe that Penelope was not alright. The first time Penelope was sick, the doctor said things that Hannah didn't want to remember. She didn't want to remember as she didn't want it to happen. Which was why she asked Raymond for help. He promised to help her treat Penelope and she believed him. She thought he had helped her, that Penelope was no longer in danger but why did she think like that?
'Oh, because it was Raymond'. She thought silently to herself. Raymond never liked Penelope. He hated the child, her mother to be precise. Hannah knew that if he had a chance, he would kill the child without batting an eye but he was forced to put up with Penelope because of Hannah.
Was that why he decided to let the child die slowly instead?
He took care of the child whenever Hannah was not around and Hannah was grateful. She didn't know that Raymond was watching the child inch closer to her death…
"D-did he poison her?" Hannah asked while gripping Axel's hand as the possibility of Raymond poisoning Hannah flashed in her head. "Did he?"
Axel's eyes flickered. He knew who 'he' was, Penelope had told him everything. "No. There was no poison in her bloodstream"
Hannah sighed but her relief was short-lived. "What happened to her?" Denying it would be of no use and would just add to her worries.
Axel sighed and told her everything.
When he dropped the unconscious Hannah in her room, he walked out intending to leave when he saw a sickly pale child lying on the floor behind one of the couches. He had not noticed her when he walked by the first time. He panicked and quickly went to the child. He felt her pulse and his worry only grew when he felt that her pulse was weak.
Knowing that Hannah was unconscious and would not be waking up anytime soon, he carried the child to the hospital. There, the doctor examined Penelope and told Axel what was wrong with her. Penelope was suffering from leukemia. She was probably not going to live long and the chances of saving her were less than fifty percent.
Axel felt his heart go heavy at that. He had only met the child a few times and in those times, he liked the child. She was really obedient and loving too. The time she gave him all her toys just so that Hannah would be able to stay with her, he found her really adorable.
Then he thought Hannah should have known about this. If she did, why didn't she do anything about it? She could have brought the child to the hospital for a check-up.
When he finished speaking with the doctor, he went back to Penelope's ward and saw that she was already awake and was sitting on the bed while looking confusedly at her surroundings. When she saw Axel, she looked surprised before a smile appeared on her face, realizing that it was a familiar face.
He smiled back at the child and went to sit beside her on the bed. Penelope was relatively small so the bed could contain the two of them.
The first thing Axel did was to ask the child how she was feeling. After which he asked her other questions. That was when he learned that Penelope had fainted in the past but she was revived by none other than Raymond Young. As for why she said nothing to Hannah…
It was because of that bastard, Raymond Young!
He had told Penelope not to bother Hannah because if she did, Hannah would get angry and send her away. Penelope was not Hannah's daughter, so she felt scared and insecure. She really liked Hannah and wanted to stay by her side. Hannah cared for her well whenever they were together. She didn't want Hannah to send her away. It would be sad if she did…
Which was why she kept everything from Hannah. She would not bother Hannah with her silly illness and whenever Raymond comes, she would tell him if she felt uncomfortable and Raymond always did things that made her well again.
To Penelope, Raymond was a good person. He was her friend. Her best friend. He was the one who made Hannah her mommy and she would do anything to keep it that way.
As Axel listened to the child, he felt a painful lump in his throat. He was sad and angry at the same time. He was sad for Penelope and angry at Hannah. It was not Hannah's fault but still…
After settling the bills, he took the child back home and prepared food for her. Apparently, Penelope had not even had breakfast since she woke up and from what she told him, he learned that Penelope only eats when Hannah comes back from the office.
That was way past dinner time!
Axel felt guilty since, in the past, he used to keep Hannah in the company till late.
But still…
What was Hannah thinking? Leaving a child home by herself…
When Penelope finished eating, Axel suggested that they go out to play but Penelope refused. He thought that Penelope was tired and wanted to rest so he let her be but after thirty minutes and they were still sitting in the same position, he knew something was wrong.
He asked Penelope about it and she told him that she doesn't want to go out since she doesn't want to anger Hannah.
And who told her that?
Raymond!
Even if Raymond wanted to protect Hannah by keeping her in the house, he should not have done the same to the child. Penelope was a child! She needed to go outside!
Right then, Axel wanted to punch something, someone maybe and that person was preferably Raymond Young!
How dare that bastard do this to a child!
He felt a sudden urge to disfigure Raymond's face and he was going to. The next time he saw that man, he was going to hit him till he was unrecognizable.
Axel stood up and went to Hannah's room with Penelope. She showed him where her clothes were and from there, he picked a scarf and a sweater which he put around Penelope since the wind was chilly outside.
As they left the room, Axel glanced at Hannah sleeping peacefully on the bed. He suddenly regretted drugging her in the first place. He would rather have her stand in front of him while he scolded the hell out of her!
She deserved it!
He was so angry right now but Hannah needed to wake up first so he could vent properly.