“Don’t pay attention to this idiot’s rambles, Hannah. Just stick with me throughout the night.”
“Jalen,” Hannah said, looking up to meet his eyes, startling him.
“I don’t know anything about Johanna’s mother. Can you tell me what kind of person she is?”
Silence fell in the car once again.
In the end, it was Edwin who spoke first.
“It’s a long story. I don’t think we can cover everything in half an hour.”
And yet, he proceeded to prattle on.
“You know that our grandparents have three sons and two daughters, right? Jalen’s father passed away a few months ago, and his mother relocated abroad, leaving him here. It was fine, since he was set to inherit the White Group. Now, you know Bainbridge’s father, then there was mine. Neither of them work in the family business. My father is actually busy with his own field of work, and barely have time to bother with me. And then we have Johanna’s mother. She divorced Johanna’s father and married another man. This second husband is sixteen years younger than her. If I’m not mistaken, he is only twenty-eight years old, but he is the youngest son of the Vance family. They mostly dominate the construction industry here in Hoijery.”
Hannah’s eyebrows rose as she took in all this information. She never imagined that this unknown aunt of hers had led such a colorful life.
“They have a son together,” Edwin continued.
“He’s only five, I believe. They barely had any contact with the White family after their wedding, and Johanna ended up being raised by Grandpa and Grandma.”
“It sounds like our aunt is quite happy with her new family,” Hannah commented.
“How come she didn’t take Johanna in herself?”
“Happy?” Edwin echoed, shaking his head.
“I beg to disagree. That young stud she calls her husband has been having affairs left and right. He’s a chick magnet, so I guess it was inevitable. It doesn’t help that he’s only a few years older than Johanna. Our aunt is probably afraid that their relationship would turn into something other than that of a stepparent and stepchild. She was adamant that Johanna did not live with them.”
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“Stop saying that,” Jalen interrupted.
“Those are just rumors from outsiders. I actually think he treats our aunt pretty well.”
“Well, of course he has to treat her well,” Edwin said with a hint of disbelief.
“He’s only a third-rate celebrity, after all. He needs our aunt’s support. It’s only natural that he remains loyal to her, at least on the surface.”
Hannah lowered her eyes and pondered these revelations.
Noticing her silence, Jalen said, “Don’t worry, I’m sure she won’t cause you any trouble. We’ll be there with you. There’s no need for you to feel embarrassed or anything like that.”
“I don’t feel embarrassed at all.” If anything, Hannah was bewildered by the complex relationships that existed within this family.
“What about my mother? Did Grandpa give up on her because she insisted on marrying Wyatt?”
This time, the silence stretched longer. Even Edwin refrained from saying anything for a good while.