NovelOnline
Chapter 1560
The day passed in the blink of an eye. Yet for Steven, the day felt as long as centuries, passing at a painfully slow
pace.
He had been longing for nightfall since the moment he left the Ableson household in the morning. Only under the
cover of darkness could he sneak into Hannah’s room, see her again, and do everything he longed to do. So before
night fell, Steven had an early dinner, took a refreshing shower, and had Rick drop him a few miles away from the
quaint Higgins Village in his luxurious car. From there, he walked to Higgins Village.
Due to the holidays, the village was bustling with more people than usual. Every house was brightly lit. He could
hear the sound of laughter and chatter as he passed by.
Thankfully, the cover of darkness and the crowd helped Steven, a familiar stranger, to blend in without attracting
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Finally, he arrived outside Hannah’s house. Looking in, he could see a bonfire burning in the yard, next to which was
a dining table. Not only were there her family of four, but also four strangers. The strangers seemed to share a
resemblance with Hannah, also consisting of parents with two children.
Pandora’s voice reached Steven’s ears. “It’s settled then. Tomorrow, the youngsters will accompany your fathers to
the cemetery, while your mom and I stay at home to cook.”
It was a tradition in their community, every Christmas Eve, to take the children to the cemetery to pay respects to
their ancestors.e2
In this rural area, there wasn’t a unified cemetery. Everyone chose their respective burial spots based on the
recommendations of the local diverner. As long as the location was good, any nearby hill could become a burial
ground. Visiting graves of several generations scattered across different hills could take half a day. Thus, it was
usually the men who took the children to pay respects while the women stayed at home to prepare lunch. By the
time the ritual was over, everyone could return to a hot meal.
Jeo asked, “Is Hannah going?”
Pandora flared up at this, “Why wouldn’t Hannah go? Even after her marriage and divorce, she is still a part of the
Ableson family. Are you suggesting she can’t pay respects to our ancestors?”
Jeo retorted, “That’s not what I meant. I was just worried about Hannah’s leg. Even though she can walk fine now,
who knows how she’ll handle climbing
hills.”
Hannah got up and ran a few laps around the yard. “Come on you all see, my leg is fine.”
Jeo relented, “Alright, as long as you’re fine with it, you’ll accompany us to the cemetery tomorrow. It might do you
good to let your grandparents see you. May they protect you from any harm and bless you with a life of faith and
harmony.”
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Hannah agreed, “Sure.””
Rachel had been watching Hannah the whole time, after all, she was the most beautiful girl in the village and a big
movie star. Who wouldn’t be fascinated? But after a while, Rachel noticed something. “Hannah, what’s that on your
neck? Did you get an allergic reaction?”
The marks on Hannah’s neck were intentionally left by Steven the night before. Because of the cold weather,
Hannah had been wearing a scarf all day, and no one had noticed until now. As the bonfire was nearby, she felt
warm and loosened her scarf unintentionally, revealing the marks to everyone. Hannah quickly pulled up her scarf
to cover her neck. “The weather’s been so dry these days, I got some rash and accidentally scratched it.” Farley
chimed in, “Don’t you always use body lotion? I saw you applying a lot before bed last night, and there was no rash
then.”
Hannah, feeling guilty, suddenly stammered, “Th-that rash, it…it comes out quickly, I never said it came out last
night.”
Pandora glanced at Hannah, understanding the situation immediately. She quickly served Farley a large chunk of
pork knuckles. “You eat your meal. No questions at the dinning table.”
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