The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 126

Chapter 126

Chapter 126

A sudden chill ran down the spines of Felicity and her two sons. They turned around to see Hannah standing there, her face completely expressionless.

“Do I really look that upset?” Hannah asked.

Felicity and Lucian nodded vigorously. “No,” they blurted out, then immediately shook their heads, “Yes”

Arthur could only stare.

Hannah just stared back.

She forced a smile. “Seriously, I’m fine. You’re just imagining things.”

With that, she poured herself a glass of water and headed back upstairs.

Arthur was at a loss for words.

Lucian was speechless.

Felicity muttered, “Does it really seem that serious?”

*****

Upstairs, Hannah returned to her room and glanced at her WhatsApp message list

Barnaby’s profile picture was at the top, with a red dot in the corner, which meant she’d muted him.

She tapped into their chat. The latest message was from the day before yesterday: [Baby, your new profile pic looks great. But this one would be even better.]

He’d sent a photo of the two of them, with her crouched on the beach, looking up at him. Their eyes met. It was the picture Ronin had taken of them before.

There were no more messages after that. He hadn’t called her in the past couple of days either.

‘Barnaby probably sensed I was pulling away, so he stopped trying to contact me,’ Hannah thought.

She tapped on the photo of the two of them and stared at it for a long moment.

Then, without a word, she saved it to her phone’s gallery, put her phone aside, and opened up her notes from this week’s work in the lab, ready to go over everything.

After a while, Hannah suddenly remembered how Barnaby had vanished without a trace last time, no replies to her texts, just gone. By the time she finally got any news, something bad had already happened.

‘What if it’s happening all over again?’ she thought, anxiety creeping in.

Just picturing Barnaby lying there in the operating room, ashen and motionless, made Hannah’s heart twist painfully, like an invisible hand was squeezing it tight.

She couldn’t help herself. She picked up her phone, almost dialing his number, but hesitated, would that be too much? Instead, she tapped into her chat with Barnaby on WhatsApp.

She typed, erased, and retyped, struggling to come up with something that sounded like a casual check-in instead of her overthinking everything.

11:12 Mon, Dec 22 GJ.

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Chapter 126

After agonizing over it for more than ten minutes, she finally sent a message: [Are you asleep?]

To her surprise, he replied almost instantly.

Barnaby: [Still working late. Something up?

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Barnaby: [Miss me?]

Hannah just stared at her screen, lost for words.

She immediately tossed her phone aside.

Looks like I was just being paranoid. Barnaby’s probably decided not to bother reaching out first anymore, she thought.

The next day, Hannah was back at the Cavalor lab, working nonstop. After a full day of experiments, she finally completed the medicine she’d made for Barnaby.

With the leftover ingredients, she came up with a few potent remedies and took them home to the Scott family, handing them out for everyone to try.

It just so happened that tonight was Christmas Eve.

Felicity was genuinely delighted when she realized Hannah had actually prepared Christmas gifts for everyone. ‘Guess I really was overthinking things yesterday,’ she thought.

“Hannah, thank you. I’ll make sure to take it,” Felicity said.

Arthur held up the little glass bottle under the chandelier, checking out the tiny black pills inside. “Seriously, this is the coolest Christmas present I’ve ever received. Thanks, sis!”

Aurelia muttered, “Who knows if these are even poisonous?” But as soon as she turned around, she just stuffed the brocade box with the pills into her room’s safe.

Dorian tossed one of the pills into his mouth and swallowed. “Wow, my stomach feels all warm now,” he said.

Cici cradled the brocade box in her hands, looking genuinely surprised. “For me too? Thank you, Hannah.”

Lucian watched Hannah hand out gifts to everyone, even Cici got one. ‘Alright, guess I’m up next for the big surprise!’ he thought, eyes full of anticipation.

He puffed out his chest and strode over to Hannah, ready for his moment in the spotlight.

But when he got there, her hands were completely empty.

“Where’s mine?” he asked, looking at her with big, hopeful eyes.

Hannah shot him a look. “Nope. Nothing for you.”

“Why am I the only one left out?!” Lucian freaked out. “It’s Christmas Eve, you gave everyone else a present except me! Am I even your real brother or what?!”

Hannah just gave him a blank stare, totally unimpressed.

‘Seriously, these aren’t even real Christmas presents!’ she thought.

“Ha! Looks like you don’t even count in Hannah’s eyes, she gave Cici a gift, but not you!” Arthur joked, laughing.

Lucian was fuming. “I don’t care! Just give me one already!”

Chapter 126

“Nope,” Hannah shot back. “You’re still growing, so these aren’t for you?

“Wait, what?” Lucian blurted out, totally confused.

Arthur’s grin froze. “Wait, you’re testing medicine on us?”

Dorian’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

Aurelia snapped, “So you’re just using us as your lab rats?”

“I came up with these custom pills for your minor health problems. I tweaked the formula to minimize any side effects. Just let me know how you feel after trying them.” Hannah explained.

Evelyn suffered from heart and circulatory problems. Felicity had issues with her blood and energy levels. Arthur suffered from a digestive disorder, Dorian had stomach troubles and hypertension, and Cici suffered from rheumatism.

None of these conditions were out of the ordinary. Acupuncture might offer some temporary relief, but for a real solution, medicine was also needed.

Of course, every medicine had its downsides. Therefore, the formula was adjusted for each patient to facilitate absorption and processing by their bodies.

Once Dorian and the others understood, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Especially Aurelia, she’d seen with her own eyes how Mr. Whitmore couldn’t stop singing Hannah’s praises, even offering her a million-dollar salary to work for him.

But Hannah just wasn’t interested. Seriously, who turned down a million bucks?

“Wow, this is such a thoughtful gift, Hannah. You really put a lot of effort into it!” Arthur said, genuinely touched.

“So you really didn’t get me a present, huh?” Lucian looked at Hannah all pitiful, like a kicked puppy.

Hannah could only stare back, totally at a loss for words.

‘Seriously, after all that explaining, how is he still acting like these are actual gifts?’ Hannah thought.

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a pretty pink present. She honestly had no idea who’d slipped it in there, so she just handed it to Lucian without a second thought.

Lucian’s eyes lit up. “See? You totally had one for me!” he muttered, tearing into the wrapping with excitement. But when he opened it, all he found was a little note inside.

It read: [Merry Christmas, Hannah! From Owen.]

Lucian just stared, lost for words.

“You made everyone else’s Christmas gifts yourself, and you just regift something you got from someone else to me? Who are you trying to embarrass here?!” he snapped.

Muttering curses under his breath, he ripped the note to shreds.

‘Much better,’ Lucian thought with a huff.

Hannah just stared at him, honestly at a loss for words.

The next morning, Hannah woke up to find her desk completely covered in gift boxes. She had no clue when they’d gotten there.

Chapter 136

She was stunned for a moment, then climbed out of bed and walked over, picking up one gift with a note stuck to it

The note said: [Sis, Merry Christmas!]

The other five didn’t have notes, but Hannah could easily tell, the whole family had sneaked in and dropped them off while she was fast asleep.

Suddenly. Hannah remembered the fairy tale her adoptive mother used to tell her every Christmas Eve when she was little.

“Santa Claus sneaks in while you’re sleeping and leaves your presents at your bedside. When you wake up, you’ll find the very gifts you’ve been dreaming about…”

That memory filled her heart with warmth.

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12 Mon, Dec 22