CHAPTER 4 THE REVELATION

Hannah’s Point of View

I couldn't deny that Ally was breathtakingly beautiful, but that reality did absolutely nothing to dull the heavy layer of resentment instantly taking root in my chest. She was keeping a massive secret from me, and the fact that it directly involved my father made my blood run cold.

By the time I hit the open road, the digital clock on my dashboard read ten o’clock in the evening. A violent storm of questions raced through my mind as I tore down the highway toward my parents' estate in Batangas, desperate for immediate answers.

What the hell was going on? What were they hiding from me? Who exactly was this girl, and how did she hold so much leverage over my father? A dark, suffocating knot of anxiety tightened in my chest. I desperately prayed that my worst assumptions were wrong; I knew my mother’s fragile heart couldn't handle another betrayal.

My mind spun out catastrophic, worst-case scenarios as the dark landscape rolled past my windows.

Was Ally my father's hidden child? A secret sister? Or worse—was she his mistress? I despised myself for thinking the absolute worst of him, but the panic was too real to ignore.

He had strayed once or twice in the past, but somehow, he and Mom always managed to patch the cracks over. We were still a family, after all.

In a way, I had always deeply admired my mother for that choice. She loved him with an unconditional, fierce loyalty. And despite his flaws as a husband, he had genuinely been the best father in the world to me.

He never failed to support my career, or surprise me when it mattered most. Over the years, I had even convinced myself that he secretly knew about my sexuality and just chose to stay silent to protect me.

"Dad!" I called out, bursting through the heavy front doors of the estate.

He looked up in sheer surprise from his armchair as I rushed across the room and threw my arms around him. He returned the embrace warmly, though his eyes clouded with immediate, sharp concern.

"Yes, my princess? What on earth brings you all the way out here so late?" he asked, his voice suddenly laced with a strange, heavy hint of remorse.

"It must be incredibly important if it couldn't wait until morning. It's been a month since your last visit, and I know you wouldn't drive all this way on a whim."

"Where's Mom?" I asked, looking around the eerily quiet house.

"She's already asleep, Hannah. Please, have a seat. Don't just stand there pacing."

Stepping deeper into the vast, sprawling house, the silence felt deafening. The sheer, hollow size of the estate suddenly felt like a cage, a harsh reminder of the suffocating tension that always lingered whenever Dad's past indiscretions threatened to tear our family apart.

"Dad, I can't stay long," I said, cutting straight through the pleasantries. "Something bizarre happened today. A woman came into my office, acting like she had a massive secret to deliver, but she refused to give me the full story."

I took a step closer to him, my voice rising defensively. "She asked me if you had told me yet. Told me what, Dad? What is she talking about? Just tell me the truth—is she your mistress? Are you cheating on Mom again? Please, Dad, look me in the eye and don't lie to me."

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room. Dad took a long, ragged breath, looking down at his hands as if searching for the strength to speak. When he finally looked back up, the color had completely drained from his face.

"Hannah, listen to me very carefully, and please, don't lose your temper," he began softly, his voice trembling.

"Your mother and I are simply fulfilling a sacred promise we made to a very dear friend fifteen years ago. It was a blood pact. This man saved your mother's life during a terrible mining accident. In return, we agreed that our families would be joined through marriage when the time came. But we never expected things to turn out this way."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

He hesitated, the sheer weight of the confession hanging like iron in the air. "His eldest son—the man you were originally arranged to marry—passed away recently."

It took a few agonizing seconds for the gravity of his words to fully sink in. When the reality hit me, a wave of pure disbelief and white-hot anger washed over me.

"Then what does that girl have to do with any of this?" I demanded, hot tears welling up in my eyes as a horrible, impossible realization began to take shape.

"Ally is his daughter," Dad said, looking directly into my eyes.

"What?!" The tears finally spilled over, furious and burning against my cheeks. "Dad, are you serious right now? You trapped me in an arranged marriage? With a total stranger? And with a girl? You have to be joking!"

"If it helps you accept this... I'm a lesbian, Dad!" I screamed, the truth bursting out of me after years of agonizing secrecy. My heart hammered violently against my ribs, my voice shaking with a lifetime of suppressed emotion. "There! I finally said it!"

"We already know, Hannah," he answered flatly, showing absolutely no surprise at all.

I froze, the air leaving my lungs. "You knew? If you knew, why didn't you ever say anything? And even if I like women, that doesn't mean you can just hand me over to whatever girl you choose! Please, Dad, don't do this to me! I'm begging you!"

"Think about this rationally, sweetheart," he pressed on, his tone suddenly hardening into a strict corporate mask. "Ally Moore is a wonderful person. Her father raised her well, and I know she would never hurt you. More than that, this merger is vital for our company's survival. After the wedding, our families will finally be whole. This is our final decision, Hannah, whether you like it or not. You need to get to know her."

His unyielding words felt like a physical blow to my chest. I felt completely broken, trapped in a waking nightmare I couldn't escape.

"But Dad, does she even want this?" I sobbed, entirely distraught. "Is she even like me? Because if she isn't, we are going to make each other absolutely miserable!"

I shook my head violently, taking a blind step back toward the door. "I won't do it, Dad! No! You might as well kill me before forcing me to marry someone I don't love. I'm in love with someone else! You can't do this to me!"

"You don't have a choice!" Dad shouted back, standing up as his jaw clenched tightly. "Your mother and I will completely disown you if you disobey us!"

"How can you do this, Dad! Is a business deal more important to you than your own daughter's happiness?!"

"He saved your mother's life!" he roared, his hands trembling with a sudden, terrifying rage.

But as the echo of his voice faded, his face suddenly contorted in pure agony. He clutched his chest, gasping desperately for air, before collapsing heavily onto the floor.

"Mom! Mom, come down! It's Dad!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my anger instantly melting into pure terror.

Footsteps clattered violently on the stairs as Mom rushed down, her face pale as she immediately dialed for an ambulance. I knelt beside his limp body, sobbing hysterically as panic took over my entire mind. The minutes felt like hours. Why was the ambulance taking so long? If anything happened to him because of this argument, I knew I would never forgive myself.

"Hannah, calm down!" Mom urged, trying to hold my shaking shoulders steady despite her own trembling hands. "Nothing bad is going to happen to your father. He's not going to leave us. Not yet. We have to be strong for him."

When the paramedics finally arrived, they moved with clinical speed, lifting Dad onto a stretcher and wheeling him out to the flashing red lights of the ambulance. I climbed into the back right beside him, gripping his cold hand tightly, crying and bargaining with a God I hadn't spoken to in years.

Dad, please don't do this. Don't leave us. I promise I'll do whatever you want. Just stay alive. Please, God, give him another chance. I'll give up anything. Whatever it takes, just let him live.

The moment we reached the hospital, the medical team rushed Dad straight through the double doors of the emergency room, leaving Mom and me stranded in the sterile hallway. I pulled Mom into a tight embrace, both of us shaking with fear.

"Mom... did you know about Ally?" I whispered through my tears, burying my face in her shoulder. "Do I really have to marry her?"

Mom looked at me, her eyes bloodshot and filled with an overwhelming, crushing guilt. "It's not just about an old wedding promise anymore, Hannah. Out of pure guilt because his friend's wife died while saving me in that mining accident, your father signed the controlling shares of our entire company over to their family name. If you don't marry Ally, we lose everything we've ever built. We will be bankrupt. Your father thought this arrangement was the only way to truly repay the debt we owed them without throwing our lives away."

Before she could say another word, the ER doors swung open and the lead doctor stepped out into the hallway. "He's out of danger, Mrs. Spaughton."

"Thank God," I breathed, the relief so sharp I nearly fell over. "Can we see him?"

"Yes, but please ensure he stays completely calm. Absolute rest. No stress."

We hurried into the recovery room. Seeing him lying under the harsh fluorescent lights, looking so fragile and small, broke whatever stubborn resolve I had left.

"Dad!" I ran to his bedside, throwing my arms around him as gently as I possibly could.

"Sweetheart... I am so incredibly sorry for everything," Dad whispered, his eyes glittering with tears as he weakly squeezed my hand.