Chapter 10 She Must Have Died Outside

The gossips went on. Soon, all eyes were on Hannah. As they sized her up, they couldn't stop making speculations.

Showered under their gazes, Hannah lifted her red lips into a perfect arc as she walked into the hall in a graceful demeanor, without the slightest awkwardness or uneasiness.

"Greetings, miss. I wonder if I have the honor to be your friend and have a drink with you." Suddenly, a handsome young man appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Hannah. With his eyes shining brightly, he stared at her.

Looking at the man who blocked her way, Hannah had no choice but to stop. Politely yet firmly, she refused, "Hi, I'm here to attend Mr. Byrne and Miss Porter's engagement ceremony, not to make friends."

As an interpreter of the President's Mansion, keeping her integrity was the first rule. Although the man in front of her was handsome, it was obvious that he was an idle young man born in a wealthy family, so it was not a good idea to be friends with him.

Meanwhile, the man was holding a red wine glass while sticking one of his hands in his pocket. Without concealing his interest in Hannah at all, he raised his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes as he peered her from head to toe. "Are you sure you're not going to make friends with me?"

Smiling humbly, Hannah replied, "Yes."

"Miss, you don't have to be so mean. Let me introduce myself."

"Skyler, this young lady is clearly not suitable for you. You should not mess with her." As soon as Skyler Diaz finished his words, another older man walked over and patted his shoulder. His eyes, however, were fixed on Hannah as he spoke with a smirk.

Less than a minute after Hannah entered the banquet hall, countless men swarmed toward her one after another, and that attracted even more attention, including Lana, who was entertaining guests.

How dare someone steal her daughter's limelight on her engagement day? That was absolutely outrageous!

At once, Lana's face grew grave as she stormed toward Hannah.

However, when she came closer and recognized who it was, she was immediately stunned.

"Mrs. Porter, what's wrong?" Someone asked with concern after noticing Lana's strange pause.

Hearing that name, Hannah looked past the man in front of her and glanced in the direction of Lana.

When her eyes met Lana's shocked gaze, she chuckled and said softly, "Excuse me." Then, she walked over to Lana.

"H-Hannah, i-is that you?" Staring at Hannah as she approached, Lana could not believe that this stunning woman in front of her was Hannah, who she had not heard from for five years.

In the past five years, she had always believed that Hannah must have died outside.

Because of Lana's strange behavior, more and more people turned their attention to them. The originally lively banquet hall gradually quieted down, and when Davis noticed that, he walked over with long strides.

Keeping an elegant smile on her face, Hannah walked toward Lana step by step and stopped in front of her. "Aunt Lana, it's me."

"Why didn't you tell us that you've come back, and why didn't you return home? What are you trying to do by suddenly showing up at your sister's engagement ceremony?" When Davis came over and recognized Hannah at a glance, he immediately put on a stern face and scolded her in a low voice.

Hannah gazed at Davis, and the smile on her face finally froze.

It had been five years, and during these years, he had always turned a blind eye to her. Not once did he care about her well-being.

Even though this was the first time for them to meet in five years, the first thing he did was reprimand her in front of the crowd.

Although she had expected it and prepared herself, she was still heartbroken to see that her father was still as mean as always toward her. At once, it felt like a dagger piercing through her heart as pain spread throughout her body.

However, it only took a brief moment for Hannah to conceal her sadness. Then, she lifted her lips in relief while replying with a question, "Dad, I'm here to congratulate Melissa since she is getting engaged. What else did you guys think I'm here for?"

"Oh, she's Hannah Porter, the eldest daughter of the Porter family."

"The eldest daughter? There's another daughter in the family besides Melissa?"

"Uh-huh. Melissa is the youngest daughter whereas Hannah is the eldest. I heard that she went abroad to study and hasn't been back for a long time."

"I told you. She can't be a homewrecker. With such elegance, she must be from a prestigious family. But it seems that the Porters aren't quite fond of her!"

"She's not Lana's biological daughter. She's Mr. Porter's ex-wife's daughter."

"I see. No wonder she doesn't look like them."

"I heard that Mr. Byrne was originally in a relationship with Hannah, but for some reason, he became a pair with Melissa later on."

"Isn't that obvious? Melissa is the current Mrs. Porter's daughter, so naturally, she will make such a rich man like Mr. Byrne marry her own daughter."

Not far away, while everyone watched that scene, they began whispering to each other and gossiping about what's between the Porter and Byrne families. When Lana heard that, her expression immediately changed, and she pretentiously glared at Davis while complaining, "Ana has just returned from studying abroad. How can you talk to her like this? She's your daughter too."

As she spoke, she walked over to grab Hannah's hand while saying with a loving and warm grin, "Ana, it must have been hard studying abroad all these years. Look at you, you've lost a lot of weight. Luckily, you're back now. I'll make you good food from now on."

Looking at Lana as she acted as hypocritically as always, Hannah calmly pulled her hand out and returned a smile. "Thank you, Aunt Lana. I'm doing fine living alone."

"Hannah Porter! You didn't come back for five years, and when you're finally back, you didn't inform us. Even worse, you stay outside alone. Are you homeless now?" To everyone's surprise, Davis's angry voice rang out again just as Hannah finished speaking.

"Davis!" Turning around, Lana glared at him. "Speak to your daughter nicely. Even if you don't care about her, I do!"

Then, she grabbed Hannah's hand again and said, "Come, Ana. Don't mind your dad. Let's go to the lounge. I haven't seen you for a long time, and I really want to talk to you."

Before Melissa and Kevin came out, she had to quickly take Hannah away. If she was left in the banquet hall, she would steal Melissa's spotlight. Perhaps, even Kevin would be attracted by her once he saw her.

"It's okay, Aunt Lana, I am just-"

"Hannah."