Hannah had once whined to Cornelia about Steven's reluctance to take her back to the Dixon clan. So, that's what Steven was thinking.
The lack of communication between them led Hannah to mistakenly believe that Steven thought she was beneath him, that she wasn't good enough to meet the Dixons, and that's why he wouldn't take her home.
Now, as an outsider, Cornelia had stumbled onto the truth. But she couldn't just spill the beans. Steven had to figure it out himself to clear up Hannah's doubts. "Did you ever ask Hannah if she wanted to go back to the Dixons for Christmas?"
Steven retorted, "The Dixons were rude to her. Why would she want to go there?"
Hannah had a thing for him back then. Of course, she wanted to go back to the Dixons with him for Christmas. But he, he never really cared about Hannah. He had no clue how much she had hoped to go home with him for Christmas, for him to introduce her to the Dixons.
He had never done that.
Cornelia chimed in again, "If you have the time, have a heart-to-heart with Hannah. Find out what she really wants."
Steven didn't respond.
Cornelia continued, "Also, Hannah doesn't trust you. How will you gain her trust? Only you would know."
Steven replied, "I'll try. Did she say anything else?"
Cornelia said, "She doesn't want to live here anymore. She wants to keep her distance from you."
Hearing this, Steven was heartbroken. "Once she's better, wherever she wants to go, I'll take her."
Cornelia responded, "Alright."
Steven added, "Cornelia, can I ask you something?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Impulsive Vow to an Enigmatic Husband