"Great-grandpa, Great-grandpa..."


    Gwh''s voice broke with sobs.


    She couldn''t bear to watch the people she loved slip away, one after another.


    While she was lost in her grief, a tissue appeared in front of her.


    "Don''t cry. Your great-grandpa''s just asleep."


    Startled, Gwh looked up and found herself staring into a pair of deep, enigmatic eyes-Hawthorne had materialized behind her without her noticing.


    She jumped a little. So caught up in her emotions and saying her goodbyes, she hadn''t even heard hime in.


    "He''s asleep?" Gwh couldn''t quite believe it. Moments ago, Great-grandpa''s words and the look in his eyes had made it seem like he was about to say his final farewells.


    "Thorpe looks perfectly healthy-rosy cheeks, clear eyes-not at all like someone on death''s door. If you don''t believe me, check his breathing."


    Prompted by Hawthorne, Gwh quickly reached out, her hand trembling as she hovered over Great-grandpa''s nose. Sure enough, his breathing was steady, hisplexion vibrant, and his eyelids even fluttered slightly. He really was just asleep.


    She was speechless, but relief flooded her chest.


    Thank goodness Great-grandpa was okay.


    Hawthorne eyed the elderly man lying in the hospital bed-old as he was, still sly as a fox. Clearly, no one in the Langford family could be taken at face value.


    "Gwyn?"


    A voice rang out behind her-disbelieving, trembling. Gwh recognized Victoria instantly. She turned and saw her mother standing in the doorway. Aside from the age gap, they looked almost like mirror images.


    "Mom!" Gwh''s eyes grew wet again. Sheunched herself into Victoria''s


    arms.


    She clung to her mother''s neck desperately, as if letting go would mean losing her all over again.


    Hawthorne stood aside, watching


    the mother and daughter reunite. For reasons he couldn''t exin,


    seeing Gwh hold Victoria s


    tightly made something twist inside him. He hated seeing her in anyone else''s embrace. Victoria looked just like an older, more refined version of Gwh-still strikingly attractive.


    In fact, Victoria had only just turned forty. Years of careful self-care had kept her figure and skin looking at least a decade younger; standing next to Hawthorne, the difference in age was barely noticeable.


    Gwh buried her face in her mother''s shoulder, nuzzling softly like she was five years old again, her vulnerability on full disy atst.


    "Mom, I missed you so much. I missed Auntie, and Celia, and Chris, and Great- grandpa..."


    She missed them all. And she missed Dad, but she didn''t dare say that in front of her mother.


    Dad was still in the hospital''s care center. She wanted to visit himter.


    All these years, unless absolutely necessary, she''d rarely gone to see McNeil It always left her feeling guilty guilty toward her mom, and toward her younger siblings. She was the ck sheep of the family.


    "Silly girl, you''re home now. That''s all that matters. You can stay with us as long


    as you want." Victoria smoothed her daughter''s hair, her heart aching for all Gwh had endured over the years.


    Gwh wiped her face and looked at Victoria, eyes still brimming with sorrow. "Mom, since Great-grandpa''s okay, maybe I should-"


    Victoria tightened her grip on Gwh''s hand. "You should what? Leave again? Gwyn, ever since you finished high school, you''ve been abroad. Sixteen to now- you''ve barelye home. Gwyn-"


    "Mom, Ie back for the holidays. I''m an adult now, I have my own life. Please... don''t make this harder for me." Gwh''s voice grew smaller with every word.


    Victoria''s heart clenched. She knew


    why her daughter had kept her


    distance all these years. She hadn''t


    Ball


    wanted to say it, but she couldn''t


    bear to lose Gwyn again. When


    Gwyn was a child, because of Violet, she''d almost lost her once already.