Hawthorne shot Thorpe a cool nce. "Nothing? He did plenty, more than you can imagine."


    It all started that year, right after the championship. The Langford Group began hounding the Everhart family, nearly destroying a legacy built over a century.


    Chris and Celia rarely got to hear their mother discuss their father with anyone else. They especially loved the parts about their parents'' romance. Their older sister always imed Mom and Dad were hopelessly in love—a couple straight out of a fairy tale.


    Thorpe sighed. "Back then, Vicky and McNeil had just gotten divorced-"


    "Divorced?"


    Chris and Celia blurted it out in unison, wide-eyed as they turned to look at Gwh.


    Victoria immediately dropped her gaze. She''d always insisted in front of the kids that she and McNeil were the picture of marital bliss, till death do them part.


    "Oh, that. Just the usual little arguments every couple has."


    Thorpe realized he''d let something slip and tried to cover it up, chuckling awkwardly. "Not important, really. Ha—"


    But Hawthorne''s expression had turned frigid.


    "You may think it''s unimportant, but what McNeil did nearly wiped out the entire Everhart family."


    It wasn''t as if they were all killed-no, but their century-old foundation was nearly razed overnight. His parents both died not long after. The Everhart legacy was left teetering on the edge-how was that any different from utter ruin?


    Victoria''s apology came out in a whisper, barely audible. "I''m sorry. I truly didn''t know what was happening at the time."


    If she had, she would have done something-anything-to help.


    Chris, however, couldn''t help but gloat a little. "Dad probably just loved Mom too much. He saw you giving her flowers and thought you were making a move. Of course he was going to make trouble for you."


    "Chris-"


    Gwh''s sharp voice cut through the tension, snapping everyone back to reality.


    Hawthorne''s expression grew even darker. He pressed his lips together, and the atmosphere in the room dropped several degrees.


    A bead of sweat appeared on Victoria''s forehead. For the first time, she shot a warning re at her youngest son.


    Chris didn''t care. He met Hawthorne''s gaze, eyes full of hostility.


    He''d never tried to steal Mom from Dad, but now Hawthorne was trying to take his sister away from the family. Well, not if he had anything to say about it.


    Thorpe rubbed his nose, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, Hawthorne, you can''t me us too much. Our son does have a bit of a reputation for being obsessed with his wife."


    Hawthorne let out a cold, dismissive snort.


    Obsessed with his wife? Thorpe must think he was a fool. Everyone knew the Langford family''s


    scandals, especially McNeil''s affairs-hardly a secret. Thorpe still had the nerve to pretend otherwise.


    Atst, Hawthorne couldn''t keep quiet any longer, his voice icy. "So, is this how


    men in the Langford family treat women? With this level of depravity?"


    The words stung. Chris''s face fell. If not for his upbringing, he might have lunged at Hawthorne right then and there.


    Thorpe knew he was in no position to argue. His own grandson had done some truly shameful things. When Hawthorne first showed up, the oldman had dug into his entire family history, only to discover they''d been acquaintances long ago.


    He knew exactly what his grandson had done. He just couldn''t bring himself to say it out loud.


    Hawthorne nced at Gwh, swallowing back even harsher words.


    "I didn''te prepared this time,” he said atst, his tone softening just a touch. "But once I return to


    Greenvale, I''ll bring a proper


    proposal and formally ask for


    Gwyn''s hand in marriage."