After epting the gift, Leonie couldn''t hide her envy. By the time the two of them made it back to the vi, it was already past midnight.


    Once she''d showered, Gwh snuggled under the covers first. When


    Hawthorne came out of the bathroom and saw her still wide awake, he was a little surprised.


    Earlier, when he''d left the room, she''d already fallen asleep or at least he''d thought she had. Turns out, she really had drifted off.


    "Still awake?” he asked, towel-drying his hair as he slid into bed and pulled her into his arms.


    "Yeah. Not-" Gwh instinctively nestled closer to him. In the quiet of the night, theyy there, wrapped up in each other''s warmth.


    "I have to head to Echo City tomorrow," Hawthorne said. "I''ll be tied up with meetings for a while. If you get bored, you should hang out with Leonie-she''s pretty much always free."


    He paused, thinking it over. "Just promise me you''ll stay away from anything risky. Other than that, you two can do whatever you want, go wherever you like."


    Gwh hadn''t realized he was leaving so soon. She looked up at him, already feeling a pang of reluctance at the thought of his absence.


    "What''s in Echo City?" she asked quietly.


    Her uncle lived in Echo City. She wondered if he and Hawthorne had ever crossed paths.


    "There''s an important conference I need to attend in person," he replied.


    He would''ve given anything to spend every day and night by her side, but with the Everhart family''s affairs still requiring his attention, he couldn''t hand things off just yet.


    "My uncle lives there too. Stein Campbell-have you ever heard of him?"


    Hawthorne''s arm tightened around her as he gave a nomittal "Mm." Gwh immediately sat up, eyes wide. "Wait-you actually know him?"


    "Mr. Campbell''s the kind of man everyone in the capital is eager to win over. He''s your uncle?"


    That was news to him-the only things he''d heard about the Langford family came from other people''s gossip.


    "Yeah. He''s my mother''s brother," Gwh confirmed.


    Hawthorne pictured Stein''s stern face and suddenly noticed the faint resemnce to Gwh.


    The Campbell family''s circles were notoriously exclusive, impossible to break into. By marrying Gwh, Hawthorne had unintentionally.nded himself a golden ticket just when he had a few matters he needed Stein''s help with. Now, he could go straight to the source.


    They chatted idly for a while. Earlier in the evening, Gwh had made a point of dressing up, slipping into the lingerie Leonie had picked out specifically to tempt Hawthorne.


    But once they were in bed, lost in conversation, Gwh forgot all about her secret n. She drifted off, her head resting on Hawthorne''s shoulder. As he tucked the nket around her, his eyes identally fell on what she was wearing and suddenly, a rush of heat hit him hard.


    Lord, what on earth was she wearing?


    ckce lingerie, sheer enough that he could see her skin beneath. As for the rest, Hawthorne didn''t even dare to look.


    This had Leonie''s mischief written all over it. There was no way his sweet Gwyn would''ve thought of wearing something like this on her own.


    He immediately bundled her up, wrapping the covers tightly around her from the neck down, then-suffering in silence-got up and took another cold shower, waiting for the waves of desire to subside.


    Truth be told, Gwh didn''t need to do anything special to make him want her. He''d been doing his best to hold back these days, wanting to save that night for when they were officially married.


    Besides, Gwh was so innocent-if he ever wanted her, she''d give herself to him without hesitation. But Hawthorne didn''t want it to happen like that.


    When he came back to bed, he gathered her in his arms again and kissed her gently on the forehead. Gwh shifted in his embrace, wrapped her arms around his neck, and mumbled, “Love you, darling—”


    Then she fell sound asleep.


    Hawthorne''s trip ended upsting a full week. The moment he left, Leonie wasted no time moving into the vi to keep Gwhpany.


    "My mom''s making me go on a blind date tomorrow," Leonie announced over breakfast. "You''reing with me. If he turns out to be cute, I''ll stay. If not, you''re my backup. Just say you''re the one on the date and you''re not interested, got it?"


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