With Thanksgiving just around the corner, she needed to figure out how to exin the situation with Hawthorne. She also had to consider whether the Langford patriarch and the rest of the family would be able to ept it.


    Gwh Langford had far too much on her mind. After making sure Leonie wouldn''t be cold, she returned to her room to rest.


    In the middle of the night, Gwh was startled awake by her phone.


    She saw nearly five missed calls from Victoria. A call from her at this hour had to mean something was wrong, so she immediately called back.


    "Mom..."


    "Gwyn, your grandfather was rushed to the emergency room today..."


    Victoria''s tone was different this time. Thest time, she''d sounded anxious, but Gwh suspected they were trying to trick her. This time, however, Victoria''s voice was filled with an unmistakable, suppressed grief.


    "What happened?"


    Victoria exined the whole story. It turned out the Langford patriarch couldn''t resist going to see McNeil.


    He had tried every method imaginable to wake his only grandson. This time, he had spent a fortune to bring in a top specialist from abroad.


    This specialist was hisst hope. But when the medical team emerged from their consultation, the news that greeted the patriarch''s hopeful expression was that McNeil would likely never wake up.


    For years, the patriarch had been living on hope. This was the most devastating blow he could have received, and after so many years of waiting, it was an answer he simply couldn''t ept.


    The old man copsed on the spot and was immediately sent to the intensive care unit.


    Fortunately, after more than ten hours of emergency treatment, he was stabilized, but his spirit waspletely shattered.


    "I''lle back tomorrow."


    She had to see her grandfather. If anything happened to him, Gwh would never be able to forgive herself.


    "Don''t be in such a rush. Thanksgiving is almost here, and your grandfather is stable for now You and Hawthorne cane back together. Our family hasn''t had any happy news in years. Maybe seeing you married will help him get better. But at his age, his health is only going to decline."


    The doctor had been tactful, but the meaning was clear.


    He had told the family to keep himfortable, not to leave his side, and to fulfill his


    A lump formed in Gwh''s throat.


    She had been nning to divorce Hawthorne. How could she possibly go through with a wedding?


    But with such a crisis at home, she couldn''t possibly tell Victoria the truth. If her grandfather found out and the shock was too much for him she would be eternally to me.


    Gwh didn''t sleep a wink that night. The next morning, she sat fully dressed at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror for two hours, lost in thought.


    For those two hours, her mind was a battlefield.


    Should she go back with Hawthorne andplete the wedding, or should she call it off?


    If she really decided to end things and get a divorce, her grandfather would never see her get married on Thanksgiving.


    Gwh was trapped in a deep, agonizing conflict.


    She knew what she meant to her family.


    Victoria and her grandfather cared so much for her, and her future happiness was their greatest concern.


    But Hawthorne wasn''t the right man for her. They would eventually separate.


    When Leonie woke up on the sofa


    that morning, she was startled. She vaguely remembered being with Gwh, watching her paint and carve seals. How had she fallen asleep?