"I''m showing them to my aunt, of course. To prove I came to see you."


    Connor looked like he was about to pass out. "Leonie, can you do one decent thing for a change?"


    He had always maintained a cool, dashing persona in front of Gwh—the idealized man from her past. He hadn''t been awake when she visited before, so his appearance hadn''t mattered. But now, in this pathetic state? He couldn''t let the woman he loved see him like this.


    "Delete those pictures right now!"


    Leonie just gave him a wicked grin as she continued snapping photos. "What''s wrong? Afraid she''ll see you like this? Next time the orderliese to change you, I''ll get a few more shots. We canpare you to my uncle..."


    Connor was about to have an aneurysm. He waspletely immobilized, and this woman was about to ruin his reputation forever. "Leonie, if you send those, I''ll kill you!"


    He truly felt murderous, but Leonie was unfazed. She quickly typed a message to go with the pictures: "Aunt Gwh, I''ve checked on Connor for you. Besides being unable to move, he''s doing fine. Though he does seem a bit mentally unstable. Reporting in, mission aplished."


    Gwh was scrolling through her phone when Leonie''s message popped up. She opened it, and a close-up of Connor''s sulking, bedridden face filled the screen.


    She read the message, and a smile she couldn''t suppress touched her lips.


    Hawthorne saw her smile from a distance. He hadn''t seen her smile in a long time and wondered what message could have brought such a change. He watched her quietly, not wanting to approach and cause her to retreat into her shell again.


    Gwh had lost the baby fat from her cheeks since their early days of marriage in Greenvale, and Hawthorne knew why. This period was a critical one, and he knew she was feeling wronged.


    Only when her smile faded did Hawthorne walk over to her.


    "Would you like to visit the Langford patriarch today?"


    The only thing that seemed to hold her interesttely was visiting her great- grandfather, a time when she would y the part of a loving wife with him.


    Gwh pulled her attention away from her phone. Every picture Leonie had sent made her want tough.


    "We are going to the estate today, but not just to see him. Mom told me yesterday that our wedding is the day after tomorrow. She wants us toe over to discuss the details."


    Hawthorne''s eyes flickered. "Alright. I''ll have my brother and the others prepare toe to Starfall City. The family elders wille as well."


    Gwh didn''t respond. She didn''t care. No matter how grand the wedding was, it was just a formality.


    Seeing herck of reaction, Hawthorne fell silent. His phone rang, and with a nce at her, he stepped out to take the call.


    Gwh sensed his departure and looked over assuming it was Patti Yale. A sharp painnced through her chest, but she forced herself to ignore it. He had nothing to do with her anymore, this marriage was solely for her family.


    She tried to distract herself with her phone, but her mind was anything but calm. An


    hourter, Hawthorne returned to find she had already changed into her outdoor clothes.


    "Why aren''t you wearing the silk dress I gave you?" He thought it suited her perfectly.


    "I don''t feel like it. Maybeter." Because it was a gift from him. She had left at the previous dresses he''d given her in Greenvale and had no intention of wearing the new ones. After the wedding, she nned to have them all sen back Greenvale for him to deal with.