But in the end, second thoughts always prevail.


    A golden opportunity had presented itself. If he gave up now, another one might


    nevere.


    James and his wife were already at each other''s throats over his affair. On the surface, they were a perfect couple, but in reality, their rtionship was fractured. James, mistakenly thinking Patti Yale held a great attraction for Hawthorne, nned to use her to nt his and her illegitimate child with him, making Hawthorne the fall guy who would raise another man''s kid.


    At the same time, James was professing his loyalty to his own wife, scheming to swallow his father-inw''s fortune. He was ying a clever two-handed game, eyeing the Everhart Group on one side and his father-inw''s assets on the other.


    Hawthorne had to lull James into a false sense of security to find an opening. Even if he gave up on attacking James, James wouldn''t spare him. In a ce like Greenvale, there was no room for two kings on one mountain. Hawthorne was a man who had survived by fighting his way through a world of blood and ashes; swallowing his opponents whole was in his nature.


    But now Gwh had seen him with Patti Yale, and the misunderstanding would only grow. He couldn''t let go of either front. Being merciful to others was being cruel to himself. For a while, two fierce voices battled in his mind.


    After a long period of deliberation, the urge to eliminate James won out.


    Hawthorne didn''t sleep at all that night. As dawn broke, he went to the bathroom to wash away the smell of smoke and alcohol. He knew Gwh wouldn''t want to see him right now, so he went to rest in another room.


    In the morning, Gwh woke up with a splitting headache. She was alone in the bed, and there was no trace of Hawthorne having stayed in the room. Although this was what she had wanted, she felt a sharp pang of disappointment now that he was really gone.


    Last night was their wedding night. Aside from their two passionate encounters in the car, had he just dropped her off and left? Did he leave the house, or did he leave Starfall City altogether? It made sense, Marrying her was just formality. Patti Yale musthave thrown a fit. He probably had to rush off to appease her, telling her how they hadn''t even slept together on their wedding night.


    The thought made Gwh''s heart clench in pain.


    She threw back the covers to get up and go downstairs for breakfast when her phone rang. It was Leonie Everhart.


    Gwh was a little surprised to see the name on the screen. It had been a long time. Apart from a brief contact regarding Connor, she had heard almost nothing from Leonie. Mr. and Mrs Everhart had told her that Leone had something important to attend to and couldn''t make the wedding, which had surprised Gwh at the time. But with the turmoil in her own rtionship with Hawthorne, she hadn''t had the energy to think about Leonie''s reasons.


    Now that the wedding was over and things had settled down, Leonie''s call reminded her that they hadn''t spoken in a long while.


    "Auntie, I''m so sorry! I didn''te to your wedding. I deserve to be punished." As soon as Gwh answered, Leonie began to apologize profusely before Gwh could even ask a question.


    With so many troubles on her mind, Gwh had no time to genuinely me her. "Is something important going on?"


    Gwh''s voice sounded a little


    hoarse. Leonie hesitated on the other end of the line. "Um, it''s mostly because of Connor. None of his friends were willing to stay and take care of him so I got stuck here. The, professional caregivers just aren''t very thorough."