"Gwh, you asked me to do this, so I figured I should see it through to the end. Besides, you know how difficult Connor can be—not just anyone can handle him.”


    Leonie''s words were aint, but to Gwh, she sounded like a young girl with her first crush, yfully whining.


    Especially when she mentioned Connor-Connor''s alias-Leonie''s voice softened considerably.


    Gwh, having been through the wringer of love herself, felt a jolt of suspicion. Could Leonie and Connor actually be hitting it off?


    But then she dismissed the thought. It seemed impossible.


    After growing up, Connor had developed a razor-sharp tongue, while Leonie was hopelessly straightforward. If those two were put together, wouldn''t they just be onpletely different wavelengths, unable to understand a word the other was saying?


    Of course, Gwh was smart enough not to pry. If it was true, it might actually be a good thing. Better to let them figure it out on their own.


    "How is Connor doing now? With all the wedding chaos, I haven''t even had a chance to call him."


    Gwh was so preupied with Hawthorne and Patti Yale that she''d lost interest in everything, even her beloved painting.


    Leonie replied, “Don''t worry, he''s not going to die on my watch. You just focus on marrying my uncle, Gwh. I promise, Connor won''t be a bother to you."


    After saying this, Leonie deliberately nced at Connor in the hospital bed.


    Under her and the caregiver''s meticulous attention, Connor was recovering well. His youth, vitality, and strong constitution meant he was healing much faster than the average person.


    Gwh couldn''t help but want tough at Leonie''s words.


    Connor would always be her Connor, but there was no question of him "bothering" her. There was no future for them anymore.


    Gwh had decided that if she and Hawthorne divorced, she would never marry again. No other man could ever make her heart race or win her devotion the way Hawthorne had.


    But at the same time, she hade to a bitter realization: all men were unreliable. Even a man who swore his love, whispered sweet nothings every day, and acted like he would, give you the world could still do things that would make a woman die a thousand deaths inside.


    So what in this world was real? A woman should never easily give her heart to any


    man. The wisest thing was to keep it safely locked in her own chest.


    Gwh reflected on her life. She


    had nevercked for anything, except, perhaps, for love. She had, grown ustomed to her father''s unconditional affection, the feeling of being a pampered princess, the s center of everyone''s universe. The world had always ced her on a pedestal.


    It was only after she witnessed the world''s cruelty that she slowly began to


    understand: all lovees with conditions.


    So, with Hawthorne, if she wanted his love, what was the price? They had no deep-seated bond, no real foundation of shared history was her beauty alone enough to make him fall head over heels for her?


    And then there was Patti Yale. She didn''t have a distinguished family, wasn''t as


    young, and didn''t have Gwh''s figure or pretty face.


    But she was his “one that got away." And for a man, what could be more


    devastatingly captivating than the woman he could never have?


    A sour feeling crept into Gwh''s heart. While talking to Leonie on the phone, she


    had drifted off into her thoughts.


    "Gwh? Are you still there?"