Gwh''s eyes zed with anger. Hawthorne''s foot was still wedged in the door, preventing her from closing it. Every time she looked at him like he was her enemy, his heart twisted in pain.


    "I just heard a rumor. I''m sorry if I disturbed..."


    Gwh used all her strength to force the door shut. Her voice came, muffled, from the other side. “If you disturbed me? You did disturb me. Please don''te up here so casually in the future. And whether I live or die is none of your business. Whatever happens in my family has nothing to do with you. Please stop spreading rmist rumors."


    Gwh''s words were final and absolute. Hawthorne retreated, his shoulders slumping in defeat.


    Once she heard the silence outside, Gwh slowly walked to the edge of her bed and sat down. But as she reyed Hawthorne''s words in her mind, she felt he wouldn''t have asked her for no reason. She decided to call her mother to be sure. Her daddy had been sick for so many years. If he had really woken up, Gwh would have no more regrets in this life. But the Langford patriarch had hired specialists from abroad who had asserted that her father would never wake up. What was going on?


    Without overthinking it, and with her father still on her mind, she quickly called Victoria. "Mommy, has Daddy''s condition improved at all?"


    Victoria was a little confused by Gwh''s call. She had just visited McNeil, and there had been no change. "How are you over there? Is everything alright?" As a mother, her first instinct was to wonder if her daughter was upset about something.


    Gwh''s heart sank at the sound of her mother''s voice. "No, I was just asking. Maybe there''s still hope for Daddy."


    Victoria could tell Gwh was genuinely concerned about McNeil. She had heard simr words of hope hundreds of times and had even allowed herself to believe them only to be met with disappointment. "Gwyn, I think we all need to face reality. The experts the Langford patriarch hired at great expense wouldn''t lie. It''s possible your daddy may never wake up. But no matter what, we will do everything we can to save him. We won''t give up until the veryst moment."


    Gwh understood. Her mother wouldn''t lie to her; her father hadn''t woken up. So was Hawthorne just trying to mess with her? Or was he so desperate to reconcile that he''d resort to such a low-handed trick? "Okay, I understand."


    Gwh held the phone, feeling a wave of disappointment. Victoria couldn''t help but ask, "Are you and Hawthorne getting along? Any news from your belly? The Langford patriarch is stretching his neck out waiting for his great-grandson."


    Victoria was referring to the family council where it was decided Gwh''s first child would take the Langford name, which was why Thorpe Langford already considered her firstborn the direct heir of the Langford family. The mention of a baby made Gwh instantly nervous. She stammered slightly but forced her voice to sound calm. "Not yet. It''s not that easy to get


    pregnant."


    Victoria sounded a little let down to hear there was no news yet. "Have you been to the hospital for a check-up? Do you need Mommy to arrange for a doctor from Starfall City toe to Greenvale to examine you? It''s been so long, how could you not be pregnant yet?"


    Victoria was getting anxious. Back when she was with McNeil, she risked getting pregnant anytime they weren''t careful. As someone who was so fertile, she couldn''t imagine her daughter having trouble conceiving.


    Gwh was startled. “No, Mommy, that''s not necessary! The medical care here in Greenvale might not be as advanced as in Starfall City, but there are good doctors. I went to the hospital, and they said I was just a bit stressed and needed to rx more."


    Victoria sighed in relief, then


    muttered to herself, "If there''s


    nothing wrong with your body, then


    what about Hawthorne? Are you


    Sure there''s nothing wrong with him? Maybe you should trick him into going to the hospital for a check-up. How is your... married life? Do you feel like he''s... you know... up to the task?"


    Gwh never expected to have this conversation with her mother. Her cheeks


    instantly flushed, turning as red as a ripe tomato.