Gwh sighed softly but didn''t me her mother. Victoria only wanted to know she was okay; she hadn''t interfered in her life or her rtionship with Hawthorne.


    "We''re still not really on speaking terms. We had a huge fight that almost caused a threatened miscarriage, but everything''s fine now."


    The mention of a threatened miscarriage sent a jolt of fear through Victoria. "How could that happen? What were you two fighting about? Was it about that Patti woman?"


    Gwh stared at her mother in disbelief. "You even know about Patti Yale? Mom, what else are you hiding from me? How much do you really know?"


    Resigned, Victoria pulled a sheet of paper and a voice recorder from her purse. In front of Gwh, she yed the recording. The audio mirrored the contents of the paper, which was a confession handwritten by Patti Yale herself, detailing how she and Hawthorne had conspired to set a trap for James, iming their rtionship was merely a ruse to deal with him.


    After listening, Gwh showed no surprise. From her daughter''s calm expression, Victoria knew that Gwh was already aware of the situation.


    "So, you already knew, didn''t you?" Victoria asked, realizing with a pang that her frantic trip might have been for nothing. She had rushed here, fearing this was the cause of her daughter''s hospitalization, but it seemed the crisis had already been averted.


    "I just found out a few days ago. Hawthorne finally told me. But I think he went too far. He was all over Patti Yale in front of me, letting everyone in Greenvale believe she was carrying his child. We fought about it until I nearly miscarried. Mom, do you have any idea that if I had, I might never have been able to have children again?" Victoria''s eyes welled up with tears. "So, what have you decided? Are you not going to forgive him? I know about the history between Hawthorne and James."


    Victoria stopped there. The decision had to be her daughter''s. It was only right if Gwh wanted it; no amount of persuasion could bring her happiness if her heart wasn''t in it.


    As someone who had been through


    it all, Victoria felt Hawthorne''s


    actions were forgivable. But for her daughter, Gwh, who was younger and less experienced, her present feelings were her entire reality. she was unhappy in, rtionship, a mother''s advice to endure would only make her life harder.


    Her generation didn''t possess the same capacity for self-sacrifice that Victoria''s did.


    They were more self-focused; their own happiness was paramount, a sentiment Victoria supported.


    "What about you, Mom?" Gwh asked. "If it were you, would you forgive Hawthorne?"


    The question stopped Victoria in her tracks. She had been through one marriage that nearly destroyed her Though years had passed since her time with McNeil, the memory of him with Violet Marchand could still send a sharp stabbing pain through her heart-a fear that would never fade.


    Victoria chose not to give a direct answer. "Gwyn, I can give you an answer, but everyone''s answer is different. Everyone''s understanding of life is different. If I told you to keep this baby or not to keep it, what decision would you make?"


    Gwh''s voice was firm. "I would absolutely keep them." Even though she had, for a moment, considered ending the pregnancy.


    "Everything can only be decided by you," Victoria said gently. "Your life''s journey is your own. You alone must bear the consequences of your


    choices, good or bad fean given


    advice, but I can''t live your life for you. Do you understand?"