Connor winced. "Could you give me some face? Your auntie calls me Max. By


    rights, you should be calling me uncle. Have you no respect for your elders?" As he freed his ear from her grasp, Leonie raised the stick again.


    "Alright, Uncle," she said cheekily. "Haven''t you heard? A niece''s job is to give her uncle a hard time. It''s practically a tradition!"


    The two started bickering again, chasing each other until the sun began to set. Gwh watched the sun dip below the horizon, thest rays of the sunset casting a golden glow over everything.


    Eventually, Hawthorne found them, but he only watched from a distance. Leonie got a call from him and turned away from Gwh to answer it. "Okay, got it, Uncle Hawthorne. I''ll make sure Auntie Gwh gets back safely. Don''t worry, I won''t let anyone get near her."


    While on the phone, Leonie made a face at Connor, who responded with a throat- slitting gesture, though he was powerless against her.


    That evening, Gwh took them out for hot pot, but she ate sparingly, just a few bites of her favorite things. She stayed out until it was dark before finally returning to the hospital.


    Hawthorne followed them the entire time, careful not to be seen.


    Hans, sitting in the driver''s seat, couldn''t take it anymore. "Mr. Everhart, if you care about Ms. Everhart so much, why don''t you let her know?"


    Hans never thought falling in love could reduce a man to this pitiful state. He''d never seen Mr. Everhart like this—so cautious and helpless, constantly ying hide-and- seek just to follow Ms. Everhart around.


    Hawthorne, sitting in the back, lit a cigarette and nced at Hans. After a long pause, he muttered five words.


    "You should try it sometime."


    Hans fell silent. Was love even worth it? It had turned a man like Mr. Everhart into a paranoid wreck.


    With Leonie by Gwh''s side, Hawthorne drove straight back to the office. Gwh was being discharged the next day. He had time.


    ---


    The next day, Leonie finished packing Gwh''s things andpleted the discharge


    procedures. Gwh was nning to go back to the vi she shared with Hawthorne when she sawa message on her phone from Patti Yale. It was a simple, friendly invitation.


    This time, instead of ignoring it, Gwh sent a two-word reply: "What''s up?"


    Patti''s response came quickly: "Since we were in the same hospital and I''m about to be discharged too, I''d hate to leave without seeing you. I was hoping to grab a


    coffee. Would Mrs. Everhart grace me with her presence?"


    The fact they were in the same hospital, coupled with Hawthorne''s frequent visits, made Gwh wonder if he had deliberately arranged for Patti to be there so he could easily look after them both. Even if Hawthorne was just using Patti to get to James, he had genuinely taken care of hem He''d been good to her. He dignored his own wife for her. No matter how she looked at it, Gwh felt deeply hurt by the whole affair. She wanted to ignore Patti, but a strange, morbid curiositypelled her to reply.


    "Fine. Where are you?"


    Patti had only sent the message on a whim, never expecting Gwh to reply so quickly. A triumphant smirk


    spread across her face. Perhaps ne


    Hawthorne and Gwh''s rtionship had finally hit rock bottom. All she needed to do was add a title more fuel to the fire and it would be a miracle if they didn''t break up. If she couldn''t have him, no one could.


    "I''ll send you the address. Waiting for you."


    Gwh looked up as Leonie walked toward her. "Leonie, I just remembered I need


    to stop by the art supply store. Could you take my things home for me?"


    Leonie looked puzzled. "I''ll go with you. It''s not convenient for you to go alone with your belly."


    Gwh didn''t want Leonie to see her meeting Patti Yale. She just wanted to clear the air, to see what kind of game Patti was trying to y.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!