Chapter 596
At this point, no one objected to Hawthorne Everhart taking Gwyneth Langford with him.
With the entire family watching, the two of them boarded the helicopter together.
As Gwyneth glanced at Hawthorne’s profile, it suddenly struck her that he’d completely outmaneuvered the Langfords. Chris and Celia had both been reluctant to let her go, and her mother certainly hadn’t wanted her daughter heading off to Greenvale. No one wanted her to leave.
But Hawthorne had disappeared for a whole week, not a word from him. Of course, the Langfords had no idea that the newlyweds were on the phone with each other late into every night. Even if they did know, they’d probably still be worried sick.
Greenvale was far away, and the gifts the Everharts had sent over as a betrothal gesture barely made a dent in the Langfords’ wealth. If things didn’t work out, it’s not like they’d be heartbroken over returning a few gifts. The Langfords had enough standing to not care about such trivialities.
What really troubled them was Gwyneth herself. They simply couldn’t bear the thought of her getting hurt again.
She stole several glances at Hawthorne, thinking to herself that he really could be infuriating. Hawthorne caught her looking but said nothing, simply kept holding her hand, his grip never loosening. Somehow, that made her feel safe.
The flight lasted more than three hours. When they landed, Mr. and Mrs. Everhart were already waiting for them in the garden.
No one was more excited than Leonie Everhart. The moment she saw Gwyneth, her eyes filled with tears.
“Gwyn, I thought Uncle Hawthorne had done something to you. We hadn’t seen you in ages, and then he comes back and tells us he’s married and to you! I nearly fainted from shock.”
She’d even teased Mrs. Everhart before, saying that only a real tigress could ever tame Uncle Hawthorne. Never in a million years did she expect it to be Gwyneth.
It was impossible to wrap her head around it-how could someone as quiet and gentle as Gwyneth have managed to get the ever-bachelor Hawthorne to suddenly tie the knot? Maybe she had some special skill Leonie didn’t know about.
Mrs. Everhart overheard her, tapped Leonie lightly on the forehead, and scolded, “That’s Aunt Gwyneth to you. Show some respect!”
Leonie stuck out her tongue. Gwyneth, who was the same age as Leonie, suddenly found herself promoted an entire generation in the family.
“Let’s just stick to first names. That feels more natural,” Gwyneth suggested, a bit embarrassed.
Mrs. Everhart immediately shook her head. “Absolutely not. The Everharts have a proper way of doing things. We can’t start breaking tradition with you and Leonie.”
Gwyneth’s cheeks turned pink. “Yes, ma’am.” Then, realizing she’d
1.n
slipped again and addressed her as “ma’am” instead of “Aunt,” she blushed even harder. But calling
them “big brother and “sister-in-law” was out of the question, so
she
quickly turned to Leonie to change the subject.
“Alright, off you go, take your aunt upstairs and show her around,” Mrs. Everhart said, shooing the girls away. “Hawthorne and I need to
Ine
discuss wedding arrangements with your uncle. Don’t make a mess down here.” sŵnovel
Mrs. Everhart herded them upstairs. Only after watching the two disappear did Hawthorne follow his mother and father into the sunroom to talk.
Leonie, unable to contain her curiosity, grabbed Gwyneth’s hand. “Auntie, how on earth did you get Uncle Hawthorne to fall for you? Don’t you find him intimidating?”
Gwyneth was speechless. She hadn’t done anything at all. In fact, she still didn’t quite understand how she’d ended up married to Leonie’s uncle-it had all happened so fast that her head was still spinning.
Leonie leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, “So… how’s married life with
him? Uncle Hawthorne… he’s, um, you know, right?”
It took Gwyneth a moment to realize what Leonie was hinting at. When she finally
understood, her face burned bright red.
“Nothing’s happened. Really,” she stammered.
Leonie stared at her, wide-eyed. “No
way! You mean, nothing at all? You’re gorgeous, and he hasn’t tried
anything? Maybe those Tumors
about Uncle Hawthorne being a true gentleman are actually true. Any other man would’ve jumped you on day one.”