Chapter 631
“So, Gwyn, what brings you to Greenvale?” Marcus asked, genuinely puzzled.
He’d expected Gwyneth to stay put in Starfall City.
Since it was rare for old friends to meet up, Marcus invited her out to a café. Leonie, determined to keep an eye on her uncle’s friends and with her usual stubbornness, insisted on coming along.
Naturally, Hans tagged along too.
Marcus didn’t mind.
“I’m getting married,” Gwyneth announced.
Marcus set his cup down on its saucer with a sharp clink.
“No wonder,” he said. “Word’s all over Greenvale. Mr. Everhart’s got the papers signed and the wedding’s set for the end of the year.”
Gwyneth had thought only the family knew-but apparently Hawthorne had managed to make it Greenvale’s hottest gossip.
She just nodded. There was no need to elaborate. What she really wanted was news of Max.
“He’s not quite the same as he used to be,” Gwyneth ventured, choosing her words carefully.
Marcus didn’t hide the truth. “He had a bad accident-was street racing with a rough crowd back then. He was still a kid. I tried to get him away from all that, but before I could, he crashed.”
Marcus’s tone was calm, but only he knew the despair that had swallowed him the day he saw Max lying in a pool of his own blood. He’d been there when his sister and brother-in-law died too, and only Max survived-barely, drenched in red.
As Gwyneth listened, she felt herself swept back to that grim moment, a chill creeping through her chest.
“And after?” she managed, her hand trembling.
“After surgery, he seemed to forget everything-even his parents’ deaths. So I lied to him. Told him his mom and dad moved far away, that they didn’t really care for him. He never missed them, never mourned-just carried a quiet resentment instead.”
Marcus didn’t regret rewriting Max’s memories. Better a little anger than the agony of loss and guilt. Some memories were too cruel to keep.
Gwyneth couldn’t quite describe how she felt-just an aching sympathy for Max.
“So, how did you two run into each other?” Marcus asked, a little surprised.
“We crashed-my aunt rear-ended your nephew’s car,” Leonie piped up, unable to hold back any longer after listening in for so long.
“And, by the way, your nephew’s got a thing for my aunt. You’d better tell him to keep his distance.”
Anyone could see that Connor’s feelings for Gwyneth were anything but brotherly.
“You’re getting married-Max won’t do anything,” Marcus said bluntly. He knew Leonie was Hawthorne’s niece and had no qualms about answering for Connor.
“Max probably doesn’t even remember me,” Gwyneth said quietly. “He always treated me like a little sister back then.”
She had no intention of letting old misunderstandings rob her of the only brotherly bond she had left with Max.
Marcus offered a faint smile. “Don’t worry. He’s not the same boy anymore. These days, he’s a real ladies’ man. New girlfriend every three months-he won’t be hung up on you for long.”
“Who says I go through girlfriends every three months? Uncle, keep this up and I’ll post your number online for blind dates,” Connor shot back as he slid into the seat next to Marcus, right across from Gwyneth.
He knew about Gwyneth and Hawthorne. At first, he’d refused to accept it, but now he’d come to terms. He didn’t remember much, but even if he and Gwyneth couldn’t be a couple, being like siblings wasn’t so bad.
Gwyneth hoped Max could go back to the way he was. She could never see him as more than a brother-just like she did with Chris.
Connor met Gwyneth’s gaze, conflicted. He couldn’t recall their past, and the thought of being like siblings unsettled him. A part of him still wanted her to himself.
Marcus just glanced at Connor-no reprimand, no reaction.
Connor stuck a cigarette between his lips, staring at Gwyneth. “Come on, tell me about us as kids.”
Gwyneth hesitated. Marcus, for his part, had no desire to revisit the past. All these years, he’d never dated anyone-and only he knew why.
“Max, you should really ask Mr. Green about all that,” Marcus replied evenly. She didn’t know which parts Marcus had rewritten in Max’s memories; one wrong word from her and who knew what kind of trouble she might stir up.
Marcus took a sip of coffee. “You lost a game to Gwyn, but overall you were good to her. We kind of hoped you two would end up together, but honestly, you always just saw Gwyn as a kid sister.”
Connor absorbed the gist of it. Meanwhile, Leonie clung to Gwyneth protectively.
“What, am I invisible here? My aunt is married-married!” she declared, determined to keep her uncle’s world in order.
Connor’s fascination with Gwyneth was gone now. People only find others mysterious and alluring when there’s so much they don’t know. Get too close, and the magic’s gone-something else takes its place.
“Relax,” someone said with a smile. “No one’s trying to steal your uncle’s bride.”