Chapter 666
“Nothing, really.”
Shifting uneasily in his arms, Gwyneth pretended to check the time on her phone.
“If I don’t get up now, I’ll be late for work. I still have a good two weeks left to make myself useful…”
Hawthorne knew exactly what she was thinking. Once she made up her mind, no one could talk her out of it. Neither of them had taken any precautions. Once their little one arrived, going back to work would be out of the question.
It wasn’t that Hawthorne was chauvinistic-he just felt Gwyneth wasn’t cut out for the cutthroat corporate world.
Otherwise, Yvette wouldn’t have managed to scheme against her more than once. She was his wife, and he couldn’t stand to see anyone push her around.
If it weren’t for the old friendship between the Everhart family and Yvette’s grandfather, Yvette would have been fired long ago—or even blacklisted in the entire industry, not just transferred out of the company.
Even after the transfer, the office politics and subtle discrimination followed Yvette wherever she went. There was no hope of making a comeback.
Yvette was shrewd enough to know that crossing Hawthorne meant she could never work anywhere else; nobody would dare hire her.
Her career was over for good.
Hawthorne watched as Gwyneth sat at her vanity, fixing her hair and makeup. In the morning sunlight, her skin seemed almost luminous.
He couldn’t help but feel lucky that he’d found her before anyone else realized just how beautiful she was. A few years from now, he doubted it would have been so easy.
Gwyneth tied her hair back in a ponytail and slipped into her work clothes, only to notice Hawthorne watching her intently. She gave him a questioning look.
“What are you staring at?”
Hawthorne answered in his usual, calm tone. “You look beautiful.”
A faint blush colored Gwyneth’s cheeks. With a magician’s flair, she produced a small, elegant box from behind her back and handed it to him.
“What’s this?”
A gift, from her?
“You’re always the one giving me things. I figured it was time to return the favor. This is for you.”
Hawthorne opened the box in front of her. Inside was an exquisitely carved seal.
It was made from genuine jade, his name etched at the base.
“I never know what to get you-you seem to have everything. So I made this myself. I hope you don’t mind.”
Gwyneth took out a small inkpad, blew gently on the bottom of the seal, and pressed it onto a sheet of paper. Instantly, his name appeared in elegant, ancient script.
Gwyneth didn’t have many hobbies or bad habits. In her spare time, she liked to paint and carve.
Hawthorne picked up the paper, studying her handiwork over and over.
“Can you restore artwork and antiques too?”
Gwyneth’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you know?”
Hawthorne replied, “The Everhart estate owns more businesses in art restoration
and heritage preservation than anything else.”
Some people were simply gifted by fate. Gwyneth’s skills would take a master craftsman forty years to acquire, and here she was, barely in her twenties, already this talented.
Considering her background, it hardly seemed fair-sometimes fortune poured all its blessings onto one person, and sometimes one person bore all the world’s misfortunes.
Gwyneth was delighted to discover they shared a common interest. She was fascinated by classical art and culture, often losing herself in old manuscripts and restoration techniques.
It set her apart from most people her age, and as a result, she didn’t have many friends.
Hawthorne tucked the seal away, along with the stamped paper bearing his name.
“So, when can you take me to see your restoration work?”
At the mention of art restoration, Gwyneth’s whole face lit up.
Hawthorne affectionately tapped her nose.