Chapter 558

Hawthorne brought her a glass of milk. Gwyneth set her phone aside, eyes still wary.

"Relax, I'm not here to gloat," he said, voice steady but not unkind. "If you miss home so much, why don't you just go back?"

For someone who seemed so much more mature than Leonie, Gwyneth was strangely hesitant when it came to her family.

She looked away, blinking hard, like a little girl whose secret had just been discovered. Her eyes reddened almost instantly.

"No one ever told you it's rude to eavesdrop?" she snapped, mustering as much indignation as she could. She sounded more flustered than angry, like a kitten trying to bare its claws-full of bravado, but harmless in the end.

The embarrassment quickly outweighed her irritation. The words were barely out of her mouth before she regretted them.

If it hadn't been for Hawthorne yesterday, she'd probably have ended up alone with Bill Crawford-

"I'm sorry," Gwyneth blurted out, her voice softer now. "I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. And... thank you. For yesterday."

She watched as Hawthorne stepped inside, set the glass of milk down, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.

Wasn't someone like Hawthorne supposed to be above these small acts of kindness? Yet here he was, bringing her milk, and she found herself oddly touched by it.

Was it too late to thank him properly now?

low and rich-smooth as aged wine. Gwyneth's apology was sincere, but she hadn't expected him to

after that, not pressing

stood there, fiddling with the hem of her sweater, eyes darting away. She looked every bit

intention-until he gently tucked a stray lock

just barely grazing the tip of her ear, sending

a beat of

toward a safer

was still reeling from that accidental touch,

he'd

his

fierce, like someone who could tear

Leonie the truth, and

but nothing ever happened between us.

it left her uneasy. After Hawthorne showed up, she had no

was taken in

bluntly. "Not enough to put him behind bars for good,

a couple of

Maybe that'll teach him

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