The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge

It was only later that Gwyneth learned how expensive these particular roses were —and that they actually changed color. She made a mental note, a little amazed; she'd never realized roses could do that.

The second time she saw such a rose, it was a gift from Hawthorne.

"Why hurry home if you have plans to go out tonight?" Gwyneth asked, hugging the bouquet tightly, unable to hide her delight at the flowers-even if her question was a silly one.

"I already told you," Hawthorne replied, his eyes warm with affection. "I wanted to have dinner with my wife."

Gwyneth, worried about delaying his evening, had asked the staff to serve dinner promptly at five.

Fortunately, the household staff were quick to pick up on things; seeing their employer return, they immediately began preparing the meal.

When five dishes and a soup were brought to the table, Hawthorne frowned slightly. "That's all?"

Gwyneth glanced at him, then at the nervous staff. "I told them not to prepare more than six dishes from now on. There's just the two of us-we can't possibly eat more. It's such a waste to have the table overflowing every night."

Hawthorne looked at her, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "You're right. We'll do as you say from now on."

Only then did the staff relax.

Hawthorne chatted over dinner, sharing small stories and laughter. Partway through the meal, a maid came in carrying a

"We took it to the vet for a full checkup-nothing

ridiculous dog, Hawthorne thought privately. But seeing how much Gwyneth liked it, he kept his opinions to

be lonely with him around," Gwyneth added quickly, as if afraid he'd change his

healthy, didn't

back into his suit

to buy some health supplements and brought his assistant,

had already driven to her family's old manor after Hawthorne left. She'd expected him to arrive soon after, but night was nearly falling by the time she saw his car pull up, with Hans trailing behind,

two boxes of supplements. Yvette glanced at

was bad

romance or

show up with just two boxes for such an important occasion? Even if today was only meant to discuss their possible marriage

grandfather, this was

embarrassingly meager-like he was

on

to talk about

composure, putting on a bright smile as she walked