Chapter 866

Gwyneth shyly and naturally pressed a soft kiss to Hawthorne's cheek.

When he reached out to pull her into an embrace, Gwyneth quickly took a few steps back, keeping her distance.

"Stop messing around."

"It's fine. I'll have plenty of time to hold you and the babies in the future."

Before she could brace herself, Hawthorne scooped her up effortlessly into his arms. The smooth, bridal-style lift mirrored a scene straight out of a romance movie, and he carried her up the stairs without breaking a sweat.

Gwyneth rested her head gently against his chest, her face flushing as she listened to the steady, comforting rhythm of his heartbeat.

Hawthorne looked down at her. If she weren't pregnant, he would have carried her straight to the bedroom and thoroughly shown her how much he missed her.

But she was expecting, so no matter the urge, he had to keep himself in check.

Back in their bedroom, Hawthorne softly kicked the door shut and laid Gwyneth gently on the mattress.

"Hans told me you went to see James. How did it go?"

Hawthorne chuckled and tapped her nose.

"Looks like I should fire Hans. He talks way too much."

Gwyneth panicked a little. "Don't fire him! He probably knew I was worried. I told him

to keep me updated on your whereabouts no matter where you went."

Hawthorne gave Gwyneth a deep, meaningful look, causing her to break eye contact, suddenly feeling guilty.

After a few seconds of silence, Hawthorne couldn't hold back a laugh. "If you want to know my schedule, you don't need to interrogate Hans. Just call me. Or better yet, install a tracking app on my phone. I'll share my location with you 24/7."

Watching him casually tap through his phone and send a location-sharing request to hers, Gwyneth's face flushed crimson. She shook her head furiously.

Stammering, she protested, "N-no, that's not what I meant!"

"You can check on me whenever you want. Or, I can just bring you to the office with me every day, and you can stick by my side."

Gwyneth rejected that idea even harder, shaking her head like a rattle-drum.

Hawthorne gently pinched her nose. "Alright, Mrs. Everhart. Though, I really do need you to swing by the office soon. Those people still haven't figured out who the real Mrs. Everhart is need to parade you through the lobby so everyone knows who the boss's wife is."

Gwyneth was entirely speechless now. She buried her face in the blanket, deeply regretting all the childish things she had done in the past.

Thinking back to how she had acted out of jealousy over Patti—she had actually stormed his office to confront people.

Now, the memory made her want to crawl into a hole and hide. But Hawthorne wasn't about to let her go. He dug her out of the blankets and pulled her tightly against his chest.

"Mrs. Everhart is blushing. Too late to back out now-I've already given the staff a heads-up. I told them to be on their best behavior because the boss's wife is coming for an inspection this week."

Gwyneth immediately popped her head out of his arms and glared at him.

"If you told them that, I'm definitely not going! Do you know what they're going to think of me?"

Hawthorne's deep, suppressed laughter rumbled above her, his broad chest vibrating against hers.

"Why would they laugh at you? They'll just be jealous that I have such a brilliant, stunning wife. Our babies are due in a few months. Let them look at our kids and die of envy.

We have plenty of single guys at the company who swear they'll never

get married: Let's show them what real love tooks like. And soon

enough, everyone will get

celebrate at our baby shower They

should be thanking us."

Gwyneth surrendered, melting shamelessly against his chest and pouting. The couple spent the entire day curled up in their bedroom, entirely wrapped up in each other.

The next morning, Hawthorne tried to coax Gwyneth into visiting the office again, but she stubbornly refused. Seeing she genuinely didn't want to go, he let it drop.

"I'll ask Leonie to come over so you don't get bored."

Gwyneth nodded. "I'll call her myself. You go to work."

As Hawthorne slid into his car and the engine roared to life, a sudden wave of emptiness washed over Gwyneth. The house felt entirely too quiet without him.

She dialed Leonie's number. Leonie picked up immediately and was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of hanging out with Gwyneth.

This time, Leonie boldly informed

her parents about her plans. Because she was finally going to a real home instead of a depressing hospital, Mr. and Mrs. Everhart were delighted and even packed a freshly brewed thermos of nutritious stew for her to bring along.