The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge

Still, she understood what it meant to be reserved.

"I don't want this. I want you to stay with me."

Hawthorne gently pulled her hand away and pressed the card into her palm.

"Be good. I have work to do this isn't exactly college break anymore. I'll come see you when I have some free time."

As he handed her the card, he added offhandedly, "There's two million dollars on it. Buy whatever you want."

Patti Yale's knees nearly gave out.

Two million?

Not even the Yale family had ever been so generous with her. A lot of her father's wealth was hidden away in questionable places, and as a politician's daughter, she'd always been wary of wearing fine jewelry-afraid of what people might say. Later, when she went abroad, she tried to show off a little, only to realize that her family's money barely registered among the truly wealthy there.noveldrama

And now Hawthorne handed her two million like it was nothing, telling her to spend as she pleased.

She could hardly contain herself. Even as she struggled to keep her composure, her hand trembled as she clutched the card.

Hawthorne didn't look back at her. As he turned to leave, a smirk played at the corner of his lips, a smile laced with bitter irony.

Patti Yale had actually asked if he'd marry her?

Marry her?

He slid into the car, shoulders shaking with silent laughter-so much so that Hans,

in the driver's seat, was startled.

"Mr. Everhart? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just drive to the office."

Absurd. Completely absurd.

Hawthorne sat there, laughing for a solid ten minutes before he finally got himself under control.

"Mr. Everhart, I just found something

about Miss Yale," Hans finally ventured, having hesitated earlier because Hawthorne had seemed to treat Patti quite well and he wasn't sure if he should say anything.

"Hm?"

A little comic relief first thing in the morning wasn't such a bad thing.

"Before she came back, Miss Yale met with someone. They're apparently still seeing each other."

Hawthorne, sitting in the back seat, slipped a cigarette between his lips and struck a lighter, the flame illuminating his face as he leaned in to light up.

"Go on."

The sharp scent of tobacco quickly filled the car. Hans shifted uncomfortably-this was the first time he'd seen Mr. Everhart smoke in the car.

"She most likely approached you with an agenda."

Hawthorne's expression didn't change, his gaze remaining as cold as ever, but at those words, a dangerous glint flickered in his dark eyes.

"What else?"

"James Mercer, from the Mercer Group, is using Miss Yale's father to bargain with her. If she manages to

steal several of the Everhart Group's proprietary techniques, he's

promised to help her get Darius out."

Ha.

Hawthorne had suspected Patti Yale's intentions from the start. After years of navigating cutthroat boardrooms, he could read her motives from a single look back at the airport.

He'd once wondered what it meant to truly love someone. Now, everything was crystal clear.

With Gwyneth, if he set aside all the bad blood between the Langfords and the Everharts—just looking at her as herself he knew he was in love.

He just wanted to give her the best of everything. Seeing her made him happy. He used to think he didn't know how to win a woman's heart, but these days, whatever he saw, he'd wonder if Gwyneth might like it if he should get it for her. He wanted to see that expression on her face, the one where she could obviously buy anything herself, but still looked genuinely surprised when receiving a gift from him.

Patti Yale's eyes, on the other hand, were clouded-tainted by the world, full of calculation. Hawthorne saw right through her.

"Understood."