The Perfect Wife's Perfect Revenge novel Chapter 741

Her plan had been to finalize the divorce with Hawthorne privately right after the big wedding, but if she was expected to have a child, how could she possibly explain that to her family?

Hawthorne gave Gwyneth a long, searching look, sensing something was wrong. Under the table, he reached for her hand and held it tight.

She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. A chill washed over her, as if she'd been plunged into an icy cavern, and her thoughts scattered in panic.

Looking at Gwyneth with deep affection, Hawthorne addressed the Langford family elders. “I have no objections. We don’t need to wait for a second child. The first one can take the Langford name.”

He reasoned that the Everhart family still had Kirin, so his own lineage wasn't an immediate concern. If he and Gwyneth had one child, they could have a second and a third. What did it matter if the first one carried the Langford name? Ultimately, the Everhart family was still getting the better end of the deal, and a child of his and Gwyneth’s bearing the Langford name was no loss to him at all. Of course, with his own capabilities, he wasn’t trying to covet the Langford family's assets; he could more than afford to raise his own children.

Hawthorne’s open-mindedness delighted Thorpe and all the family elders, but no one noticed the apprehension clouding Victoria’s face.

Celia Langford shot Gwyneth a peculiar glance.

Someone then broke the mood with a playful jab. “Well, Chris, looks like you’ve got some competition now. You’d better get married and have kids as soon as you come of age, or your position might not be so secure.”

After a few rounds of drinks, Hawthorne didn't mention returning to Greenvale, but Gwyneth knew he would have to leave soon. Her wine glass sat untouched on the table, her mind elsewhere.

Hawthorne noticed she wasn't as emotionally volatile as the day before, and the knot of tension in his chest loosened slightly.

On the drive back, Gwyneth was silent. She had made three grave mistakes. First, impulsively agreeing to be with Hawthorne. Second, bringing him home for a marriage proposal less than three months into their relationship. Third, proceeding with the wedding after discovering his affair instead of filing for divorce. She had plunged deeper into a mess of her own making.

She’d thought of the marriage as a buffer to soften the blow for her family, but it had become a slow-acting poison, eating away at her soul and leaving her trapped. Now, after the wedding, she was expected to produce a son for the Langford family. If she divorced Hawthorne after the child was born, the boy would be fatherless, and she would be a single mother—a disgrace that would surely tarnish the family’s name.