Alice York frowned. "I know, but my Third Uncle will find out if he sees us together. There’s no hiding it from him."
Felix Hawthorne suddenly looked at Alice. "Are you serious about him?"
’Why is he suddenly asking this?’
Alice lowered her gaze. "That’s my personal business."
Felix Hawthorne sighed, a lancholy expression on his face. "Wyatt Sterling... he’s too calculating. He’s not right for you."
"I already told you, that’s my personal business," Alice repeated firmly.
"Alright, I won’t interfere. But in the future, what if..." He stopped himself, realizing so things were better left unsaid and would be difficult to explain. He changed the subject. "Let him find out, then. It’s fine."
Alice nodded.
"Good. Now, let’s go eat." Having settled things, Felix Hawthorne was in high spirits. He turned to Alice and offered his hand. "The surrounding greenery was just watered, so the cobblestones are wet and slippery. You can take my wrist to avoid slipping."
Alice hesitated for a mont but didn’t take his hand. "Today is a wonderful day for your family reunion. It wouldn’t be appropriate for an outsider like to be there."
"It is."
Felix Hawthorne said.
Alice froze.
’It’s a family reunion. Emotions are bound to run high. An outsider like her would just be out of place, and she’d feel uncomfortable herself.’
"But I..."
Seeing her dilemma, Felix Hawthorne finally relented. "Then do as you wish."
’He’s surprisingly easygoing,’ Alice thought.
「In the front yard.」
A black sedan pulled up.
Felix Hawthorne said to Alice, "You can take this car to leave."
"Okay, thank you."
Alice thanked him and turned to get in the car.
She had been with Felix Hawthorne the entire ti since she’d agreed to stay. She hadn’t seen Finn Hawthorne, who was probably keeping his recently returned sister company.
Before getting in the car, she asked Felix Hawthorne to let his younger brother know she had left, so the boy wouldn’t worry.
’He seems genuinely nice to .’
’Putting myself in his shoes, I can’t be too cold to him.’
Felix Hawthorne agreed. "I’ll tell Finn."
Alice felt relieved. After getting into the car, she gave the driver an address.
It was the address Wyatt Sterling had given her when she’d used Felix Hawthorne’s phone to call him. She would go there as soon as she left the Hawthorne estate.
The driver acknowledged it but didn’t start the car.
Alice was a little puzzled. Just then, a knock ca from the window.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK—
Alice turned her head and saw Felix Hawthorne. Her heart began to pound. ’He hasn’t changed his mind about letting go, has he?!’
She lowered the car window apprehensively. "Eldest Young Master Hawthorne."
Felix Hawthorne stood outside the car door, his tall fra blocking the light from a Roman pillar. He looked down at her. "That form of address... it sounds too formal."
Alice blinked in confusion.
Felix Hawthorne said, "You might feel it’s improper to call by my given na."
Alice: ?
Felix Hawthorne leaned down slightly. "Instead, why don’t you just call ’brother’? You and Finn are close, after all. He calls his brother, so it would be the sa for you."
"..."
Alice’s lips twitched. "Call you... ’brother’?"
Felix Hawthorne’s expression softened. "It sounds quite nice."
???
’This... this is getting a little surreal.’
’Calling him by his na would be improper, but calling him ’brother’ isn’t? If anything, that’s way more forward!’
"Also," he paused, his eyes behind his glasses fixed on her, "you have a beautiful nose."
After speaking, he slowly straightened up, took half a step back, and waved to her. "See you tomorrow, Alice."
Alice was slow to react. The window was already rolling up and the car was pulling out of the Hawthorne estate’s main gate before she snapped out of her daze.
She instinctively reached for her phone, but it wasn’t there.
’Right, I left it at the hospital.’
She then raised a hand to touch her own nose. "’Beautiful??’"
She traced its shape carefully. It had a slight dorsal hump, but there was nothing special about it... except that it looked a bit like theirs.
Wait...
’It looks a bit like theirs!’
Alice thought about Felix Hawthorne asking her to call him ’brother,’ and the change in their attitude...
No, no, no!
’That’s completely impossible!’
She shook her head.
’The Hawthornes’ long-lost daughter has already been found. Besides, I have my own parents. I have absolutely no connection to the Hawthorne Family. I shouldn’t let my imagination run wild.’
...
After watching Alice’s car drive away, Felix Hawthorne stood in place for a long ti.
’Deep down, he was already certain, wasn’t he?’
’He and Finn had both inherited their father’s nose. It was no exaggeration to say they looked like they’d been cast from the sa mold.’
’At first, he hadn’t noticed how similar Alice’s nose was to theirs.’
’But just now, up close, he realized he could see a shadow of his father in her features.’
’It couldn’t be such a coincidence.’
’Her background and her appearance—it absolutely couldn’t be such a coincidence.’
’It was just that sample... After getting it, he hadn’t imdiately sent it for testing.’
’Too many eyes were on the Hawthorne Family. Tess Thompson had just been brought back, and his most trusted confidant, Chase Jennings, was in Rhovan investigating Alice York’s background. Without soone completely trustworthy to oversee the process, he was worried sothing might go wrong.’
’It wasn’t until that afternoon, when he learned that Finn Hawthorne had brought Alice to the Hawthorne estate, that he suddenly changed his mind. He gave the sample to another trusted subordinate, instructing him in no uncertain terms to watch over it every second and wait for the results.’
Felix Hawthorne glanced at his watch. The results should be ready by now.
Just as he was turning to leave, another car pulled in. Felix Hawthorne stopped and looked back.
The car door opened, and a subordinate holding a manila envelope hurried over.
"Eldest Young Master!"
Felix Hawthorne’s hand, hanging at his side, slowly clenched into a fist. The shadows of the night crept in from beyond the lamplight, shrouding his figure and making his expression impossible to read.
The subordinate respectfully presented the manila envelope with both hands. "Eldest Young Master, I followed your instructions to the letter. I watched over it the entire ti and never left its side for a second. Besides the doctor and myself, absolutely no third party has handled these results."
Felix Hawthorne stared at the manila envelope for a long ti before slowly reaching out to take it.
"Thank you for your hard work," he said.
"It’s my duty." The subordinate stepped aside.
The manila envelope had so weight to it. The test results weren’t just a single sheet; he had requested the most comprehensive analysis, not just a few simple lines printed on a page.
Felix Hawthorne eagerly opened the envelope and took out the test report inside.
...
Alice had arrived at the hotel.
Before getting out of the car, she borrowed the driver’s phone and called Wyatt Sterling.
"You’re back?"
Wyatt Sterling’s voice, cool and distant, ca through the phone.
Alice thought to herself, ’It’s a good thing I didn’t stay for dinner. If I’d co back any later, he’d be even more displeased.’
She humd in agreent and asked him, "Which room?"
Wyatt Sterling: "I’ll co down and get you."
"Okay."
Alice’s heart fluttered with delight.
After ending the call, she returned the phone to the driver with a word of thanks and got out. Once in the hotel lobby, she only had to wait a mont before Wyatt Sterling’s figure appeared by the elevators.
She dashed over to him. "Third Uncle."
Wyatt Sterling could see she was in high spirits. Her whole expression was lighter, not as listless as usual. "Did you have a good ti at the Hawthorne estate?"
"It’s not that I had fun, exactly. It’s that I settled sothing that made very happy."
Her face was wreathed in a smile as she spoke, dazzling to behold.
Wyatt Sterling gave her a long, hard look. He remained a perfect gentleman until they were in the elevator. The mont the doors closed, he pulled Alice into his arms.
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