Awakening the Hawthorne Name

Right.

It was all my fault for being unreasonable. I guess I should have just thrown them a wedding the moment I caught them.

Even when I found those two passes, I had foolishly held on to hope.

That was the last straw.

The exhaustion from all these years—emotional and physical—suddenly washed over me.

Cole looked at me, his face a mask of impatience.

I met his gaze and said calmly, "No, you're overthinking it."

Cole clearly hadn't expected me to remain so calm. For a split second, an unmistakable look of panic flashed across his face.

"Claire... you're really not angry?"

I chuckled softly. "What's there to be angry about? Go to the guest room. I need to sleep. Lily will be up soon, and I need to be ready for her."

Before he could answer, I switched off the light and climbed into bed.

Cole stood there for a moment, a scowl twisting his features, then stormed out of the bedroom.

I didn't understand.

Didn't he always hate it when I made a scene?

Now that I wasn't, even though I had every right to—why was he still angry?

The next morning, Cole had breakfast ready. The table was filled with my favorites.

"Claire, you're up. I heard those postpartum nutritional meals are pretty bland, so I got you your favorite bagels."

So he had known all along that I wasn't eating well.

He knew I hated those bland meals.

I remembered scrolling through Sienna's old social media posts and finding out that Cole knew all of her preferences by heart.

Sienna didn't like eating out, so Cole learned to cook for her—just to win a word of praise.

I had given him a daughter, and this was the treatment I got.

It hit me then: I'd never really been loved at all. Maybe I didn't even know what love was supposed to feel like.

I remembered a time when he'd looked at me like I was the only person in the world. That man was long gone.

Cole took out his phone and showed me a booking confirmation.

"Didn't you say you wanted to go for a drive along the coast? I've finally got some free time, and I know you've been down lately. I planned the whole thing for us."

I almost laughed out loud.

I swallowed my anger and forced a smile. "No, I don't have time. Lily is still too little."

"We can hire a nanny to look after her."

I looked out the window, watching the autumn leaves drift to the ground.

"Cole, the most beautiful season in Connecticut has already passed."

He had already taken the person he loved to see it.

I didn't say the second half of that thought out loud.

Cole hesitated, then stammered, "Oh... right... I'm sorry, I forgot..."

No.

He hadn't forgotten.

He remembered perfectly.