Wyatt Hawthorne came to pick her up himself.
Inside the car, the man's handsome face was dark, his mood unreadable.
Faye Vaughn sat in the passenger seat, her slender fingers anxiously picking at the seatbelt.
"What was so important that you had to sneak out of the hospital in the middle of the night?"
The man's voice was cold.
Faye Vaughn lightly bit the corner of her lip and looked up at him, her doe-like eyes flashing with a stubborn light.
"You're getting married. Why do you care what I do?"
Her voice was soft, but clear.
With his hands on the steering wheel, Wyatt Hawthorne turned to glance at her.
The young woman was biting her lip, her gaze fragile and broken. She was clearly frightened, yet she was also incredibly stubborn, meeting his gaze head-on.
"Once you and that Eldest Miss Windsor get engaged, I'll leave,"
Faye Vaughn said quietly but firmly.
Wyatt Hawthorne let out a low, derisive laugh. "All for this? You went to my second brother's law firm on purpose?"
'She really is young, using such childish tricks to get a rise out of me.'
Faye Vaughn remained silent.
'Better to attack than to explain.'
'I've been obedient for so long. It's time I grew some thorns.'
"Speak."
Wyatt Hawthorne didn't indulge her, freeing a hand to grip her delicate chin.
Faye Vaughn grunted sullenly. "If you say so."
Her tone was clearly sulky.
"I'll let this slide today."
Wyatt Hawthorne's words sounded indulgent, but they carried an unmistakable warning. "Don't let there be a next time."
Faye Vaughn turned her face away.
She didn't respond.
In the rearview mirror, Wyatt Hawthorne saw her pouting profile.
He raised an eyebrow.
'Within reasonable limits, I can allow her to be jealous.'
...
Back in the VIP suite at the hospital, Wyatt Hawthorne held Faye Vaughn as they took a bath together.
He clearly hadn't taken her talk of leaving seriously.
"We're in the hospital..."
He swallowed her soft, protesting mumbles.
When Wyatt Hawthorne was aroused, he never listened to reason.
Water from the bathtub splashed all over the floor, leaving Faye Vaughn utterly limp.
In her anger, she bit his shoulder. Wyatt Hawthorne grunted, his voice hoarse, "One bite means one more time."
Frightened, Faye Vaughn immediately released him.
Pleased by her reaction, Wyatt Hawthorne gripped her chin and kissed her.
By dawn, Faye Vaughn's head finally hit the pillow.
Exhausted and drowsy, she squinted to check the favorability value above Wyatt Hawthorne's head.
32%.
'It went up.'
'This is the first time his favorability has gone up after I acted out and was disobedient.'
'Looks like it's time for a change in strategy.'
...
Faye Vaughn stayed in the hospital for three days before returning to the Hawthorne villa.
In the enormous mansion, only Third Young Master Hawthorne, Finn Hawthorne, was home.
He seemed to have been deliberately waiting for her in the living room.
"Ready to get the hell out?"
A malicious sneer appeared on Finn Hawthorne's boyishly handsome face.
Faye Vaughn ignored him.
She went back to her room upstairs to pack her things.
She had been with Wyatt Hawthorne for so long that her walk-in closet was full of luxury bags and clothing.
'They could sell for a lot of money.'
"What are you doing? Stealing from my family?"
Faye Vaughn came downstairs carrying a large bag of designer purses. Finn Hawthorne blocked her path, commanding in a nasty tone, "Open the bag. I need to inspect it."
Faye Vaughn's pale, delicate face flushed red as she said angrily, "Go ahead and check! I didn't steal anything from the Hawthorne Family. Your eldest brother gave me all of this!"
Finn Hawthorne glanced into the large bag and frowned. "Where are you going with so many purses?"
"To a luxury consignment shop. To sell them."
Finn Hawthorne was stunned.
"Are you satisfied now!"
Faye Vaughn snatched the bag back, tears welling in her eyes. But she bit her lip, her cheeks puffed in anger, refusing to cry.
Finn Hawthorne looked momentarily dazed and mumbled, "My eldest brother is really getting rid of you?"
Faye Vaughn didn't answer him, simply dragging the bag toward the door.
She drove to the luxury consignment shop.
She wasn't just putting on a show.
Even at second-hand prices, these bags could sell for over a million.
'I'll probably be living in this world for a while, so the more cash I have on hand, the better.'
'Besides, if Wyatt Hawthorne really gets engaged, I'll have to make other plans.'
After selling the bags and with a large sum of money now in her account, Faye Vaughn went to a nearby coffee shop, ready to reward herself with afternoon tea.
As she passed a small alley, her steps suddenly halted.
In the alley, several people were fighting.
To be precise, five or six young thugs were beating up a teenage boy.
The boy was covered in injuries, the corner of his mouth bruised. He pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Still want to fight? Fine. Then let's die together."
The boy's gaze was sinister as he swung a brick at one of the thugs' heads.
Two fists are no match for four hands, but he fought like he had nothing to lose.
He didn't care about exposing his weak spots, letting the fists rain down on him and using it as an opportunity to quickly counter-attack.
After taking a few hits from the brick, the thugs got scared. They cursed as they left, "You gutter vermin, don't let us see you again! We'll beat you every time we see you!"
The thugs scattered.
Only then did the boy slowly bend over, clutching the stomach that had been brutally kicked again and again.
Hunching his thin frame over, he slowly walked out of the alley.
Faye Vaughn was standing right at the alley's entrance. She called out, "Fourth Young Master."
The boy's head snapped up, and he glared at her fiercely. "Don't call me Fourth Young Master!"
This was the fourth son of the Hawthorne Family.
Liam Linden, who took his mother's surname.
He was born to Mr. Hawthorne and a woman from the slums' red-light district.
Because of this affair, Mrs. Hawthorne had daily, hysterical breakdowns and fights with Mr. Hawthorne.
She felt Mr. Hawthorne was filthy. The thought of him with that slum woman who had slept with countless men, of their bodies moving in and out of each other, made her lose control and go mad.
When the Hawthorne family's third son, Finn Hawthorne, was seven years old, Mrs. Hawthorne leaped from the top floor of the Hawthorne Group building.
Before she died, she wrote a suicide note in blood.
—"I hate them! I hate them to death!"
At that time, the eldest, Wyatt Hawthorne, was already sixteen and had begun to gradually take over the Hawthorne Group.
He was a business prodigy and quickly stripped his father of his real power.
At the same time, he put out the word that anyone who dared to be kind to Liam Linden and his mother would be making an enemy of the Hawthorne Group.
For all these years, Liam Linden and his mother have lived in the slums.
To survive, his mother, Joanna Linden, married an abusive alcoholic who worked as a warehouse guard at a construction site.
You could say that for the past seventeen years, Liam Linden has been living in a hell on earth.
Enduring hunger, brutal beatings, and constant ridicule.
"Get lost."
Liam Linden's tone was hostile as he stared coldly at Faye Vaughn.
"You're hurt."
Faye Vaughn pointed to his temple, which was bleeding.
The boy narrowed his eyes in disgust. "Are you going to play the saint again?"
Faye Vaughn didn't argue, instead taking a wad of cash from her wallet. "Go to the hospital and get checked out. It'll be bad if you have internal injuries."
The boy let out a cold scoff. "Put away your phony kindness. You'll only get people hurt, yourself included."
He detested everyone in the Hawthorne Family.
Including Faye Vaughn.
In the beginning, Faye Vaughn had tried to secretly help Liam Linden and his mother.
Back then, Liam Linden was only fourteen and was very grateful for her kindness. His favorability value had once reached 50%.
But soon, Wyatt Hawthorne discovered what she was doing in secret.
Wyatt Hawthorne flew into a rage, gave her a harsh scolding, and then gave her the cold shoulder for an entire month.
At the same time, he had his people do something.
Liam Linden's stepfather lost his job for no apparent reason.
That alcoholic stepfather was naturally cruel, a compulsive gambler, and violent.
After losing his job, he would take out his anger by beating Liam Linden and his mother. Afterward, he would drag the bruised and battered Joanna Linden out to sell her body for money.
Liam Linden was smart. Once he pieced it all together, he knew this was the consequence of accepting Faye Vaughn's help.
From that moment on, the favorability value above his head has remained at a negative number: -90%.