Chapter 1017 - 1009: The Real and Fake Tiana (Part 1)

Chapter 1017: Chapter 1009: The Real and Fake Tiana (Part 1)

"Thank you."

This time, he said thank you.

And Tiana Thorne was already asleep.

Linden Hawthorne gazed at her stunningly beautiful, alluring face. His Adam’s apple rose and fell once, then he walked to her side, close enough to almost touch.

He had always wondered what his fiancée would look like.

Would she be like his eldest brother, cool, elegant and stern, or like his second brother, wickedly handsome, or like Aunt Jarvis, whose beauty was utterly unique.

Or perhaps like Uncle Fu, wickedly beautiful yet austere.

He thought and thought, anticipated and waited, until at last his little fiancée came into the world.

It was just a pity he never had the chance to see her when she was still a soft, sweet little thing.

Later, he saw her in the photos on Aunt Jarvis’s phone.

So this was how his little fiancée had grown up—she wasn’t anyone’s replica, she was one of a kind.

That feeling had stretched all the way to the present.

His breathing sank; the corners of his eyes felt dry and sore. He closed them briefly, trying to ease the heavy ache in his chest.

He crouched down, leaned close to her ear, and with all the tenderness of a lifetime of waiting said, "I’m sorry, Poppy. I came too late."

And so he missed his chance.

If he’d appeared a little earlier, perhaps she would still be his Poppy, his fiancée.

After that, he stood up and put some distance between them.

He forced himself to rein in the obsession he felt for her, sat down opposite her, and waited for her sleepwalking to start.

For any patient with sleepwalking, taking a sleeping pill would trigger their symptoms and make it even worse than their usual episodes.

He waited a long time.

An hour passed. Vanessa Hawthorne had already fallen asleep in the lounge, and yet Tiana Thorne showed no reaction at all.

She slept very peacefully, as if she were having a lovely dream.

Right now, Linden Hawthorne’s mood grew heavier and heavier.

This was nothing like what he’d expected.

How could a severe sleepwalking patient, after taking a sleeping pill and falling asleep, show no reaction at all?

Worried he might have taken the wrong medication, he went back to the desk. It was indeed a sleeping pill, and he carefully recalled the dosage and ingredients.

Not too much, not too little—just right.

Logically speaking, what was happening now was impossible.

Thinking of this, he returned to the sofa, standing in front of her so that his tall, broad shadow cast over her.

His handsome brows drew together slightly.

He could be very sure that Poppy did not have sleepwalking.

If she didn’t, then why say she had stabbed Julian Ford while sleepwalking?

It made no sense at all.

Staring at her delicate, charming face, he couldn’t help thinking of a highly implausible explanation.

That she had deliberately stabbed Julian Ford but, not wanting to disappoint everyone, had claimed it was sleepwalking.

No sooner had the thought appeared than he dismissed it.

Because if that were true, she would never have come to him for treatment.

He drew a deep breath and thought of another possibility.

The one who hurt Julian Ford was actually someone else, and Poppy had simply taken the fall.

Who could that be?

Just then, while he was lost in thought, Tiana Thorne woke up.

She stared at the ceiling; it was the same color she’d seen before falling asleep. The chandelier in the room was beautiful, like scattered diamonds.

She rubbed her brow. It ached a little, and her body still felt somewhat dizzy.

"You’re awake."

Tiana Thorne turned her head to him. "Mm. Mr. Hawthorne, is my condition very serious?"

She looked steadily into his stone-bright eyes, waiting for his answer.

"Are you sure you actually have sleepwalking?"

Hearing this, Tiana Thorne understood that he’d already figured out her condition. She answered, "I’m not sure."

Linden Hawthorne said with absolute certainty, "Julian Ford wasn’t hurt by you."

She nodded again, not hiding anything from him.

"I didn’t hurt my second brother."

Linden Hawthorne wasn’t surprised; from beginning to end he’d trusted his own judgment. He sat down opposite her, his voice smooth as jade. "Is there something you need my help with?"

As expected.

Linden Hawthorne was clever; nothing she did could escape his eyes.

She nodded. "Mm. I’ve thought this over and over. Maybe you’re the only one who can help me."

Linden Hawthorne didn’t refuse. "Go ahead."

Tiana Thorne said, "Help me secretly investigate someone."

"Who?"

Tiana Thorne lowered her voice, the light in her fox-like eyes taking on a hint of danger. "My foster father’s biological daughter, Georgia Thorne."

She toyed with her fingers, the light in her eyes gradually turning cold and sharp.

She couldn’t help feeling that this matter was inextricably linked to her.

Tiana Thorne withdrew that icy expression, lifted her gaze to him, and spoke sincerely. "Your mother is the chief of police. If you investigate her in secret, you’ll have more methods than we do. I don’t want to startle the snake."

"You think the one who hurt my second brother is Georgia Thorne?"

Tiana Thorne nodded again. "I suspect her, but I’m not sure. It needs further verification."

"I can help you."

Hearing this, Tiana Thorne let out a breath of relief. With his help, if Georgia Thorne really was involved, she would have nowhere to hide.

"I also hope you can tell your sister the truth about this."

Weighing what mattered more, Vanessa Hawthorne would understand. She would never do something wrong on purpose; after all, the one who was hurt was their second brother, the man she held in her heart yet had never dared face.

Linden Hawthorne was a little surprised; the gentle light in his eyes shifted. "You seem to like my sister a lot."

Tiana Thorne, for once, showed a faint smile. She lifted the corners of her lips and asked, "Mr. Hawthorne, do you believe in fate from past lives and this one?"

Listening to her, Linden Hawthorne found the idea somewhat unfamiliar. For someone devoted to medical research like him, it was indeed hard to accept.

Tiana Thorne didn’t try to convince him. It was enough that she herself knew he had been her benefactor in a past life.

Her lips moved slightly, her voice gentle. "I don’t know how to put it, but I have this feeling that Vanessa Hawthorne and I must have known each other in a previous life. I don’t want her to have any prejudice against me."

Linden Hawthorne nodded. "Mm."

Tiana Thorne smiled, revealing two charming dimples, sweet as can be.

Linden Hawthorne looked at her and, for a moment, lost himself.

"I should go."

Linden Hawthorne stood up at once, his voice still mild. "I’ll see you out."

Tiana Thorne waved her hand. "No need. Jesse Rivers is waiting for me outside."

Linden Hawthorne nodded, hiding the flicker of disappointment in his eyes. "All right."

She didn’t dare look at him any longer, afraid that if she slipped for even a second, she’d blurt out something shocking about their past life. "I’ll go now, Mr. Hawthorne. Thank you for today. I’ll leave the rest to you."

"If you don’t mind, you can call me by my name."

Even if they no longer had a marriage contract, he didn’t want them to interact so formally.

Tiana Thorne nodded. "Mm."

When she left, she glanced in at Vanessa Hawthorne in the lounge next door, and a deep, quiet sense of satisfaction welled up in her heart.

Laura, there’s a long future ahead of us.