Edith stared nkly at the spread on the table. She really was hungry, but she wasn’t quite ready to dig in-especially not while sitting down to dinner with the entire Hawksley family.

Justin shot a sideways nce at her, then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, picked up his fork and ced a piece of zed pork onto her te.

“Try this first,” he said. “Our chef’s especially good at it.”

Edith had always had a sweet tooth, especially for dishes like this-zed pork was something of a Northcrest specialty.

Seeing her still a little uneasy, Sarah stood and gently added a piece of steamed white fish to Edith’s te. “If you don’t care for pork, have some fish. If neither of those appeal to you, that’s perfectly fine too.”

The Hawksleys seemed almost too considerate, and Edith found herself struggling to adjust.

She bit her lip and set her fork aside, then said, with deliberate care, “Mr. Hawksley, Mrs. Hawksley, what I’m trying to say is… there’s a good chance I can’t have children.”

She hadn’t had any in-depth medical tests, but after years of trying with Beckett and no results, there was little room for doubt.

After a brief, tense silence, the mood at the table rxed again.

Justin smiled, pressing his lips together for a moment. “It’s all right. I’m marrying a woman, not a baby-making machine.”

Having lived with the Vance family for so long, Edith almost thought she’d misheard. Or maybe-did the Hawksleys have other children she didn’t know about?

She racked her brain. Justin was definitely an only child. She’d never heard of any other Hawksley kids.

12:24

Maybe there was a secret sibling somewhere?

Her mind drifted through a jumble of thoughts, only returning to the present when Justin’s hand covered hers. The warmth of his palm brought her back down to earth.

Benedict and Sarah’s faces remained calm and genuine,pletely at ease with her confession.

“Justin’s right,” Sarah said kindly. “He’s marrying a partner for life, not a childbearing vessel. And it’s not like we’re royalty with some throne to inherit-why insist on children?”

As soon as Sarah finished, Benedict chimed in, “And you arrived just in time today. Once we finish dinner, we can talk through some wedding details. Justin’s got most of it mapped out already, but it’s your day too. You should love every bit of it, right?”

The contrast between the Vances and the Hawksleys couldn’t have been clearer. The phrase “night and day” shed through Edith’s mind.

People really could be this different.

A swirl of anxiety and gratitude welled up inside her; she felt her eyes

start to sting.

Noticing her tension, Benedict and Sarah kept piling food onto her te-until Justin finally said, “If you keep this up, Edith’s te will be overflowing.”

Edith nced down at the mountain of fish and pork in front of her, barely able to contain augh at the sight.

Justin squeezed her hand a little tighter. “You look beautiful when you smile. You should do it more often.”

Sarah blinked at her, smiling. “Yes, you should. You used tough all the time when you were little. What happened? You’re even more beautiful when you smile.”

After dinner, Benedict and Sarah quietly excused themselves, as if by previous arrangement, leaving Justin and Edith alone in the dining room.

12:24

With no one speaking, even their breathing seemed unusually loud.

12:24