CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: HE HAD A ROUGH CHILDHOOD

Besides bringing a meal for Florence, Mrs. Hawthorne also brought one for Poppy Hale.

But she didn’t know her son was also here, luckily she brought enough.

Mrs. Hawthorne looked at Declan Hawthorne.

She also wanted to ask, the child is sick, why are you getting involved in this?

But then she saw Declan skillfully dividing the meal with Poppy.

He moved quite a bit of crabmeat into Poppy’s bowl.

And took the broccoli from her bowl.

"I remember you don’t like broccoli."

"I can eat it, Florence likes it, so I eat some too."

Mrs. Hawthorne almost stood up but held herself back.

Has her son finally gotten a clue?

But it seemed they just ate a meal together, Mrs. Hawthorne didn’t see any spark.

She was anxious.

You say they’re eating crab noodles together, why can’t they share one noodle?

Then they’d end up kissing while eating!

Mrs. Hawthorne wished she could be part of that head-pushing squad.

That way, little Florence would be part of their family!

Mrs. Hawthorne cleared her throat.

"Poppy, why didn’t Florence’s father come? I heard from Heather you got a divorce, does that mean the child’s father doesn’t care about Florence?"

She had to find out clearly.

If he’s entirely out of the picture.

Then let Declan take advantage of the situation!

She still remembered, Declan had asked her before if Florence could be her granddaughter.

Sure, absolutely.

She thought about it so much she dreamed about it at night.

Hearing from Iris that Florence was sick and in the hospital, Mrs. Hawthorne felt her heart aching too.

She quickly came to check on her.

Poppy tucked her hair behind her ear, smiling gently.

"I was never married, Florence’s father takes care of her. This ward was paid for by her dad."

Mrs. Hawthorne responded with an "oh."

Looking a bit disappointed.

But then thinking, never married.

If they didn’t even get married, their relationship can’t be good!

Mrs. Hawthorne perked up again.

"To secure a private ward for the child is still responsible, was her dad with you when you gave birth?"

She asked eagerly.

Completely unaware of Declan’s dark expression beside her.

Poppy shook her head gently.

"He didn’t know I was pregnant, we had broken up by then."

Her voice was light, but it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, hitting Declan’s chest each time.

Mrs. Hawthorne clicked her tongue.

"Still, they shouldn’t have left you to give birth alone, that must’ve been so tough! Was pregnancy exhausting?"

"Very exhausting, I almost had miscarriages a few times, so Florence was premature."

Poppy always felt guilty towards Florence.

Thinking that she didn’t give Florence a healthy body.

Talking about these topics, women always have endless words to say.

Mrs. Hawthorne was curious, "You were young then, right? Why did you plan to give birth as soon as you became pregnant?"

"My dad was ill at that time, if it weren’t for having Florence, I probably wouldn’t have made it. I don’t regret having Florence, if I had regrets, it might be about the relationship I had in college."

The more indifferent she was, the worse Declan’s face became.

Mrs. Hawthorne’s face also showed a bit of heartbreak.

So young, having to go through so much, it really wasn’t easy.

Heather’s heartbeat sped up as she listened.

Knowing what Poppy was referring to, plus she said she had never married...

Then Florence.

Suddenly looking at Declan, Heather saw his lifeless face, the usual spark was gone from this once high-spirited man, now reduced to dejection.

Declan cleared his husky voice.

"I’m going out for a smoke."

After saying that, he strode out.

Each step seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Mrs. Hawthorne looked at his back, sighing.

"Why is he smoking at a time like this?"

She had shared so much with Poppy, just to let Declan know that Poppy wasn’t holding onto Florence’s dad anymore.

That was his chance.

Mrs. Hawthorne turned around, warmly saying, "Don’t blame him, he just has that temper. He wasn’t like this as a child, but after following his grandfather, he repressed his personality."

"His grandfather didn’t allow him to want anything or be emotional, said it every night, he bore Hawthorne Group’s future, so he couldn’t indulge in distractions."

"By the time he was returned to me, he was different. Had I known he’d end up like this, I’d never have given him to the old man."

Mrs. Hawthorne turned away, rubbing the tears from her face.

By the time Declan returned to her side, he had become a competent successor who didn’t express emotions.

But was not a competent child at heart.

The mother-son relationship was strained and would never mend.

Thinking about it, Mrs. Hawthorne felt heartache and sorrow.

Heather quickly patted Mrs. Hawthorne’s back, "It’s all over now, isn’t everything okay these days? The old man is stubborn, who knows what might have happened if you had insisted on not letting Declan go with him back then."

Mrs. Hawthorne was agitated.

"What could have happened? At worst, I’d divorce Hugo!"

Florence touched Mrs. Hawthorne’s face with her little hands, softly saying, "Don’t cry, don’t cry, it doesn’t look good when you cry."

Heather comforted her for a long time to no avail, but one little sentence from Florence immediately stopped Mrs. Hawthorne’s tears.

If Mrs. Hawthorne knew...

Heather glanced at Poppy.

Meeting Heather’s gaze, Poppy lowered her head, her long lashes cast shadows over her face, rendering her expression unreadable.

Poppy said softly, "Then if President Hawthorne has children in the future, and the old man wants to raise them?"

Mrs. Hawthorne wiped her tears.

Her voice still a bit choked.

"The old man managing to take care of himself would be good enough. Declan isn’t like his dad, Declan takes after me, stronger willed, unlike that useless Hugo who just says he went through the same thing to keep the peace."

"If Declan ever has a child, the old man better not even think about it."

The tone revealed unapologetic disdain for Old Master Hawthorne.

"I actually wouldn’t have married Hugo if not for the family’s strict rules, the old man also thought I was small-minded, but I didn’t care for Hugo either!"

"He chased me for years, I finally agreed, then as soon as Declan was born, the old man took him away."

Mrs. Hawthorne said angrily, "Now the old man controlling Declan is impossible!"

Poppy knew Declan’s character well.

She noticed Mrs. Hawthorne’s affection for Florence and the beseeching look Heather just gave her.

Poppy looked at Mrs. Hawthorne.

"I know you want to match me and Declan, but there’s no possibility between us."

"I won’t consider him."