CHAPTER 168: CHAPTER 168: TERMS OF EXCHANGE, SHIFT OF POWER

As he walked out of the flower shop, his phone vibrated in the coat pocket.

Declan Hawthorne took out his phone with one hand and pressed the answer button.

On the other end, an old, frail voice was heard.

"Did you send them to the manor?"

"Yes, I did."

Old Master Hawthorne let out a deep sigh.

"Do you really think I can’t do anything about you?"

"Grandfather, do you really think I care about the Hawthorne Group?"

Old Master Hawthorne didn’t understand.

For all these years, everything Declan Hawthorne had done for the Hawthorne Group, he had seen.

The one who would exhaust himself for an order was Declan Hawthorne.

And now the one who firmly claims he doesn’t care about the Hawthorne Group is also Declan Hawthorne.

Old Master Hawthorne believed Declan Hawthorne wasn’t such a person.

But now, he repeatedly defies him.

The old man was furious.

"All for the sake of the new woman you’ve married?"

"It’s for myself."

Sitting in the car, the newly bought bouquet lay beside him.

Among the flowers were lilies, exuding a calming fragrance.

Declan Hawthorne hadn’t drunk at the bar just now.

His mind was now exceptionally clear.

Outside the window, the flower shop owner’s child ran at the door, holding a pink pig balloon, and Declan remembered Florence Lynch had told him that the pink pig was called Peppa.

The little boy ran back and forth with the balloon, his childish laughter echoing with the wind chimes at the flower shop entrance.

"Thank you, mom, I like this balloon!"

The shop owner’s wife scolded helplessly, "Run slowly, don’t go too far, just play nearby."

"I know!"

Declan Hawthorne watched, unable to suppress a subtle smile.

His tone softened slightly, though it still sounded somewhat indifferent.

"Grandfather, if Tristan and Justin don’t even want their own parents, why would they want you? If grandpa doesn’t want his own wife, why bother wanting the other children grandma gave birth to, why want me?"

One sentence blocked all of Old Master Hawthorne’s words.

Declan Hawthorne patted the dust off his clothes.

A message popped up on his phone, asking if he had returned.

Old Master Hawthorne took a deep breath.

"Next week is my birthday, bring your wife and come together."

Declan Hawthorne smirked.

It seemed like the old man was compromising, but in reality, he was worried that the recent conflict between Declan and him was so ugly that even his birthday might not be attended.

Declan Hawthorne calmly replied, "We’re not going, my wife won’t go either."

"Declan Hawthorne! Do you have any respect for the hierarchy?"

"Hierarchy, then let Uncle and Aunt attend too. It’s boring for me to attend alone as a junior."

Old Master Hawthorne was so angry that his eyes turned, taking several deep breaths before gritting his teeth and asking, "What do you want?"

"Who tipped you off."

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds.

Old Master Hawthorne let out a deep sigh.

"You even want to investigate the details of those near me?"

"Grandfather, you know, if you don’t say, I can find out. If you think we don’t need to save face, that’s another matter."

After a moment.

Old Master Hawthorne realized Declan Hawthorne was bargaining with him.

He valued face; at his birthday celebration, Declan, the eldest grandson and current head of the Hawthorne Group, couldn’t be absent.

But he had his own conditions.

Old Master Hawthorne pressed his temples, "You remember the girl from the Rivers Family."

The girl from the Rivers Family, Rachel Rivers.

Before, she was intent on marrying into the Hawthorne Family, often visiting Old Master Hawthorne to ingratiate herself.

Although Old Master Hawthorne didn’t necessarily look up to her, he was satisfied with the Rivers family’s standing.

Not as good as the Hawthorne Family, but at least Rachel Rivers’s temperament and personality were agreeable enough.

There wouldn’t be any trouble in the future.

"She happened to see you leaving the civil affairs bureau and took a photo for me. Don’t give her a hard time. Didn’t you intend to tell me about this?"

The more Old Master Hawthorne spoke, the more uncertain he felt.

They both knew without saying.

Declan Hawthorne truly hadn’t planned to tell the old man.

"Got it, I’ll bring my wife to your birthday. Hanging up now."

He hung up the phone.

Declan Hawthorne opened WeChat and sent a video call.

The phone was fixed on the holder, and once connected, Poppy Hale could see the man’s serious profile as he drove.

"Don’t call me while driving, it’s not safe."

"It’s fine, even if you don’t call, there are always random calls coming in."

Poppy Hale thought Declan Hawthorne was referring to those business partners of the Hawthorne Group.

So she didn’t hang up the video call.

"Poppy, it’s my grandfather’s birthday next week, we need to go back to the old house, you’ll come with me, but we won’t bring Florence."

Florence was still young, and Declan Hawthorne didn’t want her to meet Old Master Hawthorne so soon.

Poppy Hale agreed.

-

As he opened the door, Jackie Barrett immediately saw the flowers Declan Hawthorne held.

Lilies, roses, orchids, a large and beautiful bunch.

When handed to Poppy Hale, she was somewhat surprised.

"Why did you buy me flowers?"

"I passed by, and they looked nice."

Jackie Barrett laughed, "I had to urge him time and again to finally bring back flowers, and now he’s buying them on his own."

Men, it’s not that they’re clueless.

It’s just that the moment of realization depends on the person.

Poppy Hale felt a bit warm on her face.

She glanced at Declan Hawthorne, intending to explain for him.

"When we were dating in college, he didn’t buy them either."

Declan Hawthorne followed with a snort.

"I didn’t have money then."

Back then, Declan Hawthorne hid his identity for one thing.

For another, his pockets were genuinely empty.

Florence and Iris Quill were sitting on the carpet playing with blocks.

Seeing Declan Hawthorne, they called out "Uncle Hawthorne."

Truth Hale felt a bit embarrassed.

"Young Hawthorne, you know Florence is still young and not sensitive to the role of father, don’t take it to heart."

Jackie Barrett put on a serious face, "What’s the big deal? If Florence doesn’t call out, she doesn’t call. Besides, when Declan was young, he didn’t call me anything either!"

"At that time, the old man insisted on taking him away. Declan didn’t live with me, so he neither called me mom nor his dad. It was only years later, when he grew a bit, that he started calling us."

Now, when Jackie Barrett talked about it, it was all trivial past.

But back then, it was deeply painful.

Jackie Barrett sighed, "At first, I was sad, so I dragged Old Man Hawthorne to work every day, hoping for another child. But unfortunately, Old Man Hawthorne was just useless, even with all kinds of remedies, it didn’t work!"

Truth Hale nearly spat out the water she had just drunk.

Jackie Barrett hurried to pat her back.

Jackie Barrett’s words were shocking.

But they also dispelled the bit of gloom that had hung in the living room just before.

Declan Hawthorne stepped forward and picked up Florence, "It’s okay, Florence can call me whatever she wants."

Florence’s childish voice said, "Call you brother then?"

"That’s not okay. If you call me brother, how am I going to call your mother?"

Florence suggested, "You can call her mom too!"

"I already have a mom, can’t have another."

"You’re right."

Poppy Hale’s ears turned red, using the excuse of arranging the flowers to turn and leave, walking with awkward, mismatched steps.

Behind her was Declan Hawthorne’s muffled laughter, stopping her at the end of the corridor, pushing her into the bedroom.

Pinned against the wall, she heard Declan Hawthorne’s lowered laughter in her ear.

"What are you running for, Florence’s mom?"

The name "Florence" was whispered, sending tingles through Poppy Hale’s ears.

She gently slapped Declan Hawthorne, laughingly scolding.

"You’re crazy."