Refusing to Remarry: Mr. Hawthorne, You Are Out-Chapter 51: After All These Years, You’re Back Together with Her?
"Seeing is not always believing." Jonas Hawthorne answered coolly, raising his glass and taking another sip.
He was never one for liquor, and he never let himself get drunk easily.
But tonight, for once, he wanted to let go, yet the more he drank, the more sober he became.
Leo Keane had no idea what he was thinking, and his brow furrowed along with him.
Jonas Hawthorne, on the surface, was cold as ice—a real Yama out in the world—but deep inside, he was loyal and sentimental.
It was exactly this trait that Leo Keane admired; so back then, no matter how much Jonas Hawthorne gave him attitude, he didn’t mind, still treated him well, still wanted him as a brother.
Even now, Jonas would sometimes try to kill him with a glance, but in his heart, Leo knew anything good Jonas had, he always thought of him.
For that, he respected Raine Sinclair.
Because Raine Sinclair had made the same decision as him once.
When all the other women were scared away by Jonas’s don’t-come-near-me vibe, Raine went for the hard way, spent a whole year finally melting that iceberg.
As for this Candace Ford...
Thinking of this, Leo Keane couldn’t help but frown, "Jonas, when you broke up with Candace all those years ago, you didn’t even seem that upset. So why, after all these years, are you two back together? And even if you are, how is that kid still—"
He’d had a few too many drinks, feeling a little heady, not afraid of death tonight, daring to ask whatever came to mind.
Besides, seeing Jonas Hawthorne drink this much—this was the first time Leo had witnessed it.
Maybe he really could get something out of him tonight?
But just as Leo’s words faded, Jonas Hawthorne’s drinking hand froze midair.
He turned his head, fixing Leo with a cold stare.
There was a killing intent churning in those eyes, like a stormy sea!
Leo Keane’s breath caught, his blood seemed to freeze, but his mouth went on its own, "I... I’m just worried about you, aren’t I? You get into all this trouble, I’m afraid you’ll end up taking a wrong turn, you know?
And besides, you want me to check out stuff about your wife, don’t you? At least tell me a bit, right? Otherwise there’ll be even more misunderstandings down the line—that’d be no good!" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
Leo rattled off a bunch of excuses, deliberately bringing up the wife just to get Jonas more emotional.
Didn’t expect it’d actually work.
The murderous glint in Jonas’s eyes gradually faded, his whole demeanor easing.
As if old memories resurfaced, a thin mist rose in his gaze.
"Candace once saved my life. And because of that, the entire Ford Family was wiped out."
His voice was heavy, a little suppressed, slowly spreading through the room.
Leo instantly whipped his head around, staring at Jonas in disbelief, "You mean, a few years ago the Fords were silenced because of you?"
So much time had passed; the once-mighty Ford Family had vanished from Sedonia, few remembered that fire case that once shook the whole city.
Even though Candace made headlines time after time for wrecking others’ families, no one tied her to the Kyle Ford of back then.
Leo only cared about the Fords because of Jonas Hawthorne.
Back in the day, Kyle Ford was your typical rich heir—maybe not super capable, but living large off the inherited family business, a real playboy around Sedonia.
Candace, as his daughter, didn’t exactly live in silks and satins, but she was still a wealthy heiress.
It was just this background that let her go to the same university as Jonas Hawthorne.
Otherwise, the two would never have met.
Later, Leo only found out from the news—one night, the Ford estate just burned down for no reason.
With the servants added in, over twenty people inside, not a single one made it out.
Only Candace, who wasn’t home that night, survived...
Seeing Jonas stay silent, Leo grew impatient, pressing, "But I remember the police said it was the gas pipes in the kitchen—old and busted, caused the fire, just an accident, right?"
Jonas closed his eyes, tired, rubbing his brow.
"Finn Wyatt was fighting me for a cross-border business deal back then. Candace risked everything, went in alone and delayed him, cost him the shot. He held a grudge and got Vincent Holt, the local thug at the time, to torch the Fords."
Jonas had never told a third person the truth of all this since he learned it himself.
Even Raine Sinclair had no idea...
If it weren’t for all the drinks tonight, and Leo pushing so persistently, he might have never spoken at all.
Leo sat there, stunned speechless.
"So Candace was involved, too?" Back then, he’d just been a loafer, chasing girls, knew none of this. "That Finn Wyatt—brutal bastard, huh? He thinks his family’s mob background means he can do whatever he wants? You didn’t have anyone look into it?"
"I only found out recently." Jonas replied.
No one would have thought twice about it back then.
Leo stared for a moment, then asked, "Could it be Candace used this to get close to you?"
For exes to reunite, there had to be a reason—who could accept otherwise?
Jonas said nothing.
Leo immediately knew he’d hit the mark!
But that meant...
"I thought you two were rekindling old flames? What’s really going on?"
Leo was so anxious he could tear his hair out, desperate to know what happened next!
And now there’s even a kid, right?
How did things end up like this?!
Is there some mind-blowing secret nobody’s told?
But right then, Jonas Hawthorne stood up.
"Let’s go."
All Leo’s curiosity was mercilessly snuffed out.
"Huh? I barely drank anything!" Leo hurried to catch up, "You just left off halfway! Hey! Do you know how maddening that is?"
Jonas paid him no mind, just walked on ahead.
Leo chased after him all the way to the car, face full of frustration, "I swear I’m never drinking with you again—always leave me hanging!"
"Take us to the Keane house." Jonas told the driver up front, never acknowledging Leo.
Leo puffed up like an angry pufferfish.
Even back home, he couldn’t calm down; only after two more bottles of red did he finally let it go!
Little did he know, after Jonas dropped him off, he didn’t go home. He had the driver detour to the Sinclair house.
The Sinclair Family was in the north, the Hawthorne estate in the south.
Far, but still in the same city.
Close, but it still took an hour by car.
The car stopped on a cherry blossom avenue outside the Sinclair villa.
The blossoms were gone now, only lush green remained.
The rear window lowered; Jonas Hawthorne turned to study the brightly lit mansion, eyes shadowed deep and dark.
Just then, there was a burst of conversation at the Sinclair gates.
"Raine, how come you never saw me off when I left before, only Leon Grant?"
A little sulky, a little jealous—the words drifted clearly to Jonas Hawthorne’s ears.
Looking up, he saw Raine Sinclair and Leon Grant walking out together, with Mason Sullivan following behind.
