Charlotte wore a pale green cheongsam, her long hair pinned up with an elegant hairpin, her makeup subtle yet refined.

She stood dutifully at her mother-in-law Mia's side, her every movement poised, her manners impeccable.

These rituals werent Charlottes natural inclinationsthey were lessons drilled into her when she married into the Hawthorne family. Grandma Hawthorne herself had set the expectations: as the wife of a Hawthorne, she was not to embarrass the ...