Xander escorts Avery through Hawthorne House while eating scones and joking about developing “scone-eating expertise.” Avery remains wary because Oren is nearby and because Xander, as one of the disinherited Hawthorne brothers, has every reason to resent her.

When Avery directly asks whether Xander is supposed to hate her, Xander claims he does but treats the claim as a joke. Then his tone turns more serious: Xander says Avery is not the person who caused the inheritance upheaval. Even if Avery somehow believed she had manipulated Tobias Hawthorne, Xander argues Tobias would have been the one manipulating Avery.

Avery thinks again of Tobias’s brief apology letter and tells Xander that Tobias was “a piece of work.” Xander agrees in his own absurd way, then offers to show Avery to her rooms. Avery suspects there must be a catch, but Xander explains that Hawthorne House is genuinely difficult to navigate because Tobias kept adding new rooms and wings.

As Xander guides Avery upstairs, he describes Hawthorne House as the largest privately owned residence in Texas and emphasizes its maze-like, ever-expanding design. Avery jokingly asserts, “My house, my rules,” surprising both herself and Xander. Xander responds as a Hawthorne would: by treating verbal sparring as natural.

In the Northeast Wing, Xander points out a portrait of Tobias Hawthorne and says this was Tobias’s wing during his final months. Avery studies the portrait and sees resemblances to Grayson, Jameson, Nash, and even Xander. She insists she never met Tobias and would remember if she had, but Xander asks whether she is sure, leaving Avery unsettled as Tobias’s apology echoes in her mind.