Chapter 105: Chapter 105: I’m Just Her Substitute

It was complete chaos outside the restaurant. David Sutton was holding back the beaten man’s friends to stop them from attacking Wyatt Shaw, while Chad Miller tried to pull Wyatt away, telling him to stop fighting. But Wyatt had the man pinned down, punching him again and again, making him howl in agony.

Chad Miller finally managed to pull him off, but the next second, Wyatt grabbed a chair and was about to smash it down on the man.

"Wyatt Shaw!" Yvonne Sutton yelled at him. "Put it down!"

Wyatt heard her voice. He didn’t look at her, but his motion to bring the chair down froze.

The chaotic surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Yvonne strode forward, snatched the chair from Wyatt’s hands, and angrily shoved him back. Then she turned to check the injuries of the man on the ground.

Judging by his age, he was probably a student from Aethelgard U.

His face was bruised and swollen. He kept his lips pressed together, too afraid to speak.

"Chad, please take this student to the hospital," Yvonne said to Chad Miller.

Chad Miller nodded quickly, giving David Sutton a meaningful look.

David Sutton was still holding back the indignant students. He yelled at them, "Don’t cause any more trouble! If we’re going to point fingers, you’re the ones who started cursing first. If you refuse to let it go, we can take this to your university. We aren’t afraid of getting punished, but are you?"

His words deflated the students’ anger. David Sutton patted a young man at the front on the shoulder. "Let’s get him to the hospital first. We’ll cover all the subsequent treatment and compensation. And from now on, whenever you guys eat at our restaurant, it’s fifty percent off for all of you."

David Sutton’s mix of threats and incentives worked. They were just students, after all, not very old, and they had just witnessed Wyatt’s brutality. They were quickly intimidated.

David Sutton brought his van around and took the injured student and his group of friends to the hospital.

Yvonne took a deep breath. She saw Wyatt leaning against the doorframe, smoking, the air of hostility around him still not faded.

"Those students were talking about a girl from the medical school, saying she was a prude, calling her slutty... really nasty stuff. Wyatt was drinking at the next table and warned them once to shut up. The guy who got beaten said, ’What are you so worked up about? Is your wife a doctor?’ Then he teased, ’Is she wild in bed at night?’ With Wyatt’s temper, how could he not react? Especially when the student was insulting you," Mrs. Miller quietly explained the situation to Yvonne.

Yvonne patted Mrs. Miller’s shoulder. "I see."

She walked up to Wyatt, took the cigarette from his lips, and said in a low voice, "Let’s go home."

Wyatt curled his lip. "I’m not going back."

Yvonne took a deep breath. "Suit yourself."

With that, she turned and walked away.

After she had gone some distance, she noticed Wyatt following behind her with his hands in his pockets and a long face.

The streetlights in the alley were far apart, so they walked through alternating patches of light and darkness. But every so often, they passed a small, open restaurant, the sound of diners chatting and laughing spilling out.

Yvonne was hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything since noon.

There was a wonton stall up ahead. Yvonne found an empty table, sat down, and ordered two bowls of wontons from the owner.

After a short wait, Wyatt came over and awkwardly sat down next to her.

’These past few days, looking at Wyatt, I always get a strange feeling. I don’t know if the man he was before was the real him, or if the man he is now is. But if I had to choose, I’d prefer the man he was before.’

The two bowls of wontons arrived quickly. Wyatt took them from the owner, but instead of giving one to Yvonne, he placed both bowls in front of himself.

Then, he separated a pair of chopsticks and began picking the cilantro out of one bowl and putting it into the other. He was meticulous and patient, carefully removing even the tiniest, mung-bean-sized specks of green.

Only when one bowl was completely free of cilantro did he push it over to Yvonne.

Yvonne stared at the bowl of wontons in front of her, a sour feeling welling up in her heart. She said nothing and lowered her head to eat.

Neither of them spoke until they had finished eating.

"Can we talk?" Yvonne asked, looking at Wyatt.

"Talk about what?" Wyatt asked, his face grim.

"About us."

"About getting a divorce?"

"That’s part of it, yes."

Wyatt’s brow furrowed. He shot up from his seat and strode away.

Yvonne let out a breath and quickly got up to follow him.

"Wyatt, I admit I was wrong from the very beginning. I wanted to marry a man and live an ordinary life. A husband and wife don’t necessarily have to be in love, just respect and support each other. But Wyatt, you made me fall in love with you. And when I fell in love with you, I wanted you to love me back."

"I love you! I’ve told you countless times, haven’t you heard me?" Wyatt said angrily.

Yvonne gave a bitter laugh. She ran up and grabbed Wyatt, making him look at her. "Wyatt, look at me. Who am I?"

"You’re Yvonne Sutton, of course."

"Right. I’m Yvonne Sutton, not Hannah Abbott."

Wyatt’s eyes darkened suddenly. "What do you mean?"

Yvonne looked at Wyatt, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I’m not Hannah Abbott, and I don’t want to be her substitute."

"I never..."

"I like cilantro. The one who doesn’t is Hannah Abbott."

Wyatt’s expression froze, and then his eyes filled with confusion.

"Wyatt, ask yourself, do you really love me? Or do you just love me as if I were Hannah Abbott? From the very beginning, your kindness, your affection, all those resolute vows you made to me... they were all for Hannah."

As Yvonne said this, her heart was aching terribly.

’When he loved me so passionately with the love he held for Hannah, I was moved. I fell for it. I fell in love with him. But it turns out it was all a lie. I’ve become a joke.’

"Wyatt, I know you didn’t do it on purpose. You’ve always been a very, very good person. But I’m sorry, I can’t keep accepting your love now that I know the truth. So let’s break up."

Yvonne started walking away. After a little while, she looked back and saw Wyatt still standing there, dazed.

Feeling worried, she walked back, took his hand, and led him home.

Back home, Yvonne went to the guest room. She didn’t sleep well all night, getting up several times to check on Wyatt. Only when she saw him lying in bed, fast asleep, did she finally feel relieved.

「The next morning」

Yvonne woke Wyatt up and told him to go with her to the hospital to visit Mr. Rhodes.

"He’s been hospitalized?" Wyatt asked with a frown.

"Yes." She didn’t mention it was because Wyatt had angered him.

Wyatt pressed his lips together. "I’m not going. I have nothing to do with them anymore."

"Wyatt, you’re not a child. Stop being so stubborn, okay?"

"Think whatever you want. I’m not going, and that’s final." With that, Wyatt went to the bathroom.

Helpless, Yvonne had to go to the hospital alone.

When she arrived, Mr. Rhodes was alone in the hospital room.

"I found them annoying, so I told them all not to come. The nurses are here," said Mr. Rhodes.

Yvonne sat down by the hospital bed and tucked the blanket around Mr. Rhodes.

"Wyatt... he was afraid you’d be angry to see him, so he didn’t come."

Mr. Rhodes gave a bitter smile. "You don’t have to cover for him. He’s not coming."

Yvonne was silent for a moment, then asked, "Besides the matter with Hannah Abbott, are there other misunderstandings between you two?"

Mr. Rhodes shook his head. "It wasn’t really a misunderstanding. After he and Hannah were in the car accident and hospitalized, I went to Country M to see him. When I found out what he’d been doing over there, I was furious. I said to him, as he lay in that hospital bed, desperately in need of his family’s care: ’You’re a lost cause. I, Harry Rhodes, don’t have a son like you. I... I’ll just consider you dead.’"

As he said this, Mr. Rhodes’s eyes turned red.

"I’ll never forget the look in his eyes then. It went from helplessness to disappointment, and then to hatred. Finally, he screamed like a madman, ’Fine! It’s not like my last name is Rhodes anyway!’"