Chapter 110: Chapter 110: Is It Love or Hate?

It was a complete misunderstanding, but Wyatt Shaw still got an earful.

David Sutton didn’t care whether it was a misunderstanding or not. He threw his arms around Wyatt, his voice thick with tears. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Wyatt could barely breathe in David’s grip and forcefully pushed him away.

"I’m perfectly fine, why would I try to kill myself? Don’t you have a brain?!"

At these words, David took a step back. To his left was Zoe Churchill, and to his right was Yvonne Sutton. If anyone lacked a brain, it was all three of them.

Wyatt cleared his throat. "I wasn’t talking about you two."

Zoe looked a little embarrassed. "I just saw you looking dazed all the time, moping around without a word, like you were going through something. Ahem, and then I saw you kept coming up to this rooftop, so I thought you were going to take the short way out. While you were on your phone, I asked you to get me some water, then I went through your contacts, found your wife’s number, and called her."

"I’m sorry."

Wyatt frowned. "When was I ever dazed?"

"You’re always stumbling around every morning when you get up. You practically float when you walk, and you’ve run into the pillar by the door several times."

"That’s because a young couple lives next door, and they’re going at it all night. It’s so loud I can’t sleep."

Zoe was embarrassed all over again. "Oh, well, I can change your room for you."

Yvonne glanced at the time. It was already dinner time.

"Are there any decent restaurants in this town? My treat."

"You guys go ahead. I’m just going to head back to the guesthouse," Zoe said.

"Come with us," Yvonne said, looking at Zoe. "I mainly wanted to thank you for taking care of him."

"Uh, alright. Someone’s watching the guesthouse for me, and my husband is away on business," Zoe said after a moment’s thought.

’Business trip?’

Yvonne and Wyatt exchanged a look. Her husband wasn’t on any business trip. He was in the residential building right behind her, getting hot and heavy with another woman.

Zoe took them to a private kitchen-style restaurant built right on the river, where they could enjoy the riverside view at night while they ate.

The four of them got to chatting, and the conversation drifted to their school days. David Sutton hadn’t had much schooling, so he couldn’t contribute much, but when he heard her mention studying abroad in Country M, he quickly chimed in, "Wyatt Shaw studied over there, too."

"Really? Which city were you in?"

Before Wyatt could speak, David beat him to it. "Wexford. What was it, The Pretzel Academy?"

"Oakhaven Institute of Technology?" Zoe’s eyes lit up again. "I went to that school, too! How come I’ve never seen you?"

Wyatt shot David a glare, then turned back and shrugged. "I was only there for a year."

"A year? Why?"

"Because some things happened."

Zoe nodded, which made her think of her own situation. "I also took a year off. It was a struggle to finish after that. My parents put so much effort into me, but I..."

Zoe looked down at her paralyzed lower body. After a moment of silence, she looked up and smiled. "But I’m very happy with my life now."

"That’s the spirit, young lady. People are born to suffer, but if you can still laugh through the hardship, then life is worth living. Come on, let me toast you." David started to pour wine for Zoe.

Zoe quickly waved her hand. "I’m pregnant, I can’t drink."

"Ah, then have some juice."

David poured Zoe a glass of juice, and the two of them clinked glasses.

Yvonne couldn’t help but glance at Zoe’s stomach. She’d had a blanket over her lap earlier, so Yvonne hadn’t paid much attention, but looking now, she could see her belly was already showing.

For someone like her, with a spinal cord injury causing paraplegia, childbirth was possible but put a huge strain on the body. The delivery, in particular, carried a certain degree of risk.

Yet here she was, risking pregnancy and childbirth, while her husband had already betrayed her.

Zoe’s guesthouse was built into the mountainside. The interior décor had a local flavor and was clean and cozy. The view from the guesthouse was also wonderful. Standing on the terrace, you could see the great river rushing in the distance, the suspension bridge, and the layers of mountain peaks beyond. There were mountains behind it as well, not too steep, with large patches of grassland where people grazed cattle and sheep.

Yvonne and Wyatt sat on the terrace. It was past midnight, so they were the only two people there.

In truth, they still hadn’t talked through their problems, nor had they found a balance.

"Back then, when I tried to break up with Hannah Abbott, she got emotional and grabbed the steering wheel. That’s why we crashed," Wyatt said, staring into the distance.

Yvonne was slightly stunned. So Wyatt and Hannah weren’t in a loving relationship when the accident happened; they were breaking up.

"Honestly, if I had the choice, I’d rather have never met her."

"What... what did she do?"

’To make him so hurt.’

Wyatt paused for a moment, then said, "While I was risking everything to clean up the messes she made, she slept with my roommate."

Yvonne covered her mouth, too shocked to speak.

But in that moment, Wyatt was perfectly calm, as if all his anger and humiliation had already been released.

"So I was determined to break up with her. She tried to win me back, and when I refused, she went crazy."

"And then you forgot her."

"I can’t really tell if I forgot her because I loved her or because I hated her."

"Then what about Jean Bell?"

"I had forgotten a lot of things back then. She lied and told me she was my fiancée, and that’s the only reason I accepted her care. But gradually, I started to sense her lies and then explicitly rejected her."

Yvonne was silent. So it had all been Jean’s one-sided infatuation, her self-inflicted torture.

"You said I treated you as a substitute for Hannah. I... I can’t give you an answer to that. I’m sorry. But right now, my head is clear. I know for a fact that I love you, though I don’t know when it started. I want to build a life with you, if you’re willing to give me a chance, willing to accept my past."

Wyatt looked at Yvonne, enunciating every word.

"Give me some time, okay?" Yvonne said.

"Of course."

Wyatt pulled Yvonne to her feet and was about to walk her to her room when he saw a car pull up and stop outside the guesthouse. A clean-cut man with glasses got out of the passenger seat and walked around to the front. A woman in a red dress got out of the driver’s seat and also walked to the front of the car.

Their gazes locked in a passionate stare for a moment, then they embraced, unable to help themselves, and leaned in for a kiss.

Yvonne recalled the live show she’d seen on the rooftop. ’That looks like the same man.’

"Hey, isn’t that Zoe Churchill’s husband?"

Yvonne asked. Hearing no reply from Wyatt, she turned her head and saw he was already at the top of the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Yvonne asked in a hushed voice.

"Before I decide whether or not to tell Zoe, I can at least beat him up first!"

"Wyatt!"

By the time Yvonne chased after him, Wyatt had already sent the man to the ground with a single kick.

The man was stunned for a moment, then he yelled at Wyatt, "Are you crazy?! You can’t just hit people! I’m calling the police to have you arrested!"