Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Worldview Crushed

Yvonne Sutton was stunned for a moment by the old woman’s tirade.

"What do you mean my mom drove him out of Aethelgard? Do you have any idea what he did?"

Mrs. Sutton snorted, her hands clasped before her. "My son is perfect in every way—his only mistake was marrying your mother. Hmph. I was against the marriage from the very beginning. One look at your mother and I knew she wasn’t the type to care for her family. And I was right. After she married my son, she was never home, always claiming she was ’busy, busy, busy.’ But no matter how busy you are, you still have to serve your husband, don’t you? My son worked so hard all day, only to come home to a cold house. Not only did he not get a hot meal, but he even had to clean up and cook for *her*. A wife like that is as good as no wife at all. He would have been better off divorcing her."

Yvonne Sutton stared at the old woman. ’Did she time-travel here from some feudal dynasty?’

"So you think your son did nothing wrong, cheating on his pregnant wife?" Yvonne asked with a frown.

"If your mother had treated him well, he never would have looked for another woman. It was all her fault, no matter how you slice it," Mrs. Sutton declared with an air of absolute certainty.

Yvonne could hardly believe what she was hearing; it was as if her entire sense of right and wrong was being shattered.

"Now I see how Chester Sutton could be so shameless. It’s because he has a mother like you."

"Is that any way to speak to an elder? Is that what your mother taught you?"

"How my mother raised me is none of your business. This is my property. Please leave, now!"

Mrs. Sutton spat. "You don’t have to throw me out; I think this place is a pigsty! But let me warn you: you’d better shut down this inn and get out of town. Don’t you dare disturb my son’s life, and don’t even dream of him acknowledging you. Even if he took pity on you and wanted to, I would never allow it. I have a grandson and a granddaughter—we don’t need you. Besides, just looking at your face reminds me of your mother. The hatred... I just want to claw your face off!"

Gritting her teeth, the old woman lunged, her hands outstretched, actually trying to claw at Yvonne’s face.

Just then, a jet of water shot down from the second floor, aimed squarely at Mrs. Sutton and drenching her from head to toe.

"PFFT!"

The blast of water hit Mrs. Sutton square in the face, forcing her eyes shut. She scrambled to the left, but the jet followed. She dodged to the right, and the jet moved with her. She had no choice but to stumble backward, staggering all the way to the gate before the stream of water, limited by its range, finally fell short.

Mrs. Sutton wiped her face and looked up at the second floor. A man in jeans and a white sweatshirt was glaring down at her. His cold, dark eyes gave off an intimidating air, a clear warning not to be trifled with.

"Who... who is he?"

Seeing the old woman looking like a drowned rat, Yvonne had to suppress a laugh.

"He’s my husband."

"You’re married? Hmph, and you didn’t even say a word about it? You’re still a Sutton, you know. The least you could have done was inform us!"

"I’m a Sutton because my father is. But my father is dead to me."

"How dare you curse your own father! You unfilial girl—"

Before the old woman could finish, the man from upstairs was coming down the stairs, hammer in hand, looking ready for a fight. She swallowed hard and quickly turned to leave.

"Who was that?" Wyatt Shaw asked with a sneer.

"Chester Sutton’s mother," Yvonne sighed.

"What was she saying to you?"

He had been upstairs fixing a pipe, so he hadn’t heard anything.

"It was nothing. Just ignore her."

Seeing that Yvonne didn’t want to talk about the Suttons, Wyatt didn’t press the matter.

"What do you want to eat tonight?"

"Those girls who checked in yesterday told me there’s a sour soup noodle shop on the west side of town. They said it’s amazing. Want to go try it?"

Wyatt nodded. "Sounds good. Let me just sweep the water out of the courtyard, and then we can go."

Yvonne grabbed a broom to help him, and they finished quickly.

"I’m going to go change," Wyatt said, pointing to his white sweatshirt, which was splattered with mud.

"Okay, go ahead. I’ll wait for you down here."

Wyatt went upstairs. Yvonne sat for a moment, but she started to feel a chill and decided to go up and grab a jacket.

When she pushed the door open, Wyatt had just pulled off his sweatshirt and was standing in front of the wardrobe, looking for something to wear.

Her eyes immediately fell on the scar on his waist. He’d gotten it while saving her, and because it hadn’t been treated properly, it was large and even a little grotesque. ’He must have been in so much pain back then,’ she thought.

At the thought, Yvonne couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward and reaching out to touch the scar.

"Is it ugly?" he asked.

Yvonne shook her head. "I should have taken better care of you."

’I shouldn’t have asked for a divorce then, not when he’d just gotten his memories back and was so lost.’

A corner of Wyatt’s mouth lifted. He wrapped his arms around her, pinning her against the wardrobe door. "You can make it up to me."

Seeing he was about to start something, Yvonne gave him a light push.

"Stop."

Wyatt didn’t listen, lowering his head to kiss her.

"You’re the one who tempted me."

"No, I didn’t."

"You touched me."

"I..."

Before she could finish, his mouth was on hers, cutting her off.

By the time they left the house, the sky had already grown dark.

Wyatt helped a still weak-kneed Yvonne into the car. He endured her glares all the way to the sour soup restaurant.

There was parking outside the restaurant. Wyatt parked the car, then walked around to open Yvonne’s door, intending to carry her out, but she pushed him away.

"I... I can walk." Her voice came out raspy, and she couldn’t help but blush.

Wyatt kissed her on the forehead. "Sorry. I should have been a little more restrained."

"Could you at least not grin so shamelessly when you apologize?"

Wyatt burst out laughing. "Alright, I’ll do my best."

Holding hands, they walked into the restaurant. It was fairly large and had a decent crowd. After they sat down, the proprietress came over to take their order, enthusiastically recommending a few of the house specials.

After a short wait, the dishes started arriving one by one.

Yvonne tried one of the dishes. It was delicious, just as promised.

"Where are you two from?" the proprietress asked.

"Aethelgard," Yvonne replied.

"Oh, then we’re practically neighbors! My husband and I are from Aethelgard too. We just came here on vacation at first, but after a few days, we fell in love with the place. So we made a bold decision: we sold our house in Aethelgard, quit our jobs, and came here to open this noodle shop." The proprietress was clearly a talker.

Yvonne nodded. "I like it here, too."

"Well then, you should come by often! I’ll give you a discount."

Yvonne felt a pang of envy after chatting with the proprietress.

"What do you say? Should we quit our jobs, sell the house, and settle down here?" Wyatt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don’t think I’ll be coming back here again. As much as I like it... but..."

’But the Suttons are here, and she wanted to be as far away from them as possible.’

When they came out after dinner, Wyatt discovered the car had been keyed with a sharp object. There was a single word gouged into each of the four doors, which together formed a vicious message: "GO DIE, YOU WHORE."

Yvonne had a good idea who was responsible. "There should be security cameras here. Let’s call the police."