Chapter 125: Chapter 125: A Huge Humiliation

"Let me say this again. As far as I’m concerned, my father is dead. There is nothing between us. And why would I interfere in a stranger’s life? Your mother came to the guesthouse and demanded I leave town, and your son vandalized our car. Who’s the one actually making trouble here?" Yvonne Sutton said with disgust.

Chester Sutton shouted, "None of this would have happened if you hadn’t come to town!"

"I’ll ask you again: does your family own this town?"

"Stop being so unreasonable."

"Hah. No wonder you could raise a son like Hugh Sutton."

Not wanting to deal with Chester Sutton any longer, Yvonne Sutton turned and walked away.

Unwilling to give up, Chester Sutton moved to follow her, but Wyatt Shaw stretched out an arm to block him.

"If you do wrong, you admit it. If you cause trouble, you take responsibility—if you have any guts at all! And stop trying to pull the family card with Yvonne. She’s my wife, Wyatt Shaw’s wife. You’re not in her league."

Chester Sutton wanted to pull rank as an elder, but he couldn’t muster the authority in front of Wyatt Shaw, whose presence was far more imposing.

"We can discuss this..."

"There is no ’we.’ There is only ’you lot’ and ’us’—the debtors and the creditors."

Chester Sutton was utterly humiliated, but the thought of the one-million-plus in compensation forced him to swallow his pride.

"Mr. Shaw, you’re a wealthy man. This is a small amount to you. Can’t you just let this go?"

"You’re right, I don’t need the money. So, if you’re willing to move out of this town and never show your faces to my wife again, I might consider it."

"You want us to move? That’s impossible! This is our home!"

"I don’t think it’s impossible at all. Think about it." With that, Wyatt Shaw turned and went after Yvonne Sutton.

Just then, Mindy Lynch emerged, pulling Hugh Sutton along. The sight of his son enraged Chester Sutton, who strode forward and slapped him hard across the face.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?"

Mindy Lynch quickly pulled Chester Sutton back. "Beating him to death won’t solve anything! It would be better to... to say a few nice things to Yvonne Sutton and get her to drop it."

Chester Sutton snorted. "She’s just like her mother. She has no respect for me at all."

"But no matter what you say, you’re still her father. She can’t just disown you."

"She... she really does."

Hugh Sutton clutched his face, looking deeply wronged. "I don’t want her for a sister! She’s a disgusting homewrecker..."

At this, Hugh Sutton remembered what Yvonne Sutton had said. He turned to look at Mindy Lynch. "Mom, that Yvonne Sutton said you’re a homewrecker. She’s lying, isn’t she?"

"You... stop throwing that word ’homewrecker’ around! Besides, relationships are a matter between two people. There’s no such thing as a homewrecker."

Hugh Sutton’s eyes widened. "Why didn’t you deny it? Are you really...?"

Mindy Lynch gritted her teeth in anger and punched Hugh Sutton hard on the arm.

"I should have just left you at the police station! A few days in a cell might have cleared your head!"

Back at the guesthouse, Wyatt Shaw led Yvonne Sutton to the second-floor terrace to enjoy the town’s night view. Under a bright moon and a sky full of stars, a gentle breeze rustled by. With mountains in the distance, a stream flowing nearby, and the occasional chirp of a bird, a sense of peace settled over them.

"My mother never brought him up, but I’d ask about him sometimes. Whenever she spoke of him, her expression was always calm and detached. She didn’t hate him, probably because hate is an emotion too, and she felt it would be a waste to spend it on him. But I can’t be like her. I do hate him," Yvonne Sutton said, her brow furrowed.

’She wasn’t as unaffected as she claimed, not without a trace of emotion. No, she hated him. At this moment, at least, that feeling was intense.’

"Then hate him," Wyatt Shaw said, smiling at Yvonne Sutton. "You don’t have to suppress your feelings. Hating him doesn’t mean you care about him; it just means he’s done things worth hating. Of course, if that feeling starts to eat away at you, then you’ll need to learn how to manage it. And how do you do that? By making life difficult for the person you hate."

"I’m so glad you’ve been here these past few days," Yvonne Sutton said, looking at Wyatt Shaw.

"From now on, I’ll always be by your side."

"I’m so lucky."

"I hope I can always make you feel lucky."

They gazed at each other, their reflections filling the other’s eyes.

「The next morning」

Wyatt Shaw went to the market for groceries while Yvonne Sutton swept the courtyard. Just as she reached the entrance, she saw Mrs. Sutton storming over.

"Everyone, come and look! This unfilial girl is trying to drive her own father and his family to their deaths! How can there be such a vicious daughter in this world? You’ll get what’s coming to you!"

It was market day in town, so there were many people from the surrounding areas. As soon as Mrs. Sutton started wailing, passersby stopped to watch the spectacle.

Yvonne Sutton straightened up and watched Mrs. Sutton with a detached expression.

"What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? You feel guilty, don’t you!"

"You’re just like your mother—so hard-hearted, so venomous! Your mother already ruined my son and made him lose his job, and now you’re trying to make him homeless! No wonder your mother died so young. That was her karma, and yours is coming too! Just you wait!"

"Everyone, listen to this! Come and judge for yourselves! See what kind of person she really is!"

The more Mrs. Sutton cursed, the more excited she became, practically bouncing on her short legs.

Yvonne Sutton raised an eyebrow. "Don’t just stand there cursing me. You have to tell everyone what I did. Otherwise, how are they supposed to judge?"

"I’m too embarrassed to even mention the things you’ve done!"

"Shall I say it, then?"

"Your mother forced my son to quit his job! Forced him to leave Aethelgard and come to this godforsaken little town!"

Yvonne Sutton glanced at the onlookers. ’Since they’re not afraid of airing their dirty laundry,’ she thought, ’I have no reason to help them hide it.’

"Her son had an affair with one of his female students. While my mother was pregnant with me."

As soon as she said this, the crowd of onlookers erupted.

"Her son did something like that, and she still has the nerve to bring it up."

When Mrs. Sutton heard that the crowd wasn’t on her side, she hastily explained that it was because Yvonne’s mother was always busy with work and never home, so her son was lonely and that’s why he got involved with a student.

"What, is your son missing his arms and legs? Is he mentally challenged? Can’t he take care of himself? His wife had to work while pregnant, and not only did he not care, he cheated on her? What kind of son and mother are you!"

Mrs. Sutton’s face turned livid with rage. Not a single person was speaking up for her.

"That was all in the past generation! As his daughter, she can’t just disown her own father, can she? But what does she do? She not only disowns him, but she’s also trying to extort him for over a million!"

At this, the crowd’s attention shifted back to Yvonne Sutton.

Yvonne Sutton was momentarily speechless. "Her grandson vandalized my car. The insurance company assessed the damages at one million."

"He just scratched it a little! Even if we have to pay, it shouldn’t cost a million, right?"

"A little? He gouged all four doors of the car."

"That still doesn’t cost that much money!"

"We’ve already filed a police report. If you don’t believe it, go talk to the officers."

"You reported such a trivial thing to the police? A family shouldn’t be so petty!"

Yvonne Sutton scoffed. "We are not family. We weren’t before, we aren’t now, and we never will be. If you can afford to pay, then pay. If you can’t, sell your house and your land. In short, don’t even think about skipping out on a single cent."