Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Lower-Class People

After typing out a few words, Yvonne Sutton stared at them for a moment, then deleted them.

’Wyatt Shaw isn’t in the entertainment industry. Even if he’s capable, he can’t possibly win against big money like the Reed family.’

"He probably couldn’t stand seeing me get bullied by Wendy Winters’s team like that, and since he happened to have those photos, he just released them," Yvonne Sutton said nonchalantly.

Mina Adler shook her head. "It’s not that simple."

After Vincent Reed issued his clarification, Wendy Winters’s team quickly followed up. They first apologized to Yvonne Sutton, then had all those intimate photos of her and Stanley Lynch taken down.

That same afternoon, Wendy Winters was discharged from the hospital.

When Yvonne Sutton left the hospital after work, the fans who had been blocking the entrance with banners were also gone. Her life had finally returned to normal.

After getting off the subway, Yvonne Sutton bought a bouquet of flowers. She held them in her arms as if she were embracing all the peace and beauty in the world. She even took a picture of the flowers, posted it to her feed, and added a caption: "Today was a good day. I like today."

Claire Lawrence was the first to like it, replying: Your eyes are shining today. You finally see that scumbag for who he really is. Vincent Reed, look over here, I’m talking to you.

Yvonne Sutton chuckled: I’ve already blocked him, so he can’t see your comment.

Claire Lawrence sent a smug-looking emoji with sunglasses: Then please have the scumbag’s friends pass on the message.

Leo Flynn: What do you mean? I don’t get it.

Joshua Hale: I don’t get it either.

Claire Lawrence sent an angry emoji: I’m coming back to Aethelgard soon. You two are so dead!

Her good mood lasted all the way until she got back to the villa. As she was passing Vincent Reed’s villa, the gate happened to open, and Ms. Young came out carrying a cardboard box.

When she saw Yvonne, she immediately looked a little guilty.

"Miss Sutton, I think this is from your aunt..."

Before Ms. Young could finish, a sharp voice drifted from the house, growing closer. "What are you standing around for? Throw it in the trash! Who sends such filthy things to our house? The moment I opened it, the stench was so bad it nearly made me pass out."

The speaker, covering her nose, was none other than Vincent Reed’s mother, Mrs. Reed.

Her brow furrowed when she saw Yvonne Sutton. "Are you a damn leech? My son dumped you, and you still have the nerve to show your face here. Hah, right. A girl from your background has no shame to speak of. The only way you can have a good life is by latching onto a man. But I’m warning you, you’d better get lost. Wendy is already pregnant with my Reed family grandchild. If you upset her and anything happens, I won’t let you off the hook."

This Mrs. Reed had always looked down on her. Even when she was still Vincent Reed’s girlfriend, the woman had given her a hard time on multiple occasions, even verbally abusing her.

She hadn’t tolerated it back then, and she certainly wouldn’t now.

"Mrs. Reed, should I get you a megaphone?" Yvonne Sutton asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What do I need a megaphone for? It’s you who should be afraid of the embarrassment!"

"Oh, I’m not afraid. After all, I’m not the one who’s old enough to be a grandmother, spewing filth and bullying her juniors!"

"You—you’re no junior of mine!"

"And what makes you an elder? What gives you the right to act like one! Also, your son and I were in a normal relationship, but he was the one who cheated! Go on, shout louder. I can even record you and post it online so everyone can see what kind of people the Reed Family really are!"

"You!"

Yvonne Sutton walked over to Ms. Young and glanced into the box. It was filled with the cured sausages and preserved pork her aunt had sent her. Because she loved them, her aunt would raise a pig every year and, just before winter, make them into cured meats to send to her.

"Ms. Young, please give it to me."

She reached out to take it, but at that moment, Mrs. Reed charged forward and knocked the box from Ms. Young’s arms.

"Tell that aunt of yours not to send this worthless junk to my house anymore! We find it filthy and smelly!"

Yvonne Sutton looked at the cured sausages and pork scattered on the ground. Her aunt had worked for a whole year to prepare all of this for her.

She looked up and glared at Mrs. Reed. "The sausages and pork aren’t filthy or smelly. But some people’s hearts are!"

"How dare you insult me!" Mrs. Reed shrieked, pointing at Yvonne Sutton. "You’ve offended me and you’ve offended the Reed Family. Don’t even think about making a life for yourself in Aethelgard anymore. I want you out of Riverdale General Hospital and out of Aethelgard, immediately!"

After her tirade, Mrs. Reed retreated into the yard and told Ms. Young to close the gate.

"This is Seacliff, the most exclusive villa community! Not just anyone can get in. She only got to be here because of my son. From now on, she’ll have to live where the lower class belongs!"

Yvonne Sutton really didn’t want to get any more entangled with the Reed Family. She crouched down, picked up the sausages and pork, and then, holding the box, walked toward Villa 8 under Mrs. Reed’s furious gaze.

Seeing her enter the villa diagonally across from them, Mrs. Reed cursed, "She’s still spending my son’s money, my Reed family’s money. And she really thinks she has integrity!"

Back home, Yvonne Sutton arranged the flowers in a vase. Looking at them, the anger in her heart slowly dissipated. ’They’re just irrelevant people. Why should I let them make me angry?’

The cured meats had fallen on the ground, so she decided to wash them first before hanging them on the balcony to dry.

When she fully opened the box, she found that besides the sausages and pork, there was also some dried seafood. A note was stuck to the packaging of the seafood.

"Yvonne, this is Wyatt Shaw’s grandmother. I often hear your aunt talk about you. Oh, even though we’ve never met, I just like you so much. I heard from Wyatt that you agreed to marry him, and I’m just so happy. I dried some seafood especially for you two. Wyatt is a good cook, so have him make you some soup or congee with it. From now on, if there’s anything you want to eat, just tell Grandma, and Grandma will send it to you."

The words on the page made her feel as if she were meeting the writer in person. From just those few sentences, Yvonne Sutton could picture Wyatt Shaw’s grandmother as a kind and loving woman.

Yvonne Sutton first called her aunt to tell her she’d received the cured sausages and pork, and asked her to pass on her thanks to Rhodes.

After hanging up, Yvonne Sutton steamed some rice and stir-fried a plate of the preserved pork. After a moment’s thought, she brought over the flowers she had bought that day, placed them on the dining table, and then took a picture and sent it to Wyatt Shaw.

"I’m not very good at cooking the seafood Rhodes sent."

At this hour, ’he probably isn’t awake yet.’ Sure enough, it wasn’t until she was in bed that he replied to her message.

"Grandma told me. I’ll make you seafood congee when I get back."

"Okay."

"The bouquet is very pretty."

"Mhm."

"I saw your social media post, but I was waiting for you to send it to me personally."

Yvonne Sutton stared at the line of text, slightly stunned.

’What a strange feeling. He was a man she had never met, but he was already her fiancé. It was as if they had skipped the entire process of going from strangers to acquaintances to lovers and jumped straight into a life together.’

"Let’s redecorate our home. Do it in whatever style you like," he sent another message.

Yvonne Sutton looked at the four white, unadorned walls and the lonely-looking bed. It really did need some redecorating.

"But I don’t have any experience with this."

"If there’s anything you don’t understand or need help with, just ask Mr. Webb. Oh, and there’s a card in the shoe cabinet drawer. I’ll send you the PIN. You can use it to buy whatever is needed."

"Uh, okay."

After exchanging "good morning" and "good night," Yvonne Sutton fell asleep hugging her phone. The next day at work, she had just arrived at her office when the hospital director’s secretary came over.

"Dr. Sutton, please pack your things and leave the hospital immediately. You’ve been fired."