Chapter 51: Chapter 51: He Bought This Old House for Her

Yvonne Sutton froze. ’Isn’t this my parents’ old house?’ The tree he was pointing to was the pomegranate tree in the yard of the old house.

’Wait a minute, didn’t Vincent Reed say he was going to tear down my old house today?’

Wyatt Shaw placed a key in her hand. "Not going to invite me in for a while?"

Yvonne Sutton stared at the key in her hand, her mind reeling. "You... how do you have this key? It was supposed to be with Vincent Reed. He said he was going to tear this house down. He..."

A sudden thought struck her. "You bought this house from him?"

Wyatt Shaw smiled. "That’s right. I bought it."

Yvonne Sutton couldn’t quite believe it. "But why would he sell it to you?"

’He wanted to use this house to punish me. Why would he sell it to Wyatt Shaw?’

"It’s simple. If he wanted to facilitate the partnership between his Reed Group and our Rhodes Group, then he had to transfer this house to me."

Yvonne Sutton blinked. So he had used the two companies’ partnership to get her house back.

Wyatt Shaw stuck his hands in his pockets, looking at the old house. "What do you say we move in here?"

Yvonne Sutton’s emotions were in turmoil. She thought she had made an irreparable mistake, but Wyatt Shaw had helped her undo it.

It was like a wound over her heart, bleeding endlessly. She was powerless, forced to just let it bleed. But Wyatt Shaw had instantly staunched the flow, letting it scab over and fall away, leaving no trace behind.

Words failed her. She could only turn and wrap her arms tightly around Wyatt Shaw.

He had said, "What do you say we move in here?"

Vincent Reed had said, "It’s so run-down. Is it even habitable?"

"I bet there’s treasure inside," Wyatt Shaw said, holding her.

Yvonne Sutton stood on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. "I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. It’s already been cleared out."

"There has to be," he said mischievously.

Yvonne Sutton chuckled. "Well, I hope you can find it then."

She went to open the gate and then pulled Wyatt Shaw into the small courtyard.

Because it hadn’t been lived in or tended to, the yard was overgrown with weeds. Patches of moss covered the walls, and many of the pomegranates on the tree had burst open, hollowed out by sparrows.

The lock on the house door was so badly rusted that the key wouldn’t work. She had Wyatt Shaw find a brick to smash the lock.

Pushing the door open sent a cloud of dust flying. As light streamed in, it revealed a cold, empty room.

When it was sold, the house had been full of things, but the buyer had planned to renovate and cleared out all the old furniture and items. Later, it seemed they moved abroad with their children and never got around to renovating.

’What a shame.’

The small house was of an old style from the ’80s or ’90s. It had a large open living area with bedrooms on either side, stairs at the back, and a kitchen under the stairs. The doors and windows were all wooden, rotted after so many years of exposure to wind and rain.

Yvonne Sutton tried to push open a bedroom door, but with one push, the door crashed to the floor. The resulting cloud of dust flew right in her face.

She coughed a couple of times and turned back to look at Wyatt Shaw. He was surveying the room, but when he saw her face, he burst out laughing.

Yvonne Sutton huffed and went outside to find some water to wash her face.

Next door was a small convenience store, also run by a longtime resident of the alley. When the neighbor heard that Yvonne Sutton had bought the house back, she called out to the other neighbors to come and congratulate her.

"Your mother was a good person. When she was around, if anyone’s child or elderly parent had a headache or fever, she’d always help check on them, sometimes even bringing back medicine."

"Yvonne, do you remember? When you were little, your mom was busy, so she’d often leave you at my place, and I’d look after you."

"Yvonne also loved to play with my third kid. Yvonne was a good student; after finishing her own homework, she’d even teach my little one."

The neighbors chimed in one after another, nearly surrounding Yvonne Sutton, but her heart felt warm and full.

When her mother passed away, the neighbors had bustled about, helping with everything. She had always remembered their kindness.

Back in the yard, before she even stepped through the door, she heard Wyatt Shaw call her name.

"What is it?" she asked as she walked inside.

"I found the treasure!"

His voice was so cheerful and excited that it made Yvonne Sutton curious.

Wyatt Shaw was in her old room. When she entered, she saw him crouching in a corner.

"What are you looking at?"

"A princess on stilts."

"Huh?"

Yvonne Sutton leaned in for a look and saw a small figure drawn in the corner of the wall. It was bald but wearing a dress and high heels, though the heels were so high they really did look like stilts.

She remembered how much she had loved to draw as a child, even pestering her mother to let her take a year of art classes. But the things she drew were truly atrocious.

Her mom had told her tactfully, "Yvonne, everyone has different talents. You... you just don’t have a talent for drawing, that’s all."

"I probably drew this when I was six," Yvonne Sutton said.

"So I’m seeing the six-year-old you."

Yvonne Sutton paused for a moment, looking at Wyatt Shaw.

Wyatt Shaw wrapped an arm around her and gave her a kiss. "So how is this not a treasure?"

Yvonne Sutton smiled and hugged Wyatt Shaw. "Then thank you for finding the six-year-old me."

They spent the whole afternoon in the old house, searching for traces of the past. Every time she found one, she would tell Wyatt Shaw what had happened back then. It should have been boring, but Wyatt Shaw listened with rapt attention.

Leaving the old house and standing outside the gate, she looked at the still-dilapidated building. This time, it didn’t feel cold and deserted, but warm. She had brought Wyatt Shaw here and told him about her past with her mother. They had reminisced inside, laughed inside, and so another person had become part of this home.

He brought warmth to this home.

"Let’s go." Wyatt Shaw took her hand and led her away. "I’ll have someone repair the doors and windows. Then you can fill it up with things again, and we can come stay on weekends when we’re free."

Yvonne Sutton hugged Wyatt Shaw’s arm. "Okay."

"By the way, Mom just called. She asked if we’re coming back to the family estate for dinner."

"Oh, okay. I haven’t formally visited your family’s home yet."

"From now on, it’ll be our home."

The Rhodes family estate was almost diagonally opposite Cloudsea Villa, also located near the suburbs. It was a manor spanning hundreds of acres.

"Why do you live so far from home?" Yvonne Sutton asked, confused.

It would be one thing if it were for work, but Cloudsea Villa was also very far from Rhodes Tower.

Wyatt Shaw shrugged. "My dad and I are both just as stubborn. We can’t be together without arguing."

Yvonne Sutton had only seen Mr. Rhodes once, at their wedding. Mr. Rhodes had graying hair, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and was tall and heavyset. He didn’t seem to smile much, his expression always solemn.

Because the Rhodes estate was so large, it had three gates.

Past the first gate was a forest of ginkgo trees. At this time of year, the golden-yellow ginkgo leaves covered the ground. As the car drove through, the fan-shaped leaves swirled up in its wake.

Beyond the ginkgo forest, a maple forest was also visible. Wyatt Shaw said there were orchards on both sides of the road, with several kinds of fruit trees.

Driving through the second gate revealed a vast, rolling lawn. Because Aethelgard had a hilly topography, you couldn’t see to the end of it.

After driving a bit farther, they arrived at the third gate, where Wyatt Shaw finally stopped the car.

Getting out of the car, she saw a small, white, Western-style villa. The courtyard in front of it was also very large, and maids could be seen coming and going.

"My parents live in this house. Farther in is my eldest uncle’s family. My uncle has three sons, who form three separate branches of the family. Below them is the grandchildren’s generation, which has branched out even further. Their side of the family is much larger." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"And Silas Rhodes?" She only knew Silas Rhodes.

"He’s the eldest grandson on my uncle’s side. Even though he’s about my age, he’s a generation younger than me."

’It really is a huge family. So many people.’

On their wedding day, Daisy Shaw had taken her around and introduced everyone, but there were so many people that she hadn’t really recognized more than a few.

Upon entering, two maids came up to greet them.

"Sir, Ma’am, the Madam is waiting for you inside."

As they spoke, both maids looked at Yvonne Sutton, their faces beaming with joy.

"Ms. Hughes, Ms. Miller, if you keep staring, you’re going to scare my wife away," Wyatt Shaw teased.

The two maids were clearly close with Wyatt Shaw. They nudged him aside and took Yvonne Sutton by the arm, one on each side, leading her into the house.

"The Madam is always mentioning you to us. She says that for Sir to have married you, it must be a blessing he earned over several lifetimes."

Yvonne Sutton felt a little awkward and could only laugh.

"The Madam really likes you."

Ms. Hughes and Ms. Miller escorted Yvonne Sutton all the way into the room before going their separate ways to attend to their duties. Just as Yvonne Sutton was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she saw Mrs. Reed standing in the living room.

At that same moment, Mrs. Reed saw her too, and a trace of venomous hatred flashed in her eyes.