Chapter 122: Chapter 122: No Family Left, But Aren’t There Still Graves?

Noelle’s hands were full, so she couldn’t talk.

But Wyatt Yates knew what she wanted to ask.

"Wondering why I’m here?"

Noelle nodded.

"I came to visit my grandfather’s grave and thought I’d stop by to see your grandmother, too. I ate plenty of her cooking when I was a kid."

In truth, his main reason for coming was to keep Noelle company.

He figured that since it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, Noelle would probably come back to visit her grandmother’s and mother’s graves.

Wyatt Yates took the memorial offerings from Noelle’s hands. "Let’s go together."

Wyatt put everything in the trunk and opened the car door for Noelle.

After getting in the car, Noelle told him about her pronunciation practice from that morning.

It was still difficult. She couldn’t even form the simplest vowels smoothly.

"Don’t rush it. You haven’t even started treatment yet. The test results are back. The fact that you can suddenly make sounds is because your nervous system has healed a fair amount on its own. Your treatment will be easier than it is for most people. You’ll just need a minimally invasive procedure first to aid your recovery."

This news gave Noelle a great deal more hope.

After all these years, her condition was actually healing on its own. That meant her chances of speaking again were much, much higher than before.

Noelle signed, *Thank you.*

She simply bent her thumb in a small gesture.

She didn’t say anything else. If she did, Wyatt would have to watch her signs instead of focusing on the road.

Secretary Shaw followed Wyatt Yates’s car all the way to the cemetery.

Wyatt and Noelle got out of the car to pay their respects together.

’I’d better not tell CEO Lawson,’ Secretary Shaw thought. ’He told me to pick up his wife. My job is just to bring her back. Everything else is none of my business.’

’If he finds out his wife went to pay respects to her family with another man, CEO Lawson will think he’s being cuckolded. And if he gets angry, it’ll just make my job more stressful.’

’I don’t need to make things difficult for myself.’

When Wyatt and Noelle came out after paying their respects, Secretary Shaw got out of his car and headed straight for Noelle.

"Ma’am, CEO Lawson sent me to take you back to Glenwater immediately."

Noelle instinctively signed, *Tell him I’m not going back.*

Secretary Shaw frowned. "Ma’am, I don’t understand sign language."

Wyatt immediately translated, "She wants you to tell your CEO Lawson that she’s not going back."

With that, Wyatt put an arm around Noelle’s shoulders and guided her toward his car.

He opened the car door.

Secretary Shaw hurried after them. "Ma’am," he said urgently, "CEO Lawson was very clear that I must bring you back."

Not wanting to make things difficult for Secretary Shaw, Noelle took out her phone and sent a text to Tristan Lawson.

[I’m not going back to Glenwater today.]

Noelle showed the message to Secretary Shaw, letting him know she had already told Tristan. Even if Tristan was going to cause trouble, he couldn’t blame the secretary for it.

This way, Secretary Shaw wouldn’t have to worry about Tristan holding him responsible.

Tristan had rushed back last night, only getting home after three in the morning after visiting Sophie Hughes at the hospital. Still, he woke up early, waiting for Noelle to return so they could go to the Lawson family estate together.

When he suddenly received Noelle’s message, Tristan’s expression turned cold and grim.

They were a two-hour drive apart. If she refused to come back, there was nothing he could do.

He had no choice but to take Joshua to the Lawson estate.

Having been influenced by his family’s traditions, Tristan also took ancestor worship very seriously.

By now, all the Lawsons had gathered. They were just waiting for Tristan’s family to arrive before they could leave.

Yet once again, it was only Tristan and Joshua.

Old Master Lawson’s brow furrowed so deeply that every wrinkle on his face stood out.

"Where’s Noelle?"

Everyone else was watching, too. It was a major holiday, and Noelle hadn’t come back.

Tristan was still fuming, so he snapped, "She went back to her hometown."

Tessa Lawson demanded angrily, "Doesn’t she know we have ancestor worship today?"

"That’s right, Tristan," his father, Nathaniel Lawson, said, clearly displeased. "She married into the Lawson family, so she’s a Lawson now. How can she skip the Mid-Autumn ancestor worship?"

Tristan scanned the room, his tone icy. "And where is Aunt Sterling?"

Talia Lawson quickly answered, "My mom went to visit her family."

Nathaniel immediately tugged on Talia’s arm. "What are you chiming in for?"

Tristan snorted. "If Aunt Sterling can go visit her family, why can’t Noelle?"

Talia instantly clamped her mouth shut. ’It’s all my fault for running my mouth,’ she thought.

Nathaniel looked embarrassed. "Your Aunt Sterling has family to visit. Noelle doesn’t have anyone on her side. What’s the point of her going back?"

Tristan’s voice was frigid. "She may not have living family, but doesn’t she have graves to visit?"

"That’s enough! All of you, stop arguing," Old Master Lawson interjected. "It’s getting late. Let’s go."

He put a stop to the father and son’s bickering. Visiting the ancestors was the priority right now; he didn’t have time to discuss the matter of publicly acknowledging Noelle with Tristan.

The family set off for the cemetery.

When they arrived at the tombstones of the Lawson ancestors, everyone stood solemnly, waiting for Old Master Lawson’s word to step forward and bow.

Old Master Lawson suddenly turned and asked, "Where are the offerings?"

Every Lawson present was struck dumb.

They all just looked at each other in dead silence.

Old Master Lawson stamped his cane in fury. "I’m asking you, where are the offerings? Don’t tell me that we, the great Lawson family, came to visit our ancestors without even preparing a single thing!"

Ever since Noelle had married into the family, she had always been the one to prepare the offerings, so no one else ever bothered with it.

Nathaniel hung his head and said awkwardly, "Noelle always prepared them before. I just assumed she did it again this year, so I never asked."

Old Master Lawson was so enraged he clutched his chest, and Tessa rushed forward to steady him.

Talia said resentfully, "Grandpa, you can’t blame Dad. Our sister-in-law has handled this every year. For her to suddenly drop it today without a word... I think she did it on purpose to embarrass us."

Nathaniel immediately chimed in. "Exactly! If she wasn’t coming, she should have told us beforehand. It’s not like I wouldn’t have prepared anything. This is all Noelle’s fault. It has nothing to do with me."

Old Master Lawson looked like he wanted to beat Nathaniel with his cane.

"How did I raise such a good-for-nothing son!"

Joshua looked up at Tristan. "Dad, why don’t we go buy the offerings now?"

In the past, when Noelle prepared the offerings, she had taught Joshua that everything they had was thanks to the hard work of their ancestors. She told him that worshipping and remembering their forebears was an important tradition that had to be passed down through the generations.

The Lawson family came to worship their ancestors for every major holiday, so even at his young age, Joshua understood the importance of the occasion.

Tristan was also irritated that Noelle hadn’t taken care of the offerings, especially on such a significant day.

But getting angry was pointless; problems needed to be solved. Tristan knew this well, and this couldn’t be delayed. "I’ll go prepare them now," he said.

"Tristan."

Just then, a familiar female voice called out.