Chapter 14: She’s Done Being Mrs. Lawson Editor: Henyee Translations

Noelle Sutton hesitated to give her phone to Wyatt. But he had already taken it. He opened the app store and downloaded the software.

A moment later, he typed a line into the app: "Little Mute, what do you think of this voice?"

An unfamiliar female voice rang out.

"Do you like it?"

Wyatt typed the question into the phone again, and the same voice sounded once more.

Noelle realized the voice was coming from the necklace. Her eyes lit up. A necklace this interesting actually exists. What’s more, the voice it produced carried a hint of her own former vocal tone.

She hadn’t been born mute.

Wyatt handed the phone to Noelle. "Just type what you want to say into this app. It can intelligently recognize your intended tone, though of course, the effect gets better after a bit of a learning curve for you and the device."

Noelle was tempted.

Not everyone can understand sign language. Wyatt only knew sign language because they had gotten along reasonably well back then. He’d said he found it interesting and had pestered her to teach him.

When she was out and about, she had to communicate by writing things down or typing them on her phone for others to read.

With this necklace, she could wear it and have it speak automatically when she typed. She wouldn’t have to trouble others to read her words, even if her replies were a bit delayed.

It would be more time-efficient than her current methods. But a diamond this large had to be expensive.

She typed on her phone: This is too valuable. I can’t accept it.

Amazingly, the intelligent recognition actually worked. The voice that emerged from the necklace matched the pace and tone she had intended in her mind.

Wyatt pressed the diamond necklace into Noelle’s hand. "Don’t be silly. The diamond is just a good imitation. I was worried you’d be disappointed that it’s fake."

Hearing him say the diamond was fake, Noelle typed out a line: How much was it? I’ll pay you for it.

"We haven’t seen each other in so many years, and you’re going to quibble with me over a small gift? Are you trying to make me angry?"

Noelle smiled, not refusing his kind gesture any longer. She used her phone to type out two words: Thank you.

"It’s getting late, I won’t keep you. Just be careful—the necklace can’t get wet. Go to bed early, and don’t forget our arrangement for tomorrow."

Noelle nodded, waved goodbye, and watched him leave.

Once the car was far in the distance, she turned to open the door. She had just pushed the door open when a large, warm hand seized her wrist and slammed her against the wall.

Noelle looked up. Her clear, dark eyes met Tristan’s deep, smoldering gaze. She pressed her free hand against his solid chest, trying to push him away.

But the man was tall and powerfully built; with what little strength she had, she couldn’t move him an inch.

Tristan glanced down and snatched the box containing the diamond necklace from her hand. Noelle couldn’t make a sound, and with one hand restrained, she had no way to use sign language.

Tristan flicked the lid open with his thumb. He glanced at the design of the diamond inside the box. It was a matching set with the ring he had bought. They looked to be from the same designer collection.

Noelle frowned deeply. She had never told him her house was here. And he had never asked. How did he know her family home was here...?

The man’s low voice drifted into her ears.

"Don’t tell me that after seven years as Mrs. Lawson, you still can’t tell a real diamond from a fake."

Noelle instinctively glanced at the diamond necklace in the box. She hadn’t paid any attention to whether the diamond was real or fake; her focus had been entirely on its ability to produce sound.

Tristan suddenly leaned closer, his thin lips almost brushing against her earlobe. "Do you like it very much?"

His voice was cool yet carried a unique magnetism, and his hot breath ghosted over her ear. She trembled slightly.

She did like it. Very much. At least for now, it would make her life more convenient. Besides, the female voice it produced sounded so much like her own.

But she had no way to answer him.

Tristan Lawson opened his hand...

Noelle’s eyes flew open. She struggled frantically, reaching out to catch the necklace. But she grasped at empty air.

The necklace box fell, striking the edge of a stone trough on the ground beside them.

The necklace bounced out of the box and landed inside the trough.

Her family home was a small courtyard house. Just inside the entrance, under the eaves, sat a long stone trough where her grandmother had once planted moneywort.

Positioned under the eaves, the trough would collect rainwater. That was why, even though she had rarely returned over the years, the moneywort continued to thrive.

But the small speaker hidden behind the diamond pendant was electronic, and Wyatt had warned her it couldn’t get wet.

It was surely ruined now that it had fallen into the water.

Her eyes welled with moisture as she stared at Tristan in despair. She only had six months left; there was no way she could go to Aridia for treatment for her aphonia.

For someone living in a world of silence, that necklace held profound significance for her.

At the very least, it would have made it easier for her to communicate with others.

As if seeing how much she cared about the necklace, Tristan reached out with his other hand and gripped her jaw.

"You’d better get one thing straight. You are still Mrs. Lawson, so how can you just accept jewelry from another man?"

She was done being Mrs. Lawson, Noelle Sutton wanted to say. But, alas, not a single sound could escape her throat.

Tristan grabbed her by the wrist, dragged her out the door, shoved her into the car, pulled the seatbelt across her, and buckled it.

Noelle’s hands were finally free. She signed, "Tristan Lawson, what do you think you’re doing? I thought you never meddled in my affairs?"

"Don’t you know what you’ve done?"

He must have seen Wyatt give me the sound-emitting necklace... Noelle thought. And he threw it away right in front of me. That means he’s angry. But I’m even angrier than he is.

However, she didn’t feel like offering a single word of explanation.

Tristan Lawson slammed the car door shut and got into the driver’s seat. Once inside, his expression remained cold and grim. "Who was that man just now?"

Noelle’s heart seized. She was already dying; she wasn’t afraid of what Tristan might do to her.

But, Wyatt...

She didn’t want to get Wyatt mixed up in her problems. He had only given her the sound-emitting necklace out of kindness because he knew she couldn’t speak.

She signed, "He’s my neighbor. He’s been abroad for many years and just came back. It was just a gift..."

Tristan’s eyes were cold as he cut her off. "You’re very good at being evasive."

Noelle frowned.

Tristan continued, "Refusing to come home for the past few days... you’ve been with him, haven’t you?"

Noelle signed anxiously, "It has nothing to do with him. If you have a problem, take it up with me."

Tristan scoffed, then said no more. He retracted his gaze and started the car.

Noelle didn’t want to explain anymore, either. She had already been planning to talk to him about a divorce once he got back from Crestfall.

The car was exceptionally quiet.

Before long, Noelle had fallen asleep. When she opened her eyes again, Tristan was parking the car. They had arrived at Westhill Villa.

It was deep into the night, already past two in the morning.

Noelle Sutton walked into the master bedroom.

Tristan followed her in, heading straight for the bathroom. A minute or two later, the sound of rushing water came from within.

He’s taking a shower.

Noelle leaned quietly against the headboard. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

When Tristan came out, he had nothing but a white bath towel wrapped around his waist. A few strands of damp, dark hair fell across his forehead, and droplets of water slid down his powerful chest muscles toward his well-defined abs.

The movement of his Adam’s apple deepened the shadows in the hollows of his collarbones. The V-lines of his hips were partially visible among the towel’s folds, and the steamy air was thick with the heated scent of a man fresh from the shower.

Noelle had once been deeply infatuated with a body like that.

After they first consummated their marriage, they had enjoyed a period of blissful and... very active intimacy. He’d always had a strong libido, but their encounters had grown infrequent ever since she got pregnant.

He was often away on business trips.

Tristan finished towel-drying his hair and strode over to her. "What are you gawking at?" he ordered coldly. "It’s late. Go wash up and get to bed. We have to go to the main family residence tomorrow."

Noelle Sutton got up and went into the bathroom. She was only halfway through her shower when the bathroom door opened.

Tristan Lawson was standing in the doorway...