After all, Smith had a connection to Tristan Lawson, so he was a little worried about what Tristan might think of him suddenly taking her away.

However, Noelle Sutton replied decisively, "There’s no need to discuss it with him. The lawyer is filing for divorce today!"

And it had to be said, the sound-emitting necklace worked quite well. While the tone couldn’t perfectly replicate human emotion, it managed a pretty close imitation.

Smith could tell Tristan Lawson didn’t want a divorce. But a couple’s rights were equal; Tristan’s wishes couldn’t stop Noelle Sutton from seeking one.

Since Noelle Sutton had made her position clear, he had nothing to worry about. If Tristan Lawson really came looking for him, he’d have an explanation ready.

Meanwhile, Tristan Lawson arrived at the paper-cutting competition with Sophie Hughes and Joshua Lawson.

"Wow, isn’t that Sophie Hughes? She’s made a lot of animated films. My daughter loves watching her cartoons."

"Yeah, and she often posts short animations on her social media. My son is always watching them."

"I didn’t expect her to have such a great presence in person. And her son is so handsome."

There were many children with their parents at the venue. With Tristan Lawson and Sophie Hughes by his side, Joshua Lawson was in incredibly high spirits.

He hadn’t seen his mother in many days and would occasionally miss her. But in a place like this, when people saw Sophie Hughes standing next to him and cast envious glances his way, he instantly forgot all about his real mom.

’If his mom were here with him, he’d probably just be ridiculed.’

Hugo Sterling and Attorney Miller also arrived at the venue, but they entered separately.

Tristan Lawson and Sophie Hughes took Joshua Lawson to the front of the venue to fill out a form. Hugo found a seat in the last row and sat down.

’That little brat, Joshua Lawson, was holding tightly onto Sophie Hughes’s hand.’

’Tristan Lawson forced Noelle into a secret marriage, yet here he was, parading around with Sophie Hughes and his son. Wasn’t he just deliberately causing a misunderstanding?’

After Attorney Miller came in, he looked for opportunities to take photos and record videos.

He even had a recording pen in his suit pocket, which had been on since he entered.

After filling out Joshua Lawson’s information, Joshua was about to head backstage when he ran into the parent of a classmate.

"Little Joshua, did your mom and dad come with you to the paper-cutting competition?"

"Yes, hello, Auntie. Why isn’t Mingming here?"

"Mingming doesn’t know how to do paper-cutting. I’m here with his cousin. We’re going to go fill out her forms now, so we won’t bother you."

’Hugo Sterling was about to explode with anger. This little brat was so polite and courteous to his classmate’s mom, but to his own mother...’

Hugo was tempted to curse out loud.

’And Tristan Lawson didn’t even deny that Sophie Hughes was his wife.’

’Anyone in this situation would demand a divorce.’

’How could Tristan Lawson have the audacity to act like he was so deeply in love and unwilling to get divorced?’

’If he still liked Sophie Hughes, he should just grow a pair, break through the secular barriers, and be with her. Why was he tormenting Noelle Sutton? Wasn’t she pitiful enough already?’

Even Attorney Miller found it hard to watch.

As a lawyer, he had seen his fair share of scumbag behavior. Some men were truly scumbags, spectacularly so. But Tristan Lawson’s brand of scum, though seemingly calm, was the most heartbreaking of all.

The venue was crowded, and Mingming’s mom was busy helping her little niece fill out the registration form.

Joshua Lawson felt a smug sense of superiority with Sophie Hughes by his side. He looked up and said with a wide smile, "Dad, Mom, you two go take a seat. I’m going backstage to get in line."

Tristan Lawson’s expression immediately darkened.

’A moment ago, when Mingming’s mom had asked, Joshua hadn’t denied it. With Sophie Hughes standing right there, Tristan hadn’t wanted to correct him either, for fear of embarrassing her.’

’And now Joshua had just called Sophie Hughes ’Mom’ directly!’

’He’s getting more and more out of line. No wonder Noelle Sutton is so determined to divorce. She’s probably heard him say it before.’

Attorney Miller never would have expected the young master of the Lawson family to actually call Sophie Hughes "Mom."

’Solid evidence. This was almost too easy to get.’

’It’s only because the opposing party is Tristan Lawson that so many lawyers didn’t dare to take this case. Otherwise, even a rookie lawyer could win this lawsuit.’

’The guilty party was so arrogant they weren’t even trying to hide it, openly acting like a married couple in public.’

Attorney Miller planned to contact Mingming’s mom, the one who had just spoken with Joshua, later. He would ask her to testify in court.

The venue was crowded. Tristan Lawson had to protect Sophie Hughes’s reputation to avoid being bad-mouthed by others.

He said to Joshua Lawson in a low voice, "Come outside with me."

Sophie Hughes frowned. "Tristan, don’t be so harsh. You’ll scare Joshua."

’Joshua Lawson was baffled. The arrangements for the paper-cutting competition had all been discussed beforehand. Why did his dad suddenly seem angry?’

Tristan Lawson’s voice was low and flat. "Find a seat. I need to speak with Joshua alone."

With that, Tristan Lawson dragged Joshua outside.

Sophie Hughes didn’t follow. There was no need.

Following them would just make Tristan Lawson unhappy.

’Besides, Joshua despises Noelle Sutton for not being able to speak. He could handle communicating with Tristan on his own.’

Once they reached an empty hallway, Tristan Lawson stopped. His dark eyes were cold and heavy as he stared at Joshua and asked, "I heard you made a scene about jumping off a building a few days ago?"

Joshua Lawson’s cheeks puffed out. "Did she tattle on me?"

"She... Who are you calling ’she’?!"

Tristan Lawson’s tone was sharp. When he disciplined Joshua, he was very stern. A little scared, Joshua mumbled in a soft, low voice, "Mom."

"So you do know you have a mother?"

Joshua Lawson said angrily, "She’s the one who never comes home! She doesn’t cook for me, doesn’t care about me, and ignores me! You’re fighting with Grandpa and Auntie because of her. I just wanted her to come home! Our family is a total mess now!"

Hearing Joshua say this, Tristan couldn’t help but feel a flicker of anger toward Noelle Sutton as well. It was true. Noelle had been throwing unreasonable tantrums, turning their once-warm home into a mess. He had to put aside his busy work to coax her, and yet she just took advantage of his kindness.

Still, Tristan Lawson reprimanded Joshua. "That’s no reason for you to call Sophie Hughes ’Mom’. She is your grand-aunt. She’s young, so calling her ’Grand-aunt’ isn’t appropriate. I can overlook you calling her ’Sister,’ but calling her ’Mom’? What does that make you look like? Don’t you have a mother?"

"I..."

Just then, a round of applause came from behind them.

Tristan Lawson turned his head. It was Hugo Sterling.

Joshua Lawson called out, "Hello, Uncle Sterling."

’This little brat,’ Hugo thought. ’He’s so polite to me and everyone else. How can he treat his own mother like that?’

Hugo Sterling gave Joshua a brief glance before turning his gaze to Tristan Lawson. "I was starting to think you didn’t know how to raise your son. But when it comes to correcting bad behavior, isn’t it more effective to stop it the moment it happens? Now that it’s this serious, I think it might be a bit difficult to fix completely."

Tristan Lawson’s expression was frighteningly dark. His thin lips were pressed into a tight line, and he was on the verge of erupting.