Chapter 164: Chapter 164: She Threw Up Blood

The man’s voice was low and gentle, and Noelle Sutton slowly stopped trembling. The nap she’d taken during the day had done nothing to alleviate her weakness and exhaustion.

She drifted off groggily in Tristan Lawson’s arms, her brow remaining tightly furrowed even in sleep.

Worried she was a light sleeper, Tristan Lawson barely dared to move.

As he recalled the events of the previous night, an unprecedented wave of guilt washed over him.

After leaving Westhill Villa, Hugo Sterling rushed straight to the hospital.

Old Master Sterling was indeed in a hospital room, but he seemed to be in high spirits.

"Grandpa, weren’t you rushed to the emergency room?"

Hugo Sterling was stunned.

Old Master Sterling asked with a serious expression, "You and Tristan didn’t get into a fight, did you?"

Hugo Sterling lowered his gaze. "Grandpa, what’s going on?"

Only then did Old Master Sterling explain. "Tristan’s secretary called. He said you and Tristan were having a huge argument over something and asked me to find a way to call you back to keep you from fighting. I mean, honestly. How old are you? Aren’t you ashamed to be fighting at your age?"

"Grandpa!" Hugo Sterling was furious. "And how old are you to be so gullible? Do you really think I’m the type to just pick a fight with Tristan Lawson?"

He knew Tristan Lawson must have been behind the incident at the company, but he couldn’t ignore a threat to his grandfather’s health.

"You’re saying I was tricked? What on earth happened?"

Old Master Sterling looked completely bewildered.

"I’m short on time. I’ll explain everything after I’ve handled this."

With that, Hugo Sterling hurried out of the hospital. He still had to get to the company.

Tristan Lawson had made his move. Now that Hugo was out, he had to arrange for someone to deal with it immediately.

Shortly after his car left the hospital, his secretary called.

"CEO Sterling, it’s been resolved."

"How could it be resolved all of a sudden?"

Hugo Sterling was completely baffled by this turn of events.

"It was a computer virus, but it was all an illusion. The virus disappeared before our technicians could even start working on it."

Hugo Sterling slammed on the brakes and pounded his fist on the steering wheel.

He knew it was Tristan Lawson’s scheme, but because the matters were so critical, he’d fallen for it anyway and been lured away.

’Noelle?’

His expression tightened. He floored the accelerator and sped toward Westhill Villa.

The villa was pitch-black.

Hugo Sterling rang the doorbell for a long time before Mrs. Miller finally came to answer it.

"Mr. Sterling, hello."

"Where’s Tristan Lawson?"

Mrs. Miller frowned. "Sir told us all to go to bed. I only came to the door because I saw you ringing the bell. I don’t know if they’re in the villa."

Hugo Sterling stormed through the gate to the front door of the villa and rang the bell.

"Mr. Sterling, please, don’t worry. I’ll open it."

Mrs. Miller opened the door and turned on the lights. Hugo Sterling rushed inside to find the villa completely empty.

He felt it wouldn’t be right to open the bedroom doors himself, so Mrs. Miller knocked on each one, searching room by room. But there was no sign of Tristan Lawson or Noelle Sutton anywhere in the entire villa.

The divorce agreement Tristan Lawson had printed out lay on the floor.

Hugo Sterling’s fists clenched uncontrollably. After luring them all away, Tristan Lawson had taken Noelle Sutton.

The feeling of knowing he was being played yet falling for it anyway was excruciating for Hugo Sterling.

If it had only been about the company, he might not have left.

That was why Tristan Lawson had used a two-pronged approach, targeting his grandfather as well.

’That devious bastard!’

Since Tristan Lawson had used Adrian Grant to get to him, he could use Adrian Grant to get to Tristan Lawson.

Back in his car, Hugo Sterling first called his secretary, telling him to find out where Tristan Lawson had gone. Then, he called Adrian Grant and asked him to invite Tristan Lawson to The Carmine Club for drinks.

"Why don’t you ask him yourself?"

Adrian Grant couldn’t believe these two.

’Tristan Lawson called him at noon, and now Hugo Sterling was calling in the afternoon. Did these two think he was just some kind of tool?’

"We’re not on speaking terms. Just stop asking questions and do it."

Adrian Grant called Tristan Lawson, but his phone was off.

There was nothing Adrian Grant could do, so he messaged Hugo Sterling back.

"Brother Hugo, listen. Tristan is more ruthless than you. He just turned his phone off, giving you no way to find him. If you ask me, you should just back off. If anyone else tried to steal his wife, I bet he would’ve dealt with them ages ago. Why are you pushing this? Do you really want to make him your enemy? We’re all men here. You don’t mess with another man’s wife, whether he loves her or not. Just give it up, okay?"

Adrian Grant had always felt that Hugo Sterling was in the wrong; after all, Tristan Lawson and Noelle Sutton were a legally married couple.

"Since you can’t reach him, I’m hanging up."

Hugo Sterling closed his phone and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Adrian Grant was right; Tristan Lawson was more ruthless.

Tristan Lawson had hidden her, and he wasn’t going to make it easy for Hugo to find her.

Late that night, once Noelle Sutton had fallen into a deeper sleep, Tristan Lawson carried her to the bed. He knelt beside it, removed her shoes, and gently pulled the blanket over her.

Tristan Lawson sat by the head of the bed all night.

A few specks of red stained the abdomen of his white shirt.

「The next day」

When Noelle Sutton woke, she heard the sounds of someone cooking. She slowly opened her drowsy eyes. Yellowish light filtered through the blinds, just a little too bright.

The room wasn’t large. As her vision cleared, she saw a tall, familiar back.

She tried to push herself up, but her muscles ached all over. She gave up and leaned back against the headboard, not moving.

As if sensing she was awake, Tristan Lawson turned to look at her. Through the glass partition of the small kitchen, his expression was dark and unreadable.

After a moment, he looked away. The sandwich in the pan was toasted. He turned off the heat, placed it on a plate, and cut it into neat, small pieces.

He took a bowl of stewed bird’s nest from the pot, placed it on the tray with the sandwich, and carried it out.

He walked with an elegant, steady gait. A faint stubble shadowed his sharp jaw, and his normally immaculate shirt was wrinkled. The specks of blood on his abdomen had darkened.

He set the tray on the nightstand, then bent down, took the pillow from beside Noelle Sutton, and gently propped it behind her back for support.

Noelle Sutton watched him, her expression completely blank.

’No matter how gentle he was, she felt nothing.’

’If his wound reopened, she wouldn’t feel the slightest pang of concern.’

’If he grew a beard, she wouldn’t have to worry about changing his razor blade.’

’If his clothes were wrinkled, she no longer had to wake up early to iron them.’

’She didn’t even care if his current display was sincere or just an act.’

’None of it mattered anymore.’

Tristan Lawson sat on the edge of the bed, his voice low and gentle. "Let me help you wash up, and then you can have some breakfast, okay?"

Yesterday, Hugo Sterling had bought her food, but she hadn’t touched a single bite or a drop of water.

When she neither spoke nor moved, Tristan Lawson didn’t ask again. He simply lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bathroom.

No matter what he did, she had no reaction, like a soulless husk.

Tristan Lawson pressed his lips into a thin line as he squeezed toothpaste onto a toothbrush and handed it to her.

He had gone out early that morning to buy all the toiletries.

Noelle Sutton took it woodenly. The moment the toothbrush entered her mouth, a wave of nausea hit her. She shoved Tristan Lawson aside, rushed to the toilet, and retched. He hurried over in a panic, gently patting her back.

And then he saw it—the toilet bowl was filled with bright red blood...