Tristan didn’t say what "otherwise" would entail.

Adrian Grant had a feeling that this time, Tristan was serious about the consequences.

He turned to Hugo Sterling and said, "I just tried to persuade you. If you’d just told me her location, I would have gone and brought her back myself."

Tessa Lawson stared blankly at the three men. "What are you talking about? Bring who back? What in the world is going on?"

Hugo Sterling and Tristan Lawson locked eyes, neither saying a word.

No one answered Tessa Lawson’s question.

She grew frantic and glared at Tristan Lawson. "Tristan, you tell me! What exactly happened?"

Tristan Lawson remained sullenly silent.

She finally stood up, walked over to Hugo Sterling, and blocked his view of Tristan. "If Tristan won’t talk, then you will!"

Tessa Lawson had a feeling something serious had happened that she didn’t know about. Otherwise, why would Tristan have gotten into a car accident?

For the moment, neither Tristan Lawson nor Hugo Sterling was willing to tell Tessa. Tessa had a bad attitude toward Noelle Sutton, and if she knew the whole chain of events was caused by Noelle’s departure, she would undoubtedly blame her for everything.

"Tessa, Adrian, you two head out for a bit. I need to talk to him."

Tristan finally spoke.

Adrian Grant agreed that Hugo Sterling and Tristan Lawson desperately needed to talk, so he forcibly dragged Tessa out.

Tessa shook his arm off. "What are you all hiding from me? Tristan is seriously hurt. Don’t I, his own sister, have a right to know?"

"Neither Tristan nor Hugo intends to say anything, so of course I’m not going to. Why are you so impatient? You’ll find out eventually. Can’t you see Tristan doesn’t want to talk?"

"Then you tell me."

"He won’t talk, and you want me to? I have no desire to piss him off. You should just stay out of it. Aren’t Tristan and Hugo talking it out right now? Let’s just wait and see."

Inside the hospital room, Tristan Lawson’s handsome features were cold and dark, his gaze fixed entirely on Hugo Sterling’s face.

Hugo Sterling showed not a shred of guilt.

A flash of anger crossed his face. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing? She’s my wife!"

"Tristan, she wasn’t happy."

Hugo Sterling couldn’t bear to see that mournful face, a face that almost never smiled.

"Whether she’s happy or not isn’t for you to decide. We had seven peaceful years of marriage. Ever since you people showed up, you’ve turned my home life into a complete mess."

Hugo Sterling frowned. "You can’t say that. If I recall, when I first met her, she was already about to divorce you. And even though she was your wife, Mrs. Tristan Lawson, she had to sell her paper art because she had no money. So you tell me: did we make a mess of your family, or was it already falling apart at the seams?"

Tristan’s expression wavered. "You don’t understand the whole story."

’Those few days, I was just trying to force her to come home sooner.’

"I’m not going to make excuses for myself. I’m the one who sent her abroad. She’s probably on a plane right now. Could you really not tell she was unhappy? You’re injured, so stop making a scene. Just focus on recovering. This is a good chance for her to get away and clear her head, alright?"

Hugo Sterling’s tone was reasonable.

’But what good did that do?’

It did nothing to extinguish the fire raging in Tristan’s heart.

’She’s unhappy...’

’How could I not know that?’

’But with her gone, how am I supposed to win her over?’

’How can I explain everything to her?’

’And besides, she’s all alone...’

At this thought, Tristan’s voice grew heavier. "She can’t speak. How do you expect her to survive abroad all by herself?"

"Relax, I’ll arrange everything."

"She had better be okay!"

The reason Tristan Lawson didn’t completely lose it with Hugo Sterling or burn that bridge entirely was mainly because he had been in the wrong that night.

From start to finish, Hugo had been the one protecting Noelle.

After a while, Hugo Sterling emerged from the room completely unscathed. Adrian Grant gave him a stunned look. ’Tristan really does treat him differently from everyone else.’

"Let’s go."

Adrian Grant waved goodbye to Tessa Lawson.

Tessa shot them a glare before returning to the hospital room to press Tristan about the reason for his accident.

Tristan closed his eyes and said coolly, "I’m tired. I’m going to sleep."

Tessa’s lips parted as if to say something, but when she saw Tristan’s battered body, she pressed them shut.

「After a flight of twelve or thirteen hours, Noelle Sutton landed safely in Aridia.」

Just as she got off the plane, she saw Smith standing at the exit, holding a glowing sign with her name on it. Her nose instantly started to tingle, and her eyes welled up.

She hadn’t contacted Smith. ’It must have been Hugo’s doing.’

’Ever since I met him, he’s been helping me.’

’He knew there was nothing to gain from offending Tristan, yet he didn’t seem worried in the slightest. He even stabbed Tristan for my sake.’

Noelle Sutton composed herself and walked towards Smith with a smile.

’The life I’ve always wanted is finally about to begin.’

Smith had arranged a place for Noelle to stay. It was an apartment not far from his company, fully furnished and equipped with a high-end computer.

Noelle Sutton thanked Smith.

"Don’t thank me, it was all Hugo’s doing. If you’re going to thank anyone, thank him. You just got off a long flight, so get some rest and recover from the jet lag. Let me know if you need anything. I won’t bother you anymore. Goodbye."

Noelle was already starving.

However, there was a distinct, burning pain in her throat. She didn’t dare try any random remedies, since her ability to speak was at stake.

She stepped forward, caught Smith’s arm, and typed out a message on her phone: "You mentioned you could introduce me to a doctor. Well, I’m here now, and my throat is bothering me. I’d like to get it checked out first."

Noelle hadn’t planned on contacting Wyatt Yates. She didn’t want to drag him into her problems anymore.

"Is your throat really bad?"

Noelle nodded.

Smith remembered the promise he’d made to Wyatt Yates and said, "The doctor seems to be out of town for a conference, and I can’t reach him by phone. How about I contact Wyatt? He knows the doctor well too. Maybe he can get him to prescribe something for you in the meantime?"

Noelle hadn’t expected such bad luck. She had no choice but to type, "I’ll contact Wyatt Yates myself. Thank you, and goodbye."

After Smith left, Noelle weighed her options and decided she had to message Wyatt Yates after all.

’I finally managed to get away. I don’t want to give up the chance to speak again, and I don’t want to give up on my life.’

That night, Tristan had ravaged her like a man possessed. She knew the pain was caused by the excessive strain on her vocal cords.

Wyatt Yates was the one helping her rehabilitate her vocal cords. ’I have to contact him; there’s no other way.’

’I just have to do my best to keep Tristan from finding out I’m still in contact with Wyatt. Maybe I can keep it a secret for a while.’

After much hesitation, Noelle finally sent Wyatt Yates a message.

When Wyatt Yates received Noelle’s message, he immediately started a video call.

He had been frantic for the past two or three days, unable to reach her and completely in the dark about her situation.

"The Little Mute..."

He was clearly overcome with anxiety, but now that he had her on the line, the words wouldn’t come.

’I wanted to protect her, but I couldn’t.’

The feeling of helplessness gnawed at his heart.

Noelle Sutton positioned her phone and started signing at the camera.