Chapter 191: Chapter 191: I Guess She Has a Misunderstanding Because of Me

"You... you..."

Old Mrs. Hughes was so furious she could barely breathe.

Old Mr. Hughes quickly helped soothe her. "Dear, you’re going to make yourself sick before you even manage to teach your grandson a lesson."

Old Mrs. Hughes took a long moment to calm down. Then, with a trembling hand, she pointed at Tristan Lawson and said, "Just listen to the things you’re saying! No wonder Noelle wants to divorce you! Is it that she doesn’t know what’s good for her, or is it that you’ve failed to fulfill your duties as a husband? It was the same with Tessa yesterday. You’ve been married for seven years, yet she still dares to talk about your wife like that. Isn’t it because you allow it? If you never intended to treat her well, why did you marry her in the first place?"

Tristan Lawson furrowed his brow. "I haven’t treated her poorly. She’s the one with overly high expectations, always letting her imagination run wild."

’I’ve provided for her food, clothing, and living expenses. I’ve even fulfilled my marital duties as a husband.’

’We may not have had a wedding ceremony, but our marriage certificate is legally binding. Isn’t that more practical than a wedding?’

’Yet she still had to be suspicious, suspecting there was something going on between me and Sophie Hughes.’

’I’ve humbled myself enough in front of her. Last night, I held her hand. Wasn’t that enough to show her how I feel?’

’She completely disregarded my sincerity.’

"Tristan is right, Grandma. Don’t be fooled by Noelle Sutton’s harmless appearance. You don’t know the half of it. She neglects her child and flirts with other men..."

"Silence!" Old Mrs. Hughes cut Tessa Lawson off. "I’ve lived for many years. You think I can’t judge a person’s character? On the contrary, you two siblings have gone too far. Since you two can’t live together anymore, I say just get the divorce over with. It’ll save her from being wronged by Tristan any further. And let’s not drag this into court. Tristan, I hear you saying she doesn’t know what’s good for her, and you clearly have such a big problem with her. So just settle the divorce privately. If you’re too embarrassed to approach her, I’ll have Hugo act as a mediator. We can’t shortchange her on child support. You just state your terms, and I’ll contact Hugo."

"No!"

"No!"

The siblings answered in unison.

Old Mrs. Hughes sneered. "You two really are like twins."

’They even think the same.’

’On one hand, they complain about how awful Noelle Sutton is, but on the other, they both refuse to get a divorce.’

Tessa Lawson was worried Sophie Hughes would take advantage of the situation. Tristan Lawson, for his part, had never planned on divorcing.

He might be critical of her, but divorce was out of the question.

Old Mrs. Hughes looked at Tristan Lawson, displeased. "You won’t treat her well, but you won’t divorce her either. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Sophie Hughes was standing at the top of the stairs on the second floor; she hadn’t come down.

She heard every word of their conversation clearly.

’Even her adoptive mother wants to persuade Tristan to get a divorce, but he still refuses.’

"Grandma, stay out of my business with her. I’ll handle it myself."

Tessa Lawson quickly added, "That’s right. Let Tristan handle it himself."

’It’s good that Tristan doesn’t want a divorce.’

’He can’t divorce her.’

’That day, Sophie Hughes nearly threw herself at Tristan.’

’If they divorced, it would be a disaster.’

Old Mr. Hughes knew their grandchildren were grown and couldn’t be persuaded by the older generation, so he said to Old Mrs. Hughes, "Let’s just let Tristan handle it."

Old Mrs. Hughes stormed back to her room.

Old Mr. Hughes followed her in.

Old Mrs. Hughes said to Old Mr. Hughes, "My heart aches whenever I see that girl, Noelle. I was thinking that if she really wants a divorce, we should just let her have it. But now Tristan is refusing. They’ve got me all confused."

"That girl was very firm about the divorce today. She probably thinks she can win in court. You should stop worrying. At our age, we can’t handle all this stress."

"Sigh..."

Old Mrs. Hughes let out a deep sigh. She just felt so bad for Noelle and believed the problem still lay with Tristan Lawson.

’If Tristan had just paid a little more attention to Noelle Sutton, a sweet girl like her would never be so determined to get a divorce.’

’When it comes to marriage, women aren’t usually as ruthless as men. Most of them will stick it out if they can.’

’For her to be like this, she must have truly reached her breaking point.’

"Oh, dear," she said, "Hannah passed away so early, leaving only these two children. How can I not get involved? Let’s go to the Sterling family’s home in a bit. We need to understand what happened."

"Speaking of the Sterling family, that reminds me of something. That young man from the Sterling family seems to be on rather good terms with Noelle."

"How would I know? You know how Tristan is, he refuses to say more. If we visit the Sterlings, maybe we’ll find out. Go prepare some gifts. We can also take the opportunity to visit the Sterlings’ daughter-in-law."

Old Mr. Hughes went to prepare the gifts.

Tessa Lawson and Tristan Lawson were no longer in the living room.

Tessa Lawson had pushed Tristan Lawson back to his room. She sat across from him and said, "Tristan, if you don’t want to divorce Noelle, you should find a way to coax her. And, um... I’ll find some time today to apologize to her."

It wasn’t that she hated Noelle Sutton that much; she just could never get over the fact that her brother had married a mute.

Tristan Lawson didn’t say a word.

Tessa Lawson lowered her voice even more. "Are you mad at me because I was rude to Noelle?"

"What do you think?"

Tessa Lawson pouted. "Fine, I’ll be more careful in the future. Besides, my bad attitude is probably only a small part of why she wants to divorce you. The real issue is between you and Joshua. If you really don’t want a divorce, you’re the one who needs to put in more effort. Anyway, I won’t say any more. I have to go out for a bit. Send me her address later. I’ll go find her after I’m done with my errand."

When Tessa Lawson came out of Tristan Lawson’s room, she saw the two Hughes elders holding bags big and small, ready to head out.

"Grandpa, Grandma, where are you going?"

"Out to see a friend."

The two elders left with their gifts.

Sophie Hughes stood on the second-floor balcony, watching as the elders and Tessa Lawson all left. Only then did she come downstairs.

She took a deep breath.

’Finally, a moment when no one else is home.’

’For the past few days, out of respect for my adoptive parents, I’ve done my best not to speak to Tristan Lawson at home, trying to make myself invisible.’

’Staying in the Hughes family home has lost all meaning for me.’

’The only thing that still matters is this connection I have to Tristan Lawson, a relationship that allows me to see him often.’

Sophie Hughes stood at the door to Tristan Lawson’s room and knocked.

"Come in."

Sophie Hughes pushed the door open and came in. Tristan Lawson was sitting in his wheelchair, smoking.

She frowned. "Tristan, your injuries haven’t healed yet. You should smoke less."

Sophie Hughes went over to open the window.

Tristan Lawson then stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

As Sophie Hughes approached, Tristan Lawson lifted his gaze. "You need something?"

Sophie Hughes sat down on the sofa across from him. "I heard what Mom and Dad said to you this morning," she said. "Is Noelle really suing for divorce?"

"Mm."

Sophie Hughes lowered her head, her tone filled with guilt. "I’ve been thinking about it, and I really don’t think there are any major conflicts between you two. She only started acting strangely after I visited Westhill Villa for the first time. I suspect she might have some misunderstanding about you because of me."

"Tristan," Sophie Hughes said, looking up. "Why don’t we go find her together and explain things clearly?"