Chapter 192: Chapter 192: What Do You All Know?

"No need."

He had no desire to see Noelle Sutton for the time being.

He had dragged his injured body to find her.

He had asked Hugo Sterling to mediate and get her to come to the Hughes family home.

Before leaving, he had gripped her hand tightly.

His repeated concessions hadn’t made her back down. Instead, she had only become more brazen.

"But the way she’s acting is making Mom and Dad very worried."

"This has nothing to do with you. I’ll handle it myself."

He would return to the country as soon as the test results were out.

He had already wasted a great deal of time on Noelle Sutton; he couldn’t keep dragging this out.

"Are you really not worried at all that she’ll misunderstand our relationship?"

"There’s nothing between us..." Before he could finish his sentence, Tristan Lawson remembered that night and trailed off. He still hadn’t given Sophie Hughes an explanation for what had happened, so he continued, "About that night... I’m sorry. I drank too much. Don’t read too much into it. It won’t happen again."

Sophie Hughes knew he trusted her, so he wouldn’t suspect he had been drugged. He would just assume he’d been drunk.

It was just that Noelle Sutton had ended up getting the better of the situation, and it infuriated her to even think about it. Noelle had even given her the middle finger because of it.

If Tessa Lawson hadn’t shown up and ruined her plan, the outcome would have been completely different.

Given Tristan Lawson’s respect and affection for her, he would have definitely taken responsibility for her.

"You drank too much, how could I blame you..." Sophie Hughes bit her lip. It didn’t seem like the right time to talk about their relationship, so she changed the subject. "I’m planning to go to Glenwater in the next couple of days."

Tristan Lawson still felt very sorry about that night. Previously, he’d asked Adrian Grant for a favor regarding a movie role, but Adrian Grant hadn’t gotten back to him yet.

However, it had to be done sooner or later. Since Smith had cast Noelle Sutton, he had to arrange for Sophie Hughes’s future.

"I happen to be going back as well, so let’s go together. It’ll be in the next day or two. I’ll let you know once the time is set."

"Okay."

Tristan Lawson was going to stay for another day or two to wait for the paternity test results.

As soon as the results were out, he would immediately return to Glenwater.

Old Mr. and Mrs. Hughes arrived at the Sterling family’s home and first went to visit Mrs. Sterling.

Seeing that Mrs. Sterling was still very weak and haggard, Old Mrs. Hughes said with heartache, "You can’t just think about your child all the time. You have to think about yourself, too."

Mrs. Sterling gave a helpless smile. "What kind of mother can ever let go of her own child?"

On this point, Old Mrs. Hughes could relate somewhat; she too had lost her daughter at a young age.

She was slightly better off than Mrs. Sterling in that her own daughter had passed away.

The Sterling family’s little girl had been lost. After so many years, they didn’t even know if she was alive or dead. A mother can’t help but worry constantly, and it had destroyed her health.

Old Mrs. Hughes asked tentatively, "Is there still no news about your girl?"

"Hugo said he went back and asked Tristan for help with the search. I heard there’s a clue, and they’re looking into it now."

"That’s good. Technology is so much more advanced than before. I heard Tessa mention that Tristan invested in some kind of ’cloud’ research years ago. It’s connected to all sorts of internet stuff. They say it’s possible that even our conversations are being monitored by our smartphones, that the big data functions are incredibly powerful. Maybe they’ll really be able to find her this time."

"I hope they can find her this time. Then I can die in peace."

Mrs. Sterling had held on for so many years just because she wanted to see her daughter one last time.

"Oh, don’t say that. What if your little girl comes back? When you see her, your spirits will lift, and you might even get better."

Mrs. Sterling’s illness was psychosomatic, so Old Mrs. Hughes believed it wasn’t impossible.

"I hope so. By the way, how is your health, both of you?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Mrs. Sterling didn’t forget to show her concern for them.

"We’re getting on in years, so we’re just so-so. Plenty of old aches and pains, but we can probably live a few more years. You’re still so young, don’t give up so easily. Take good care of yourself, think positive thoughts. Constant worrying is bad for your health."

Old Mrs. Hughes chatted with Mrs. Sterling for a good while longer until Mrs. Sterling grew tired. Only then did she and Old Mr. Hughes leave the room.

Hugo Sterling had prepared tea for them outside and invited them to have some.

The elderly couple had also come today to talk to Hugo Sterling about Tristan Lawson and Noelle Sutton, so they took the opportunity to sit down.

With his wife beside him, Old Mr. Hughes was usually a man of few words, letting Old Mrs. Hughes do the talking.

Old Mrs. Hughes took a sip of tea and got straight to the point. "Hugo, I won’t beat around the bush. Your Grandpa Hughes and I came today because we want to ask why Noelle is so insistent on divorcing Tristan. Is it because of... that incident?"

"Which incident? What all do you know?"

Old Mrs. Hughes was quite ashamed and found it difficult to say.

"Your Grandpa Hughes contacted Old Master Lawson, and he told us everything. Tristan forced himself on Noelle, and because of it, it seems she’s planning to sue Tristan."

Old Master Lawson had seen the medical report, so he knew the details more clearly. He was too embarrassed to explain it all to Old Mr. Hughes, so he just said that Tristan Lawson had... done *that* to Noelle Sutton without her consent, and had used excessive force, causing her injury. It was practically no different from rape.

Hugo Sterling’s expression darkened slightly. "Noelle was already insisting on a divorce before that. After that incident happened, it undoubtedly strengthened her resolve to leave him."

Old Mrs. Hughes asked anxiously, "Did Tristan do something to wrong her?"

"It’s complicated." Hugo Sterling took a deep breath. "She wanted a divorce, and it would have been one thing if Tristan just disagreed. But he even made it so she couldn’t hire a lawyer. I only found out because I came back to the country this time to collect paper-cuttings for my grandfather’s birthday gift and ran into her by chance. My grandfather recognized her as his first love’s granddaughter and asked me to help her. So, I hired a lawyer for her, and that’s how I learned some of the details about her wanting a divorce."

Listening from the side, Old Mr. Hughes also frowned. Tristan had really gone too far. Even if they were getting a divorce, they should sit down and talk it out properly. He shouldn’t have used such tactics to prevent her from even hiring a lawyer.

Old Mrs. Hughes had always thought Tristan Lawson was a man of good character and refinement. How could he corner Noelle like this?

The elderly couple was naturally aware of Tristan Lawson’s wealth and power. If he put the word out, no lawyer would dare take Noelle’s case.

She’s all alone with no family to back her up. If she hadn’t run into Old Man Sterling and Hugo Sterling, how helpless would she have been, unable to even hire a lawyer?

That Tristan Lawson, he was infuriating! He was going to make the Hughes family lose all face, bullying a young girl like that.

"I went to see Noelle today. Just by looking at her, I could tell she has been wronged terribly, but she refused to say a single word about it. She seemed completely disheartened. Hugo, tell us the specifics. I need to go back and give Tristan a good talking-to. Whether they divorce or not, he still needs to give that girl a proper explanation."