Chapter 195: Chapter 195: Tristan, How’s It Going with the Lead?

After a moment of hesitation, he finally let his hand fall.

He sat quietly by her door.

He still couldn’t calm his racing heart after seeing today’s test results.

The first time Hugo Sterling mentioned that Hailey Sterling had a pink, heart-shaped birthmark on her chest, Tristan had thought of Noelle Sutton.

But he hadn’t taken it seriously, thinking it was impossible.

’If he had just done a paternity test back then, would things be different now?’

Noelle Sutton came out with a trash bag, and as soon as she opened the door, she saw Tristan Lawson sitting outside.

Her brow furrowed in annoyance.

’He’s so infuriating. He followed me here again.’

Noelle ignored him, tossed the trash bag into the public bin outside, and was about to go back inside when Tristan grabbed her wrist.

"Noelle."

His eyes were locked on her.

Now, there was hardly a smile on her face, and the light had vanished from her beautiful eyes.

But during their seven years of marriage, she had once been full of smiles, her expression always gentle.

She never felt inferior because she was mute and had always faced life with optimism.

Her smile had slowly vanished, replaced by a cold indifference.

Noelle tried to shake off Tristan’s hand, but he held it tight.

With a slight tug, he pulled her into his arms.

Even with the cast on his leg, he didn’t care; he just wanted to hold her.

Fortunately, he was injured. Despite his strength, the cast on his leg meant he couldn’t restrain a healthy person.

Noelle pushed him away and struggled out of his embrace, signing in frustration, "You’re infuriating!"

Tristan’s brow furrowed deeply.

"I’m sorry, Noelle. I don’t want to fight. Can we please just sit down and talk calmly?"

’There’s no point.’

’She wouldn’t listen to anything he had to say.’

’It wasn’t as if she hadn’t given them a chance.’

’On her birthday, she’d thought he’d gone upstairs to be with Sophie Hughes, but he had actually gone out to order her a cake.’

’So she’d dismissed her suspicions and decided to try and make peace with their son.’

’But the very next day, their son had called her a nanny at the hospital and said Sophie Hughes had gone on a business trip with his father.’

’Even Mrs. Miller had seen them on TV and quickly shut it off.’

’She had called him, but he was supposedly asleep, and Sophie Hughes was the one who answered.’

’She never should have trusted him.’

’When she was caught in that thunderstorm in Cygnus, he was the first person she thought to call for help.’ 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’He’d clearly heard her plea for help, but he’d ignored her, buying a brooch for Sophie Hughes at the airport and then hypocritically offering one to her.’

’Those hurtful moments were still so vivid in her mind. Who in their right mind would be in the mood to listen to his explanations?’

"I already told you, if you want to talk, talk to my lawyer. I have nothing to say to you. Please stop bothering me."

After signing, Noelle went inside, grabbed her bag, and came right back out, heading straight for the elevator.

’She had to get out. If she stayed home with him waiting outside, it would just drive her crazy.’

’She’d thought she could finally have a few days of peace. She’d fled the country, and still, she couldn’t find any.’

Seeing Noelle’s firm resolve, Tristan realized she would never willingly come back to him.

’In that case... he would just have to pretend this paternity test never existed.’

Tristan then took the next elevator down.

He called his special assistant at the Aridia branch and told him to find a way to destroy the hospital records of the test he’d had done.

Tristan returned to the Hughes’ residence and went into the bathroom. He lit a cigarette, holding it between his lips as he pulled the paternity test report from the bag on the side of his wheelchair and set it on fire with a lighter.

He smoked as he watched the report burn to ashes.

Then, he turned on the showerhead and washed the ashes down the drain.

Sophie Hughes received a message from her old classmate.

"Oh my god, that was a close call. I almost couldn’t find it. The record vanished right after I looked it up! Good thing I was quick and took a picture. Look at it now, I’m deleting it as soon as you’ve seen it."

"Okay."

After receiving Sophie’s reply.

The classmate quickly deleted the message.

Then, she sent Sophie the photo of the paternity test.

Sophie tapped it open and glanced at it. She was completely floored.

On the other end, the classmate deleted the message.

"Sorry, but this is against the rules. I can only let you see the result. I can’t leave you with a copy."

"I know. Thanks."

The classmate deleted that message as well.

Sophie clutched her phone, her heart pounding.

’That mute, Noelle Sutton, is actually Hailey Sterling!’

’Even after all these years, she’s still just like she was as a child, setting her sights on Tristan.’

’Her luck is just too good.’

Sophie recalled how serious Tristan had looked that morning when he received the paternity test report.

’Wasn’t he helping Hugo Sterling find someone? He’s clearly found her, so why doesn’t he seem happy at all?’

’It must be because he doesn’t want the divorce.’

’He’s afraid that if the Sterlings find out Noelle is Hailey, and learn how she was mistreated by the Lawson family, they’ll stop at nothing to take her back.’

’And then it would be nearly impossible for Tristan to ever get back together with her.’

’So, has Tristan fallen in love with Noelle?’

’He can’t bear to be apart from her?’

’She couldn’t let that happen.’

’She decided to observe him for a few days. If he was really thinking that way, she would have to find a way to tip off the Sterling family so they could get their daughter back sooner.’

’And they should take Joshua Lawson with them. The last thing she wanted was to be with Tristan in the future and have to raise the son he had with another woman.’

Tristan informed Sophie’s parents that their chartered flight would take off at 8:00 p.m.

Sophie took the opportunity to tell her parents that Director Ford, whom she was apprenticing under, had been trying to contact her. She explained that she needed to return to Glenwater to continue her studies with him, so she would join their flight home.

Tessa Lawson had come to Aridia for a fashion show, so she wasn’t returning just yet.

In the end, it was just Tristan, Sophie’s parents, and Sophie herself who boarded the flight home.

Before boarding, Tristan received a call from Hugo Sterling.

"Tristan, you said you had a lead and that we’d have results in a day or two. What’s the status?"

Tristan was silent for a long moment.

’He was torn.’

’All he had to do was say the word, and Hugo Sterling would find his sister.’

’All he had to do was say the word, and Uncle Sterling would be reunited with his biological daughter.’

’But if he did, he would lose his wife, and Joshua would lose his mother.’

’It was an impossible choice.’

When the line remained silent, Hugo spoke up. "Tristan, are you there?"

Tristan finally snapped out of it.

"I’m here."

"So, what were the results?"

Hugo’s voice was filled with anticipation.