Chapter 2: Return the Position of Mrs. Lawson to Him Editor: Henyee Translations

Mrs. Miller called out, "Ma’am, Mr. Lawson and the young master are back."

Noelle Sutton came out of her room, ready to bring up the divorce.

She had no intention of telling him about the liver cancer, though. Even if she did, he probably wouldn’t care, and she didn’t want to subject herself to that humiliation.

Tristan Lawson strode in, his steps steady and powerful.

The impeccably tailored bespoke suit clung to his lean physique, making him look sharp and handsome, the silver-gray fabric shimmering with a cold luster.

He lifted his chin slightly, his deep-set eyes sweeping over Noelle Sutton.

She looked beautiful today. The pale gold blouse perfectly complemented her fair skin. He had come straight to the school after his plane landed; during his days away on business, he had often missed this gentleness of hers.

His usually stern features softened considerably, his gaze as dark and deep as the night sky, fixing on Noelle Sutton. "We have a guest," he said, his voice elegant and detached. "Go and prepare the guest room."

From behind him, Sophie Hughes slowly stepped through the door. Their son, Joshua Lawson, was sleeping soundly, his little head nestled in the crook of Sophie’s neck.

Tristan had brazenly brought Sophie Hughes home. He was so audacious!

Noelle Sutton stood frozen to the spot.

Since Noelle Sutton didn’t move, Mrs. Miller didn’t dare prepare the room on her own.

Sophie Hughes reached out and gently tugged on Tristan’s suit jacket. "Tristan, you’re married now. You have a wife. It wouldn’t be convenient for me to stay over for another night. I was just helping you bring Joshua home. I’ve already booked a hotel room."

Noelle Sutton’s brow furrowed. Sophie’s words implied she’d stayed here before.

As she spoke, Sophie, still holding Joshua, moved to pass him into Noelle’s arms. "Noelle, here, take Joshua."

Noelle was stunned for a moment. Sophie actually knew her name. She extended her arms to take the child.

Joshua groggily opened his eyes and wrapped his arms affectionately around Sophie’s neck. "Sophie, you promised you’d tell me a bedtime story tonight."

"Joshua, you’re home now. You can ask your mom to tell you one. I have to go."

Sophie’s voice was gentle.

Joshua hugged Sophie even tighter. "Sophie, please don’t go, okay? My mom always just plays stories for me on her phone. Talking to her is like talking to myself; it’s so boring. I don’t even dare tell my classmates that she’s a..."

The word "mute" was on the tip of Joshua’s tongue, but he held it back. It always felt strange to say his own mother was mute.

There would inevitably be school events that required parents to attend, so Joshua did his best to get closer to Sophie. "It’s a good thing you went to the parent-child event with Dad today. All my classmates thought you were my mom. They were so jealous."

When Joshua was younger, he hadn’t understood such things and had been very dependent on Noelle. As he got a little older, he began to occasionally complain about her inability to speak.

Only today did Noelle realize just how much Joshua was bothered by her inability to speak.

Of course. The boy was growing up; he cared about his image now.

Noelle awkwardly lowered her hands, which had been left hanging in mid-air. She signed firmly, "Who is she?"

Noelle felt ridiculous asking, but she was dying. She didn’t want to vaguely pretend she knew nothing anymore.

To Sophie, however, it just looked like Noelle was jealous.

She was the adopted daughter of Tristan Lawson’s maternal grandmother, and for years, the old woman had treated her as her own.

The smile vanished from Sophie’s lips. She stared at Tristan as if in a daze and said softly, "Tristan, didn’t you tell Noelle that I’m your aunt?"

Noelle was stunned.

So the ever-gentle, elegant, and highly refined Tristan was secretly into some wild stuff... with his own aunt...

And on top of that, Sophie could actually understand sign language.

Tristan replied to Sophie in a low, languid tone, "It makes no difference whether I told her or not. Don’t worry about it. You’re staying here tonight."

Noelle’s heart plummeted.

With that, Tristan told Mrs. Miller to prepare the room.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Sophie gently chided Tristan, "Tristan, Noelle is your wife. How can you speak to her with that kind of attitude?"

The grim aura emanating from Tristan immediately dissipated. He actually listened to Sophie.

Joshua was also displeased. "Mom, Sophie is Dad’s aunt. I’m supposed to call her Grandaunt, but she’s so young I’d be embarrassed, so I just call her Sophie. She’s a guest in our home. Is it really that hard for you to get a room ready?"

Noelle’s heart felt like it was about to shatter.

This was the son she had carried for nine months, the son she had raised with such care. When she came home this afternoon, all she could think about was what would happen to Joshua if she died.

She had been single-mindedly trying to plan for Joshua’s future. Yet after meeting Sophie just once, Joshua was already taking her side in everything.

It seemed her worries had been for nothing.

The father and son no longer needed her.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Sophie passed Joshua into Tristan’s arms, her voice gentle. "Tristan, I really should go to the hotel. I’ll come back to see Joshua tomorrow."

Sophie grabbed her suitcase and turned to leave.

Joshua immediately burst into tears. "Sophie, don’t go!"

Tristan turned to look at Noelle, his dark eyes filled with a complex expression. "Noelle, you’re being very unreasonable today."

With that, he thrust Joshua into Noelle’s arms, and she instinctively took him.

Tristan followed her out.

In the seven years she’d been married to him, she had never seen him look so anxious.

While Noelle was still in a daze, Joshua struggled in her arms. "Let me down! Let me down!"

She had no choice but to put Joshua down. But Joshua shoved her. "Bad Mom! You drove Sophie away!"

With that, Joshua ran into his room in a huff.

Noelle’s heart felt like it had been torn to shreds.

Mrs. Miller witnessed the scene and wanted to comfort Noelle, but she didn’t know what to say.

Expressionless, Noelle walked into the master bedroom.

So she wouldn’t even get the chance to say it? If this were fate, then she would just leave quietly.

She placed the medicine prescribed by the doctor that day into her handbag. As she opened it, she saw a bank card tucked into a card slot.

A total of sixty-six million had been deposited onto this card. It was an accumulation of the two million Tristan would transfer to her each time he told her to make herself scarce.

But more than half of it was already gone.

She hadn’t spent it frivolously; the portion she had used went toward something very meaningful.

She could never understand it. Tristan had been the one to pursue her for marriage, yet he despised her for being mute and demanded they keep it a secret.

She had wanted to ask him so many times, but never dared. She couldn’t bear to leave him, and she couldn’t bear to leave her son.

Every day, she personally took care of Joshua and kept the house spotless. For seven long years, her entire life had revolved around that father and son.

She rarely ever thought of herself.

And now, she had cancer.

With only six months left to live.

All her past sacrifices might as well have been fed to the dogs.

Her cell phone rang, the sound jarring.

Noelle took out her phone. It was a call from Old Master Lawson.

Since she couldn’t speak, Old Master Lawson rarely contacted her directly. In the seven years she had been part of the Lawson family, he, more than anyone else, had at least treated her with a measure of courtesy.

She answered the call.

"Where’s Tristan?"

As soon as he asked, Old Master Lawson realized Noelle couldn’t answer him. "If he’s there," he said, "tap the phone."

Noelle did not tap the phone.

A moment later, Old Master Lawson’s voice turned grave. "You’ve been married to Tristan for seven years and bore him Joshua. Can you still not hold on to his heart?"

Noelle’s fingertips went numb. Who didn’t know that her title as Mrs. Lawson was just an empty shell?

Noelle couldn’t speak, leaving only silence on the line.

"Though you can’t speak, the fact that you got Tristan to marry you and bear his child means you must have something special about you..."

Old Master Lawson paused, then added, "If Tristan’s heart strays, given your position, you will certainly lose Joshua. I wouldn’t mind finding a mother for Joshua who can speak, but a stepmother is never as good as a real mother. You should weigh your options carefully."

With that, Old Master Lawson hung up.

Old Master Lawson’s small shred of courtesy was only because he thought she could hold on to Tristan’s heart. A prestigious family like the Lawsons couldn’t tolerate a sordid, incestuous affair.

The Old Master’s meaning was obvious. She had to secure Tristan’s heart, or she would be replaced.

How hard it must be for the Old Master, so worried that a sordid affair would tarnish the Lawson family name, that he had to resort to warning and threatening her.

It seemed she was the only one who didn’t know about Tristan and Sophie’s intimate relationship.

All of it pointed to one answer: Tristan would never love her.

She figured that if she didn’t ask for a divorce, Tristan would probably ask for one himself within a few days.

It was time for her to go. To return this position, which had never truly been hers, to him.

Noelle slung her handbag over her shoulder, grabbed the manila envelope thick with medical reports, and walked out of the bedroom, her eyes vacant.

Little did she know that the one paper from the stack—the diagnostic report pronouncing her life was nearing its end—had slipped out and now lay silently beside the bed.