"Mrs. Miller, thank you for always caring about me, but... this family doesn’t need me anymore."

When Mrs. Miller saw the line of text on her phone, she thought, ’Mrs. Lawson must have heard what the young master just said.’

She quickly tried to console her. "Ma’am, please don’t overthink things."

A bitter curve formed on Noelle Sutton’s lips.

’It really wasn’t her overthinking things.’

’These were facts she had seen with her own eyes.’

"Oh, right." Mrs. Miller suddenly remembered what had happened when the young master came home from school. She quickly told Noelle, "Ma’am, you’re still very important to the young master. When he got home today, he saw what you brought back and realized it was a ring. He said it was the one Mr. Lawson bought especially for you at the charity auction in Crestfall. He said it was a heartfelt gesture from his father and was worried that you returning it would make Mr. Lawson upset, so he asked me to help him hide it from him."

Mrs. Miller was trying to convince Noelle to stay.

Noelle Sutton was baffled.

Mrs. Miller added, "The young master is protecting you. He just came down with a fever, and he was calling for you. A child’s spirit is fragile when they’re sick. He was waiting for you, and when you didn’t come, he probably just said those things out of anger. Please don’t take it to heart."

Noelle Sutton was slightly moved.

’Her son was still young; he didn’t understand the emotional tangles between adults.’

’But he knew enough to not want her and Tristan Lawson to be at odds.’

’Just now, when she heard Joshua Lawson was sick, she had hesitated to come back and see him.’

’It was only when she heard him crying out for his mom that she couldn’t hold back any longer and rushed back.’

’If she hadn’t hesitated, she would have returned sooner, and he might not have called Sophie Hughes.’

’Even though Joshua Lawson was disgusted with her for not speaking, he was still her son.’

’She only had half a year left.’

’No matter how much her son let her down, she couldn’t just give up on the boy she had doted on for six years overnight.’

After a moment of thought, Noelle Sutton typed a message to Mrs. Miller, telling her she would go to the hospital to see Joshua Lawson.

Mrs. Miller called for the driver and happily saw Noelle Sutton off.

She hoped that Noelle’s visit to the young master would ease the tension in her relationship with Mr. Lawson.

Tristan Lawson and Sophie Hughes accompanied Joshua Lawson to the hospital, heading into the pediatric emergency room.

While the doctor was examining him, Sophie Hughes kept her arm around Joshua Lawson, doting on him tenderly.

Fortunately, it was just a common fever, though his temperature was a bit high.

After the examination, he needed to be put on an IV drip.

To make Joshua Lawson more comfortable, Tristan Lawson requested a VIP room.

Before long, a nurse came in with the medication to start Joshua Lawson’s IV.

Joshua Lawson realized that the nurse was the mother of one of his classmates.

The nurse recognized Joshua Lawson as well and politely greeted the "family of three."

As the nurse prepared to give Joshua Lawson the shot, she patted his head and said gently, "Joshua, sweetie, you’ll have to bear with it for a moment. The needle will hurt a little."

Joshua Lawson instinctively hugged Sophie Hughes tighter.

"I have my mom with me, so I’m not scared."

Noelle Sutton had just reached the door of the hospital room when she heard those words.

The nurse began to administer the injection, and Joshua Lawson pressed his face into Sophie Hughes’s embrace.

They were as close as a real mother and son...

Tristan Lawson stood to the side but didn’t correct Joshua Lawson’s words.

After securing the needle, the nurse said with a smile, "Joshua, sweetie, your mom is very beautiful."

"Of course she is. And my mom’s voice is very beautiful too."

Noelle Sutton turned and left.

As she passed a trash can, she threw the delicate pastries she was holding into it.

She reached up, wiped the wetness from the corner of her eye, and disappeared into the depths of the night.

After the nurse left the room, Joshua Lawson finally let go of Sophie Hughes.

"Sophie, I’m sorry. That nurse is my classmate’s mom. I didn’t want my classmate to know about my mom, so I pretended you were her. You’re not mad at me, are you?"

Sophie Hughes pinched Joshua Lawson’s little nose and said with a smile, "Of course I’m not mad at you. But what you did was wrong. A son shouldn’t be ashamed of his own mother, you know?"

Joshua Lawson pouted and said sadly, "She’s never home. It’s one thing that she never cooks for me, but now she doesn’t even care that I’m sick..."

Thinking of Noelle Sutton, Joshua Lawson still felt a pang of disappointment, mixed with a bit of resentment.

"Joshua."

Tristan Lawson suddenly called his name.

Joshua Lawson looked up.

Tristan Lawson said in a low voice, "Sophie is right. A son should not be ashamed of his mother. You’re still so young, yet you’re already showing signs of being duplicitous. You must change this way of thinking in the future."

Sophie Hughes froze for a second.

’The last time Joshua Lawson said something like this, Tristan Lawson hadn’t been nearly this stern.’

’He had even said that it was natural for a child to care about his image as he got older.’

’Was he...?’

Joshua Lawson burst into tears with a WAH, feeling utterly wronged.

"It’s Mom who’s being unreasonable! She won’t let Sophie stay at our house, she’s never home, she never cooks for me, she doesn’t care that I’m sick, and now Dad is being mean to me..."

Sophie Hughes snapped out of her thoughts and quickly comforted Joshua Lawson.

"Joshua, don’t cry. Your mother is probably just busy. Adults have a lot they need to do. Maybe you’ll see her tomorrow."

After comforting Joshua Lawson, Sophie Hughes glanced at Tristan Lawson and said, "Joshua is still little. Even if you want to teach him a lesson, you have to do it gently. Being so stern will only scare him and backfire."

Joshua Lawson was still crying, his sobs making it hard for him to breathe.

’How could he not feel for his own son?’

Tristan Lawson suddenly felt that he had indeed been a bit too harsh.

’It was true that there was nothing to be done about a child wanting to save face.’

’When he got older, he would naturally come to understand all his mother had done for him.’

So, Tristan Lawson said no more.

Once Joshua Lawson had cried himself to sleep, Sophie Hughes gently laid him down on the bed.

Tristan Lawson said quietly, "This has been hard on you. I’ll walk you back to your room to rest."

"Tristan, fevers often spike again during the night. I should stay and take care of Joshua."

"You’re injured too. I’ll stay here with Joshua."

"Alright. But if you can’t manage, just call me."

Tristan Lawson walked Sophie Hughes back to her hospital room.

Then he returned to Joshua Lawson’s room.

In the early hours of the morning, Joshua Lawson’s fever, which had not fully subsided, flared up again.

The boy was burning up, muttering deliriously under his breath.

Tristan Lawson had no choice but to call the doctor.

Since it hadn’t been long since his last dose of fever-reducing IV medication, the doctor diagnosed it as a recurring nocturnal fever and recommended physical cooling methods.

Tristan Lawson fetched a basin of cold water and began cooling Joshua Lawson down, alternating between two towels.

He also had to use a dry towel to wipe away the cold sweat that beaded on Joshua’s body.

He had never done these things before and was a bit clumsy and flustered.

In his delirium, Joshua Lawson once again started calling for his mom.

The moment Tristan Lawson thought of Noelle Sutton, his expression darkened.

’Joshua was sick, and she couldn’t care less.’

’Before, whenever Joshua had so much as a headache or a fever, she would be more anxious than anyone.’

Frustrated, Tristan Lawson stepped out of the hospital room, pulled out his phone, and dialed Noelle Sutton’s number.