Chapter 3: He Saw the Cancer Diagnosis Report Editor: Henyee Translations

Before she decided to leave, Noelle Sutton wanted to see Joshua Lawson one last time. He was her own flesh and blood, after all. He was only six and didn’t always know better. How could a mother hold a grudge against her own child?

She had just reached the door to Joshua’s room when she heard him speaking. "Sophie, my mom is usually very polite. I don’t know why she acted like that today. I’m sorry on her behalf. Please don’t be mad at my mom, okay?"

He was defending her.

Noelle felt a flicker of relief.

Just as she was about to push the door open, Joshua spoke again. "Sophie, thank you for being so generous and not getting mad at my mom. I wish my mom could speak as nicely as you do. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about my classmates making fun of me because my mom’s a mute."

...

"Yeah, one of my classmates’ moms has a limp, and a lot of the other kids make fun of him all the time. I don’t want to be like him, getting laughed at and not being able to hold my head up."

...

Noelle let go of the doorknob and sucked in a sharp breath. The older her child gets, the less he can accept her flaws.

She only had six months left to live...

After she died, Tristan Lawson would be Joshua’s sole guardian. Or perhaps Tristan would remarry and find a normal woman to be Joshua’s stepmother.

The moment she was diagnosed with cancer, these were her first thoughts. She worried a stepmother would be cruel to Joshua.

Joshua was the apple of her eye; she had worried endlessly for him since the day he was born. But now, it seemed none of that mattered anymore.

Even Joshua saw her as a stain on his life.

It was better if they never saw each other again.

The next day.

Dawn was breaking.

Tristan Lawson dragged his exhausted body home. He had been somewhat in the wrong about last night’s events. If he had just explained that Sophie Hughes was allergic to the hotel bedding, Noelle would have understood.

He pushed open the bedroom door, the motion creating a habitual gust of wind.

Tristan saw a piece of paper slide under the bed...

He raised an eyebrow. He was a neat freak, and Noelle always kept the house spotless. It was strange that a scrap of paper had been missed in the room today.

The bedroom was empty. Usually, as soon as Noelle heard the sound of his car, she would already be waiting for him at the door.

He shut the door in annoyance, walked to the living room, and called out, "Mrs. Miller."

"Sir, you’re back."

"Where’s Noelle?"

Mrs. Miller paused for a moment. "Isn’t she in the room?"

It seemed Mrs. Miller didn’t know she was gone either. Remembering the scrap of paper in the bedroom, Tristan said to Mrs. Miller, "Clean the bedroom after breakfast."

"Yes, sir."

Tristan pulled out his phone and dialed Noelle’s number.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off."

Last night, Sophie Hughes had sprained her ankle just after leaving the villa complex. He had taken her to the hospital, where she’d been in pain all night. He had rushed back the instant she finally fell asleep.

On the way, he remembered he hadn’t been home in days and that his attitude last night hadn’t been good. He’d specifically had his secretary wait in line for over half an hour at the Felicity Tower to buy her favorite crystal buns. Worried they would get cold and not taste good, he’d kept them warm against his chest.

He didn’t know what had gotten into her lately. The house was untidy, her phone was off, and she was nowhere to be found.

He yanked his tie loose in frustration, an unsettling feeling creeping over him.

When women are in a bad mood, they go shopping.

Using his mobile banking app, Tristan Lawson transferred two million to Noelle. The moment the transfer went through, he felt two million was a bit stingy, so he sent another two million.

Then, he typed out a message and hit send.

Only then did Tristan take out the crystal buns he had been carrying, bring them to the kitchen, and arrange them on a plate.

He went to the bathroom to take a shower.

After his shower, he stood before the vanity and applied shaving foam. But the razor in his hand felt dull.

Something like this had never happened before.

"Noelle..."

Then he remembered she wasn’t home.

Tristan irritably called for Mrs. Miller.

Mrs. Miller hurried over. With the missus gone, there’s so much more to do, she thought. I really wish she would come back soon.

With his face covered in foam, Tristan Lawson said in a low voice, "Where are the razor blades?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you, where are the razor blades?"

Mrs. Miller lowered her gaze and said cautiously, "The missus always prepares them herself. I... I’ll go look for them."

Mrs. Miller searched high and low for a while but couldn’t find them. She returned apprehensively to report back. "Sir, I couldn’t find any. Whenever you came home, the missus would always put in a new blade beforehand. This time... maybe she forgot."

Tristan Lawson raised an eyebrow, staring at the razor in his hand, his mood growing fouler. "Forget it. I’ll make do with this one."

After Joshua got up, father and son sat down to eat together.

Joshua took one bite of the rice porridge and frowned in displeasure, shouting, "Mom, did you put in too much salt?"

There was no response.

Joshua tentatively called out again, "Mom?"

Tristan answered slowly, "Don’t bother shouting. Your mom’s not home."

Joshua immediately used his smartwatch to call Noelle’s number, but it was still switched off. He lowered his voice and said, "Dad, Mom couldn’t have gotten angry and run away from home, could she?"

"She wouldn’t."

With both him and their son here, he was certain Noelle would never leave.

"That’s good. I still think Mom’s breakfast tastes a little better."

Neither father nor son enjoyed the breakfast. The taste was nothing like usual.

"Dad, Mom made Sophie angry, and she left last night. Will she still come to see me today?"

"She sprained her ankle and is in the hospital. She probably can’t come see you today."

Joshua became visibly anxious. "What? Sophie sprained her ankle? It must hurt a lot. Dad, how about you ask for a day off from school for me? I want to go visit Sophie."

Tristan said sternly, "No. Your studies are more important."

Joshua hung his head, dejected. He didn’t usually dare to go against his father’s wishes. He said in a small voice, "Can I go see Sophie after school then?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Yes."

Joshua hopped off his seat, ran to Tristan’s side, and hugged his arm. Standing on his tiptoes, he kissed Tristan on the cheek. "Dad, you’re the best! You have to come pick me up early this afternoon, and we’ll go see Sophie together."

Tristan reached out and patted Joshua’s little head, then stood up and drove him to school.

After they left, Mrs. Miller entered the master bedroom with her cleaning tools. The missus usually took care of this room herself, and it was spotless even now. She didn’t know why the master had specifically told her to clean it.

Mrs. Miller went to open the window for some fresh air. Even though it was already clean, she still wiped everything down diligently.

A breeze came in from outside the window.

The cancer diagnosis report slid deeper under the bed...

Last night, Noelle Sutton returned to her old home. By the time she finished tidying up the house, the sun was already rising.

She finally felt tired, so she switched off her phone, wanting to sleep in peace.

Perhaps it was because of the liver cancer, or perhaps it was because she had finally relaxed, freed from managing every little detail of the household. She slept very deeply, not waking up until eight o’clock that night.

She turned her phone on.

A series of notification chimes for text messages and messages rang out. She checked her texts first. There were several missed call alerts, some from Tristan, and some from Mrs. Miller.

Noelle figured Mrs. Miller’s call must have been about Joshua. In the past, she would have called back immediately to ask what was going on.

But now... she decided against it.

There were also two bank transfer notifications. Tristan had sent her two million twice. She couldn’t help but let out a cold, derisive laugh. He needs her to stay away again.

She opened it.

Tristan had sent her messages, too.

There were two of them: one from the morning, and one from two hours ago.

Tristan: You’ve always wanted to eat at the Myre River Pavilion, haven’t you? Be there at seven tonight. Sharp.

Tristan: Sorry, something came up tonight. I have to cancel. I’ll make it up to you later.

Noelle put her phone away.

This drama of being at his beck and call—Tristan could perform it all by himself.

Even though she no longer held any hope, a dense web of pain still spread through the depths of her heart.

DING. Her phone chimed again.

It was a notification from the smartwatch app. She had set up special alerts for Joshua.

Noelle quickly exited the interface and opened the smartwatch app. This was the first time she had been away from Joshua for a full day, and she was still worried about him.

Joshua had posted an update.

It was a photo.

A group picture of Tristan, Joshua, and Sophie Hughes. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky.

The caption read: Had a great time today.

Judging by the background, they were at the Myre River Pavilion.

The Myre River Pavilion stood right on the riverbank, allowing diners to watch the fireworks as they ate. She had wanted to go there as a family for a very long time.

Something she had longed for but could never have, others could obtain with ease.

The difference between people was just that vast.

Just then, a message arrived, interrupting Noelle’s thoughts.

She opened it.

Noelle, how have you been lately?