Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Not Giving Sophie Hughes a Chance

Sophie Hughes stepped inside.

She walked to the bedside and glanced at Joshua Lawson, a worried look on her face. "Noelle, is Joshua all right?"

Noelle Sutton knew Sophie could understand sign language, so instead of typing on her phone, she signed her reply.

"It was appendicitis, but he’s fine. He’s already had surgery."

"How did he suddenly get appendicitis?"

Noelle shook her head.

Sophie said sympathetically, "The poor child, he must have been in so much pain."

Sophie pulled up a chair and sat down next to Noelle.

Noelle furrowed her brow.

Tristan had suddenly been so sweet to her, buying her cake and being intimate.

He had even shattered one of her suspicions.

Because she loved him so much, she was powerless against his gentle affection.

Her heart began to waver...

Sophie was Tristan’s maternal aunt, but because they were the same age, their relationship wasn’t like that of an aunt and nephew.

This complete lack of boundaries made it hard for Noelle to like her.

After all, both Old Master Lawson and Tessa Lawson had hinted at the nature of Sophie and Tristan’s relationship.

Now, with Sophie showing up uninvited, Noelle’s thoughts were in even more of a turmoil.

Sophie’s appearance was a constant reminder of everything she had seen and heard these past few days.

She was almost overcome by the impulse to take this opportunity to question Sophie directly.

But she felt it would be inappropriate, too forward.

Mainly, ever since Sophie had appeared in her life, her words and actions had always been protective of Noelle. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

If Sophie and Tristan really were involved, Sophie probably wouldn’t tell the truth even if she asked.

It would be even worse if word got back to Tristan.

He didn’t like that sort of behavior.

Of course, she herself also scorned the idea of doing such a thing.

The impulse was born purely from her inner conflict and her desire to finally understand the truth of the matter.

She quickly suppressed the urge and sat quietly without a sound.

It was Sophie who broke the silence.

"Noelle, since Joshua is fine now and you’ve been up all night, you should go home and rest. I can look after him for you."

Noelle signed quickly, "It’s fine, I’m not tired. You, on the other hand, just got off a plane and are still jet-lagged. You should be the one to go home and rest."

Sophie thought for a moment, then said, "Noelle, it’s like this. The last time Joshua had a fever, the nurse who gave him his shot was his classmate’s mother. He asked me to pretend to be you because he didn’t want his classmate to know about... your situation. It’ll be light soon, and there will be more staff working during the day. He might run into someone he knows..."

Sophie didn’t say the most obvious part out loud.

Noelle understood her meaning.

Sophie added, "I’m not saying I look down on you for not being able to speak. It’s just that children are sensitive. They have a strong sense of pride and want to save face; it’s perfectly understandable. Joshua told me you’re very gentle and understanding. So, you can appreciate how he feels, right?"

As Sophie spoke, her voice was soft and polite, gentle and intelligent. Even though the words were so harsh, they still sounded pleasant coming from her.

Noelle gave a helpless quirk of her lips.

She really could understand how Joshua felt.

She had also heard with her own ears how much Joshua minded that she couldn’t speak.

If she stayed, it really would cause Joshua to lose face.

Joshua had only just started to rely on her again. Until she could confirm the truth with Tristan, she didn’t want to strain their mother-son relationship.

But she wasn’t about to give this opportunity to Sophie, either.

She didn’t answer Sophie. Instead, she stood up and walked out of the hospital room.

Seeing her leave, Sophie’s lips curved into a slight smile. ’She knows her place,’ she thought. ’No wonder the Lawson family agreed to let her marry Tristan.’

Out in the hallway, Noelle dialed Tessa Lawson’s number. As soon as Tessa picked up, Noelle hung up.

She quickly composed a text message and sent it.

"Did Tristan pick you up?"

"He did."

Noelle quickly sent another message.

"Joshua just had his appendix out. Could I trouble you to come and look after him for a bit?"

When Tessa saw the message, she was so angry her stomach hurt.

"Noelle Sutton, are you insane? He’s your son, why aren’t you taking care of him yourself? You want me to do it for you?"

It wasn’t that Tessa didn’t want to see Joshua.

Tristan had told her about it on the way back. It was just that after traveling for over ten hours, she wanted to go home, take a shower, and change her clothes before visiting him.

As Noelle was composing a reply, a WeChat message from Tristan came in.

Noelle tapped the notification, which took her directly to Tristan’s chat page.

"Noelle, I’ll have to trouble you with Joshua for now. I have an important partnership to deal with and have to go to Cygnus right away. I’ve already told Mrs. Miller, and she’ll be at the hospital soon to relieve you. You can go back to the hospital after you’ve gotten some rest."

The "typing" indicator appeared next to Tristan’s name, and a moment later, another message arrived.

"I’ll probably be gone for two or three days. I’ll be back as soon as I can to make up for your birthday. Also, remember to unblock my number."

Noelle stared at the messages, not knowing whether to feel happy or worried.

She had wanted to have a proper talk with him, but now he had to leave on short notice for work.

Noelle’s fingers curled into a fist.

With Tristan gone, even if Mrs. Miller came, she wouldn’t dare say anything to Sophie while she was there.

Noelle had no choice but to message Tessa again and explain the real situation.

She explained that Joshua didn’t want outsiders to know she was mute.

After reading the message, Tessa cursed under her breath, "That little brat!"

"I get it. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

Noelle felt relieved.

She waited for Mrs. Miller to arrive before leaving the hospital.

By the time she returned to Westhill Villa, the sun was already up.

The bedroom had been cleaned. She had been up all night and was exhausted, falling asleep the moment she lay down.

When she woke up, it was already getting dark.

As she got up, she heard the sound of stir-frying from the kitchen.

She washed up and went out to see Mrs. Miller packing food into a container.

"Ma’am, you’re awake. The food is ready. I saved some for you, so go ahead and eat. I’m taking this to the young master."

Mrs. Miller seemed to be in a good mood.

Noelle took out her phone and typed a line, "Should I take it to him?"

"It’s fine, you rest at home. Miss Lawson is at the hospital looking after the young master. And let me tell you, when Miss Lawson got there this morning, she kicked Sophie Hughes right out."

Mrs. Miller packed the container into a bag, her face wreathed in smiles. "I saw the cake in the master bedroom when I was cleaning this morning. Ma’am, did Sir celebrate your birthday with you? You really shouldn’t overthink it. You and Sir are husband and wife, and you have the young master. An outsider can’t just wedge their way in. Sir also specifically told me to remind you to unblock his number, so don’t forget! I’ll stop talking now before the food gets cold. I’m heading to the hospital now."

Noelle was a little surprised.

Sophie was Tristan’s maternal aunt, which meant she was also Tessa’s.

’Why does Tessa treat Sophie like that?’

Just as she was thinking this, the doorbell rang...