Seeing Noelle Sutton using sign language, the nurse’s eyes flickered with pity. "Such a beautiful woman, but she can’t speak," she said regretfully. "What a shame."

Joshua Lawson could understand Noelle Sutton’s sign language. She was saying she was his mother. He was terrified she would use her vocalizing ring and let the nurse find out.

He got a little angry, his tone turning dismissive. "What are you waving your hands around for? No one else can understand your sign language."

Noelle Sutton pulled out her phone, preparing to use her vocalizing ring to speak.

Joshua Lawson snatched her phone away and, smiling at the nurse, said, "Ma’am, she’s our family’s nanny. My dad likes things quiet, so they hired someone who can’t talk."

Noelle Sutton was stunned...

’Joshua just called her a nanny?’

’She’d seen plenty of TV shows where a successful son grows ashamed of his mother, telling people she’s just the family nanny or a distant relative.’

’But the mother never gets angry. She just cries in silence, terrified of embarrassing her child.’

’Whenever Noelle Sutton watched those shows, she’d hated those ungrateful sons with a passion.’

’She never imagined such a dramatic scene would happen to her.’

’Suddenly, she felt a deep empathy for those mothers on TV, crying in secret.’

’It was a pain that pierced her to the core!’

The nurse gently wrapped a band around Joshua Lawson’s arm and lightly dabbed it with an iodine solution.

Noelle Sutton worried Joshua would be afraid of the pain. Though her own heart was bleeding, she still instinctively reached out to hold him.

But Joshua Lawson pushed her away in disgust. "I’m a big boy now. I’m not afraid of shots. Stop treating me like a child."

Seeing how brave Joshua was, the nurse praised him, "You’re a very brave boy, Joshua."

As the nurse inserted the needle, Joshua frowned at the sting, but he clenched his jaw and didn’t make a sound.

Noelle Sutton was his mother; she had taken care of him for six years. Of course, she knew he was just putting on a brave face.

After inserting the needle, the nurse began taping it down.

Joshua puffed up his chest proudly. "See? I told you I’m a big boy. It didn’t even hurt."

Once the nurse finished taping and securing the needle, she reached out and patted Joshua’s head.

"That’s right. You were amazing, Joshua. Last time you were here with your mom, you still needed her to comfort you."

Hearing this, Joshua felt a pang of guilt. He felt bad for telling the nurse last time that Sophie Hughes was his mother.

But to save face, he just smiled and replied, "Well, when Mom’s around, you have to act a little spoiled, right?"

The nurse, gathering her supplies, asked curiously, "By the way, how come your mom isn’t here today?"

"She’s on a business trip with my dad."

Noelle Sutton’s fists clenched uncontrollably.

’No wonder Sophie Hughes hadn’t returned to Westhill Villa. She went to Cygnus with Tristan Lawson...’

After packing up her things, the nurse said goodbye to Joshua Lawson and left.

Suppressing the suffocating feeling in her chest, Noelle Sutton signed to Joshua, "Did Sophie Hughes go on a business trip with your father?"

’She didn’t want to jump to conclusions or make assumptions anymore.’

’That’s how a family falls apart.’

’So, she had to get a clear answer.’

Joshua still felt guilty about what had just happened. Now that the nurse was gone and they were alone in the room...

...he said, "I just made that up. I don’t know where she is, either. I called her, but she didn’t answer. Aunt Tessa was the one who stayed with me at the hospital yesterday. Mom..."

Joshua called her Mom.

He was afraid he had hurt her feelings with what he’d said to the nurse, so his voice was soft when he said it.

Noelle Sutton just stared at him.

He said guiltily, "Mom, I’m sorry. That nurse is my classmate’s mother. There’s this kid in our class whose mom has a limp, and everyone makes fun of him. If they found out you can’t talk, they would definitely make fun of me too. I’m a big boy now, I have to think about my pride. That’s why... that other day when I was getting a shot, I told the nurse that Sophie is my mom..."

Noelle Sutton just kept staring at Joshua, not making a single sign.

Joshua thought she was angry and quickly continued, "Mom, you love me more than anyone. You don’t want people to laugh at me, do you? In private, I’ll still call you Mom. But in public... can we just let Sophie be my mom? Please?"

The corners of Noelle Sutton’s mouth trembled.

’This was her baby, the child she had carried for ten months.’

’She was so heartbroken she couldn’t even cry...’

Suddenly, she tasted blood in her throat. She quickly covered her mouth and ran out of the room.

She gagged, dry-heaving.

When she pulled her hand away, her palm was smeared with blood.

She tilted her head back slightly, closed her eyes for a moment, and then walked toward the public restroom.

Turning on the faucet, she washed the blood from her palm, then splashed her face hard with cold water, trying to wash away the tears that threatened to spill over.

She walked out like a zombie.

Her phone rang. She pulled it out.

It was a call from Joshua’s smartwatch.

She didn’t answer, rejecting the call.

Then, she sent a text to Tessa Lawson.

*I pulled an all-nighter and I’m exhausted. Could you please come take over for me?*

’No matter how much Tessa Lawson despised her, she would never neglect Joshua Lawson.’

’Joshua was Tristan Lawson’s only son.’

’Tristan was Tessa’s own younger brother. Since Tessa wasn’t married and had no children of her own, she doted on Joshua.’

*Got it. I’m on my way.*

Still fulfilling her motherly duties, Noelle Sutton stood outside Joshua’s room and waited for Tessa.

Joshua Lawson sent Noelle a text.

*Mom, I already made such a huge compromise for you. Why are you still angry? Why did you leave? Are you abandoning me?*

Reading the message, Noelle Sutton felt a despair that was beyond tears.

She took a deep breath. ’For now, I don’t want to overthink this.’

’His character is developing problems, but he’s still young. There’s still a chance to correct it.’

’No matter how angry she got, she couldn’t truly hold it against her own child.’

’I’ll wait for Tristan to come back and get everything out in the open. If it all turns out to be nothing more than my own paranoia and wild guesses, then I’ll re-evaluate my decision.’

’I’ll choose to give the father and son another chance...’

’And then, I’ll do whatever it takes to correct Joshua’s mistaken ideas.’

’Even if I only have six months left to live, I can’t just stand by and watch Joshua turn into this kind of person.’

When Tessa Lawson rushed to the hospital and saw Noelle Sutton’s pale face, she frowned. "Are you not feeling well? Should you get checked out?"

After all, pulling an all-nighter is completely different from a daytime shift. It’s incredibly draining.

Noelle Sutton didn’t want anyone else to know about her cancer, so she replied, "I’m fine. It’s probably just from staying up all night. I’ll be okay once I get some rest at home."

"Then you should go home."

Tessa might have a sharp tongue, but she wasn’t cruel enough to make Noelle go without sleep to look after Joshua indefinitely.

When Noelle Sutton returned to Westhill Villa, she walked in to find Mrs. Miller watching television. Tristan Lawson was on the screen.

Hearing a noise, Mrs. Miller turned, saw Noelle, and immediately switched off the TV. Her expression was a little unnatural. "Madam, you’re back."

’Something was very off about Mrs. Miller.’

’It was normal for Tristan to be on television. So why would Mrs. Miller turn it off in such a hurry the moment she saw her?’

’Something must be wrong...’

Noelle Sutton took the remote from Mrs. Miller’s hand and turned the television back on.