Chapter 375: Is She Okay?

Anna Linden sat to one side, and Anne Sutton asked, "Is the food not to your liking?"

She didn’t seem to have much of an appetite.

Anna Linden said, "I want Nathan Fawcett to return to Linden Group. You know about this, don’t you?"

"He told me," Anne Sutton said. "But he has no plans to go back right now. After all, he’s not a Linden."

His surname was Fawcett.

And Anna Linden despised him using the name Nathan Fawcett.

Anna Linden looked at Anne Sutton and said, "Help me persuade him."

"..." Anne Sutton said, "Well... how am I supposed to persuade him?"

Anna Linden said, "He’ll listen to you now. Unlike me. He won’t listen to anything I say and only ever disagrees with me."

"He’s not just disagreeing with you!" Anne Sutton said. "He actually cares about you a lot! It’s just... he thinks going back to the Linden family would make you unhappy."

Anna Linden looked at Anne Sutton. "You’re quick to defend him. No wonder he likes you so much."

Anne Sutton smiled. "If I don’t stick up for him, who else in this world will? He’s already had it hard enough!"

Hearing Anne Sutton’s words, Anna Linden fell silent. She looked at Anne for a long moment before finally saying, "You also think I’ve been too hard on him, don’t you?"

Anne Sutton said, "It’s not what I think, it’s that... you’ve never once acknowledged him as your son. All this time, you’ve only ever used him as a replacement for Ethan Linden. Who would want a life like that? You only think about how you lost Ethan, but what about Nathan? What did he do wrong? His only mistake was being born your child, and that when you divorced Mr. Fawcett, you chose not to take him with you."

"..." Anna Linden sat to the side, saying nothing more.

Chloe Chase watched this unfold and glanced at Anne Sutton.

Anne Sutton knew she had probably been a little too blunt.

She sighed helplessly. ’Anna Linden is probably going to be angry with me for that.’

But...

’If I don’t say these things, no one ever will!’

’And now that Nathan doesn’t want to go back, I can’t exactly force him, can I!’

Anna Linden said to Anne Sutton, "By the way, do you know where his father is buried?"

"Are you talking about Chairman Fawcett?"

Anna Linden looked at Anne Sutton without a word, tacitly confirming it.

Anne Sutton said, "I can take you there."

She had been staying at the Sutton residence before this.

Anne Sutton did, in fact, know where Chairman Fawcett was buried.

...

After they finished eating, Anne Sutton went with Anna Linden to Arthur Fawcett’s grave.

She followed beside Anna Linden, having no idea what she wanted to do here.

When they reached the gravesite, Anna Linden took off her sunglasses. She had hated this man for so many years, and now, he was just a cold tombstone.

Chloe Chase stood beside Anna Linden, looking at her. "Miss."

Anna Linden looked at the dates on the headstone and said, "Time flies. He’s been gone for so long."

’Isn’t that the truth?’ Anne Sutton thought.

’In the blink of an eye, Nathan and I have known each other for years.’

’We even have Ian now—a son who can run and jump.’

Anne Sutton glanced at her phone and saw a message from Nathan Fawcett: "Where’d you go?"

"I’m out with your mother." She picked up her phone and replied.

Nathan Fawcett texted back: "Why didn’t you ask me to come?"

"She didn’t want me to. We’ll be back in a bit. You and Caleb Summers can find something to eat on your own!"

Nathan Fawcett replied, "Come back soon."

After sending the message to Nathan Fawcett, she looked up and saw Anna Linden squatting down, burying her head in her hands and sobbing bitterly.

Anne Sutton never expected to witness such a scene. She felt she shouldn’t be here, but leaving now seemed a little too deliberate.

Anne Sutton also found herself thinking, ’If I had someone I loved so, so much—loved enough to give up everything just to be with him, to have his children—only to be betrayed in the end... I’d probably hate him, too.’

’Maybe it’s because I’ve seen too many examples like this around me that I’m so guarded when it comes to relationships.’

On the way back from Arthur Fawcett’s grave, Anna Linden didn’t say a single word.

Anne Sutton sat in the passenger seat while Chloe Chase drove. She and Chloe would occasionally glance at each other, but neither dared to say more than necessary.

Fortunately, the drive down the mountain was quick. Once they were back in the city, Anne Sutton finally worked up the courage to ask Anna Linden, "Dr. Linden, what should we do for lunch? If you don’t want to eat out, we could buy some groceries and cook at home!"

Anna Linden glanced at her and said, "You decide."

"Alright."

Anne Sutton had Chloe Chase drive to a market, where they bought some things before returning to the Sutton residence.

Caleb Summers wasn’t there.

Nathan Fawcett was in the yard, trimming the flowering branches.

He was wearing a white shirt under a casual jacket.

He looked full of youthful energy.

’Even though he’s back to being Nathan Fawcett now and no longer has to imitate Ethan Linden, the Nathan of today seems different from the one at the Fawcett residence a few years ago.’

Seeing Anne Sutton return, he said, "You’re back?"

Anne Sutton nodded. "Mhm, let’s have lunch at home! I bought groceries to cook."

She rarely cooked.

Nathan Fawcett nodded. "Okay, I’ll help."

Anna Linden stood to the side with Chloe Chase behind her. Chloe remarked with a sigh, "Nathan looks so different now! He even knows how to cook. He’s changed a lot for Anne Sutton."

Anna Linden said, "He has."

’He’s changed so much for Anne Sutton. And it’s because of her that he’s no longer willing to be Ethan Linden.’

Watching the two of them go inside, Anna Linden said, "Book a flight for tonight. We’re going back this evening."

Chloe Chase asked, "We’re not taking Nathan back with us? I thought you wanted to persuade him?"

"If he wanted to come back, he wouldn’t need persuading. And trying to persuade him now is useless."

’I’ve already made my position clear!’

’I’ve said all that needed to be said!’

’Now that Nathan Fawcett refuses to leave, there’s nothing I can do.’

’I can’t exactly have someone drag him away, can I!’

Anne Sutton was busy in the kitchen, and Nathan Fawcett was helping her.

Chloe Chase walked over and said, "Anne, we have a flight tonight. I just wanted to let you know."

Anne Sutton said, "So soon?"

Chloe said, "Dr. Linden has a pile of things to do at the hospital! And there are company matters that require her decision. She’s incredibly busy these days. It would be great if someone could share her burden."

This was clearly meant for Nathan Fawcett to hear.

Anne Sutton glanced at Nathan Fawcett, then nodded at Chloe. "Okay."

Chloe quickly left. Anne Sutton looked at Nathan Fawcett. "Do you want to go with them?"

Nathan Fawcett said, "You head back first. I’ll go back in a couple of days."

Anne Sutton said, "Actually, your mother and I went to see your father today."

"See my dad?" Nathan Fawcett was a bit surprised.

Anne Sutton said, "I was surprised too, but your mother wanted to go, so I went with her. She seemed really upset. She even cried a lot. I don’t know... seeing someone as strong as her cry like that, I actually felt bad for her. How much pain does a person have to be in to hate someone for a lifetime?"

"..." Nathan Fawcett asked worriedly, "Is she okay?"