Chapter 220: It Turns Out the Clown Was Her
Ian had left so suddenly that many of his things were still here. The sketchbook he often used was still on the desk. She opened it and saw a drawing of her, Nathan Fawcett, and Ian—the three of them, a warm little family.
Anne Sutton’s hands trembled, and tears began to fall. ’Ian...’
’He’s my son!’
’My child is still alive!’
But...
’Why didn’t Nathan Fawcett tell me?’
’Why did he hide it and even say Ian’s mother was dead?’
’He knew perfectly well how much I love children!’
’He knew perfectly well how much I cared about that baby!’
’He really doesn’t love me. He was afraid I would cling to him, so he selfishly kept the child by his side. All these years, right up to the very end, he refused to let me reunite with my son?’
’If that wasn’t bad enough, he even...’
’...divorced me and took Ian away?’
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Anne Sutton couldn’t describe the emotions swirling within her at that moment—anger, a sense of injustice, and a deep yearning for Ian...
’That’s my child!’
’He’s so cruel!’
The butler walked in, saw Anne Sutton, and said, "Ma’am, are you all right? Mr. Sutton has already left."
Anne Sutton looked at the butler by the door and asked through her tears, "Do you think Ian and I look alike?"
The butler replied, "The first time I met you, I thought you were his mother."
"..." Anne Sutton was stunned. Others could see it at a glance, but she had never noticed.
She searched the room until she found a strand of Ian’s hair and asked the butler to take it for a DNA test.
She needed to know if Sean Sutton had been lying.
’His word can’t be fully trusted!’
...
She struggled to hold on to her last shred of composure.
...
That evening, Stella Shields was having dinner with Justin Shields. She was watching the news as she ate, and when she saw that Anne Sutton had inherited the Fawcett Group and that the two had divorced, a smirk played on her lips.
She said to Justin Shields, "It seems Nathan never really loved her! If he did, why would he divorce her?"
Justin Shields said, "It looks like Anne doesn’t know the child is hers. If she knew, she probably wouldn’t have been willing to end things with Nathan so easily."
"She shouldn’t know anyway," Stella Shields said. "She was the one who didn’t want the child in the first place! She was so awful, on what grounds should Nathan forgive her? Good thing Nathan is still sensible."
Justin Shields glanced at her, knowing that Stella Shields’s mood had improved considerably since Nathan Fawcett and Anne Sutton divorced.
But when Justin Shields thought of Anne Sutton, he felt a bit worried...
’She’ll be all right, won’t she?’
...
After finishing dinner with Stella Shields, Justin Shields drove her to the airport.
Now that Nathan Fawcett had left, Stella Shields was returning to Veridia as well.
She had only ever returned home before for Nathan Fawcett’s sake.
For the past few years, she had been staying with the Linden Family, rarely returning home.
After dropping Stella Shields off, Justin Shields drove over to the Fawcett Residence.
Anne Sutton was still sitting in Ian’s room. The light was on, and she sat there, chin in her hand, looking at Ian’s drawings.
When the butler saw Justin Shields, he said, "Ma’am has been sitting in here for a long time. We’ve told her to go to sleep, but she refuses. It’s very late now."
Hearing this, Justin Shields knocked on the door and went inside.
Anne Sutton was sitting to one side, her chin in her hand. Justin Shields looked at her and asked, "Missing Ian?"
Anne Sutton looked up. "What are you doing here?"
Because of everything that had happened, her attitude toward Justin Shields was not particularly warm.
Justin Shields said, "I heard Nathan left. I was worried about you, so I came to see how you were doing."
"..." At the mention of Nathan’s name, Anne Sutton said, "He never loved me."
’When he gave me everything that belonged to the Fawcett Family, I actually thought it was because he cared about me!’
’Only now do I realize...’
’How could that be love?’
’It’s obvious he just...’
’...felt guilty about taking Ian away, felt he had wronged me, and so he left me the Fawcett Group as compensation.’
’After all, I had already given him a child, just as the agreement stipulated.’
’But still...’
’He’s so heartless!’
’I’m his mother, too!’
’He watched me suffer and grieve for that child, yet he could be so cold-hearted, hiding everything from me all along.’
Justin Shields said, "How can you say that? He was very good to you; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given you everything the Fawcett Family owns. Most people wouldn’t be so generous."
Anne Sutton replied, "But he stole my child."
"..." Justin Shields froze. "You know?"
His reaction confirmed it for Anne Sutton. "You knew, too. You knew his son is my son, didn’t you?"
’So my father wasn’t lying.’
’I bet Stella Shields knew, too. Even Justin Shields knew!’
’All these peripheral people knew, yet I, his biological mother, was kept in the dark.’
...
Hearing Anne Sutton’s words, Justin Shields stiffened, realizing he had let it slip. "I only heard it from Stella," he said.
"..." Anne Sutton stood up and looked at Justin Shields, her voice filled with disappointment. "You knew, and Stella Shields knew! You all knew Ian was my child, yet not a single one of you told me. Ever since my baby was gone, I’ve dreamed of him constantly, often waking up in the middle of the night in too much pain to sleep. He’s been this constant ache in my heart, and in my dreams, I do nothing but blame myself. I blame myself for not protecting him... for being so useless that I couldn’t save the child Nathan and I had.
When I saw Nathan Fawcett again, I even felt guilty toward him. I thought I had let him down, that I hadn’t kept my promise to protect our child.
But I never expected that I was the only clown in this whole charade.
It turns out all he ever wanted was the child.
All of you, every single one, you’re just too cruel! Too cruel! And that includes you!"
Thinking about how she had felt guilty toward him for all these years, Anne Sutton found herself utterly ridiculous.
She had actually developed feelings for this man out of that guilt, forgetting what a heartless person he truly was!
Every time he watched her grieve over the child, he must have been laughing at her as if she were a joke!
Listening to Anne Sutton, Justin Shields could only say, "I’m sorry."
This was Nathan Fawcett’s business; he truly hadn’t known how to bring it up.
Besides the few people who knew Nathan Fawcett’s true identity, no one else was aware of the full story.
Anne Sutton glanced at Justin Shields. "Get out. I don’t want to see you."
Hearing her words, Justin Shields said helplessly, "Then get some rest. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."
Anne Sutton yelled, "I said, get out!"
It was the first time Justin Shields had ever seen her this angry.
He left Ian’s room.
...
「The next morning.」
Anna Linden personally cooked breakfast and brought it over.
Ian sat in his seat, looking at the breakfast placed before him without moving to eat.
Anna Linden said, "Go on, eat up!"
Ian stared at Stella Shields, who sat across from him, his eyes filled with disgust.
He had been brought back two days ago, and he hadn’t been able to see his father or Anne.
Instead, all he saw was this awful woman, Stella Shields.
Seeing him staring at Stella Shields, Anna Linden asked, "What’s wrong? Is there something on Stella’s face? Why are you staring at her?"