Chapter 227: He Came to Pick Up the Child
She’d actually quite liked him before, but now all she felt was resentment.
Anne Sutton excused herself to Chloe Chase and took Ian straight home.
She bought some groceries downstairs from her apartment building and then went up to cook for Ian.
The apartment Anne Sutton rented wasn’t large, but it was cozy.
Ian sat on the sofa, looking at Anne Sutton. "Mommy, is this where you live now?"
Anne Sutton nodded.
Ian asked, "So where’s my room?"
Anne Sutton glanced at the little guy. "If you want, you can sleep with Mommy tonight! I’ll get your room ready later, how does that sound?"
"That would be great!" Ian said. "Don’t let them find out I’m here, or they’ll come and take me away again. I don’t ever want to go back to that house. I want to live with you from now on."
Hearing her son say that made Anne Sutton’s heart swell with happiness. "Really?"
"Really," Ian said.
"Ian." Anne Sutton came out from the kitchen and knelt in front of him. Looking at him, she said seriously, "I actually have a secret to tell you."
"What secret?" Ian asked curiously.
Anne Sutton looked at him, feeling her heart pound in her chest. "The truth is... you’re my son! It’s just... because of certain things, Mommy couldn’t be with you before. Do you hate me for that?"
Ian’s eyes were wide. After hearing Anne Sutton’s words, he said calmly, "I’ve known for a while."
"You knew?" Anne Sutton was stunned. "How did you know?"
’Nathan Fawcett wouldn’t have told him.’
’After all, that man never wanted me and Ian to reunite.’
Hearing Anne Sutton’s question, Ian said, "I just knew. Because... I like you so much. If you weren’t my mommy, why would I like you this much?"
"..." Ian’s words filled Anne Sutton’s heart with warmth.
She used to be so envious of Ian’s mother for having such an adorable child.
Only now did she realize that she was the one others should envy!
’This is my baby!’
’He’s so unbelievably cute!’
Anne Sutton said, "I’m sorry. I was so foolish not to have recognized you all this time."
「...」
Anna Linden had her people search for a long time, but they couldn’t find Ian.
Chloe Chase came in from outside and said to Anna Linden, "Someone just said they saw Anne Sutton take him."
"..." Hearing this, Anna Linden looked at Chloe Chase. "Anne Sutton? Has she lost her mind?! How dare she just sneak him away. Call the police! I won’t stand for this."
Chloe Chase tried to placate her. "Let’s just drop it. If this blows up, it’ll be bad for everyone. Let’s just tell the Young Master and have him go bring the boy back."
Anna Linden was furious. She couldn’t believe Anne Sutton had just snuck the boy away, leaving them to search everywhere for him.
She said to Chloe Chase, "If I weren’t taking Nathan into account, I wouldn’t let her get away with this."
Ultimately, she didn’t want to have a complete falling out with Anne Sutton and risk Nathan Fawcett’s identity being exposed.
She didn’t want to take that step unless it was absolutely necessary.
Chloe Chase said, "Then I’ll call the Young Master."
「...」
Nathan Fawcett was still at the office. He’d been in meetings all day and his head was throbbing.
Just then, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it and saw a message from Chloe Chase.
It said Anne Sutton had snuck Ian away.
Reading this, Nathan Fawcett’s expression darkened.
「...」
He understood Anne Sutton would be emotional after finding out the child was hers, but what the hell did she think she was doing?
’Does she feel like she hasn’t offended my mother enough already?’
The meeting ended a little after nine. As Nathan Fawcett walked out of the conference room, his butler followed behind him. "Let’s get something to eat first, sir. You haven’t eaten all day."
"No," Nathan Fawcett said. "We’re going to find Anne Sutton."
"Didn’t you say you were going to see her tomorrow?"
"..." Nathan Fawcett said, "She took Ian!"
The butler was also surprised to hear this.
「...」
The Linden family was frantic over Ian not coming home.
But Ian was having a wonderful time at Anne Sutton’s apartment. Anne had washed his hair and given him a bath, and now he was playing on the bed, wearing one of her T-shirts as pajamas.
Anne Sutton thought, ’I’ll have to make time to buy Ian some clothes tomorrow, otherwise he’ll have nothing to wear.’
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Mommy, someone’s at the door," Ian said.
"You go ahead and sleep," Anne Sutton said. "I’ll get the door."
「...」
She walked to the door and glanced through the peephole. She was startled to see Nathan Fawcett’s cold face on the other side. But then she thought, ’What do I have to feel guilty about?’
She pulled the door open.
Nathan Fawcett stood in the doorway, his face dark as he stared at her.
Anne Sutton asked, "I thought you were coming tomorrow. What are you doing here now?"
"Hand over Ian," Nathan Fawcett said.
His tone was a pure command.
"He’s sleeping," Anne Sutton said.
It was raining outside, and quite heavily.
Nathan Fawcett must have just gotten out of his car; his shoulder was still damp from the rain.
Nathan Fawcett said, "Do you have any idea what you’re doing? You sneak him away like this, and everyone at home is worried sick. Do you understand? Anne Sutton, if you want to discuss the child, you can come talk to me directly. Acting like this will only make everyone hate you."
"I just brought him to my place to cook him a meal, and you call that sneaking him away? If I had really kidnapped him, would you have been able to find me here? Nathan Fawcett, you’re the one who’s the child-snatcher! You’ve kept him hidden by your side all these years. Even when he was right in front of me, you wouldn’t let me acknowledge him as my son. Don’t you have any shame?"
Hearing Anne Sutton’s words, Nathan Fawcett found them laughable. "Why am I like this? Don’t you know the reason? If I had truly pursued the matter back then, not a single one of you—not you, Anne Sutton, not your family—would have met a good end. You promised to have my child, but after I left, you went and had an abortion. And now you have the gall to say this to me? If I didn’t take into account that you’re Ian’s biological mother, you wouldn’t even be qualified to stand here talking to me."
"..." Anne Sutton looked at his self-righteous expression and said with disappointment, "So that’s the kind of person you think I am! You claim I wanted to abort our child, so was all that longing for my child just an act I put on for you?"
"Wasn’t it?" Nathan Fawcett stared at her. "I know what kind of man I am. I can understand why you wouldn’t want to have my child. So I took him away, granting your wish and letting you be with Charles Prescott. Don’t blame all your misfortune on me. As per our original agreement, I have already given you everything the Fawcett Family owns as payment for bearing the child. We are even. Ian is my son now. He has nothing to do with you."
’He has nothing to do with you.’
Anne Sutton stared at him, unable to believe he could say such a thing.
Rage completely filled her chest. Losing control, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face...