Chapter 244: Anne Sutton Refused
"Ms. Sutton." Chloe Chase hadn’t expected Anne Sutton to still refuse after she’d laid everything out so clearly. "You’re a smart woman. Do you realize what you’re turning down? How rare of an opportunity this is for you? Besides, you want to stay by Ian’s side, don’t you?"
"Whether I can get Ian back is my business!" Anne Sutton said. "But I have no interest in the Linden Family. Even if you came begging, I wouldn’t go."
She’d already seen what Anna Linden was like!
’If I go to the Linden Family, will I ever have a moment’s peace?’
Anne Sutton had finally managed to divorce Nathan Fawcett; she didn’t want to get involved in more drama.
Especially since it was Chloe Chase who had come to her!
Chloe Chase had originally thought that if she approached Anne Sutton, Anne would jump at the chance. After all, allowing her to marry Ethan Linden was a great honor.
She never expected Anne to be so stubborn.
Chloe Chase asked, "If you’re still upset about what happened before, I can apologize on Dr. Linden’s behalf. For Ian’s sake, can’t we all be family?"
Anne Sutton replied, "I’ve never heard of a proxy apology. Why don’t you have Dr. Linden come and ask me herself? Maybe then I’ll consider it."
"You..." Chloe knew she was asking for the impossible. "You’re being rather ungrateful."
"So you’re allowed to humiliate me to my face, but I’m not allowed to refuse? It’s my right not to marry him, isn’t it?"
With that, Anne Sutton stood up, glanced at Chloe Chase, and said, "I’m finished eating. You carry on."
Then, Anne Sutton walked out the door.
Watching Anne’s unreasonable display, Chloe Chase frowned.
...
She returned to the office. Anna Linden had been waiting for her.
Seeing Chloe return, Anna Linden asked anxiously, "How did it go? Did she agree?"
’I was so sure Anne Sutton would agree!’
But for some reason, she was incredibly anxious, desperate to know the outcome.
Chloe Chase said, "No... Anne Sutton didn’t agree."
"..." Anna Linden looked at Chloe in disbelief. "What did she say?"
Chloe got angry just thinking about Anne Sutton’s attitude. If Anna Linden found out, she’d be even more furious.
She said to Anna Linden apprehensively, "She’s still angry about what happened before. She said... she wants you to go apologize to her in person."
"What a joke!" Anna Linden exclaimed. "She must be insane! Demanding I apologize? She can marry him or not, I don’t care! Plenty of women would love to marry into my Linden Family."
Chloe coughed, remembering all the prominent families who had already rejected Anna Linden’s offers.
While everyone wanted their daughters to marry into the Linden Family, they were also afraid of forcing their daughters into a sexless marriage.
No one was willing to sacrifice their daughter’s happiness.
Anna Linden’s words might have held weight in the past, but now, they carried no conviction.
Chloe said, "It’s all my fault. I was too harsh before! Why don’t... you go yourself, Ma’am? If you ask her, she’ll surely show you some respect."
"Don’t even think about it!" Anna Linden snapped. "Me, personally ask her to marry Ethan? Is she even worthy?"
’My own son... She never wanted to see him and Anne Sutton have anything to do with each other, but who would have thought Ethan would be allergic to women. And now Anne Sutton had lucked out because of it!’
...
「That afternoon.」
Anne Sutton was getting ready to leave work when she saw Anna Linden standing at the door.
Anna Linden hadn’t been willing to come, but after thinking it over all afternoon, she had shown up for the sake of her son’s happiness.
When Anne Sutton saw her, she said, "Dr. Linden."
Anna Linden stared at her, her expression cold, and said, "I hear you want me to come and apologize to you?"
"..." Anne Sutton swore she had just said that on a whim.
She never thought someone with Anna Linden’s personality would actually come over to apologize.
And yet...
Anne Sutton said, "I just said that offhandedly. I simply don’t want to be with Ethan Linden."
"Why don’t you want to be with him?" Anna Linden demanded. "Didn’t you come to Veridia just to pester him? Why are you acting so high and mighty now?"
Not a single one of Anna Linden’s words was pleasant.
Anne Sutton glanced at her, not even bothering to argue. She just said, "I’m heading home."
Seeing this, Chloe Chase cleared her throat and said to Anne, "Anne Sutton, Dr. Linden came all this way just to see you. Don’t be like this."
Anne Sutton replied, "Dr. Linden dislikes me so much, so I should probably keep my distance to avoid upsetting her. What else do you want from me?"
Anna Linden said, "Don’t push it. You know perfectly well I’m here for Ethan! Anne Sutton, if there were any other way, I would never agree to you marrying Ethan."
"Since there’s no other way, then Dr. Linden should go find one herself! As for me, it’s true I’m not worthy of entering the Linden Family’s home, and I have no desire to marry into it in this lifetime. I know Ethan is a great catch. He could find any woman, and she would be a thousand times better than me."
"You..." How could Anna Linden not realize that Anne Sutton was deliberately using her own past words to provoke her?
Anne Sutton said to Anna, "Dr. Linden and I are not suited to be family. I’ve never deluded myself into thinking otherwise. You should go find someone else, Dr. Linden."
With that, Anne Sutton glanced at Chloe Chase, a small smile playing on her lips, and turned to leave.
Back in the garage, Anne Sutton got into her car and sat in the driver’s seat. Thinking back on everything that had just happened, she found it all a bit incredible. ’Hmm, did Anna Linden really just come to ask me to get together with Ethan?’
’It feels like a dream!’
’But after all the grief they gave me, finally being able to justifiably reject them feels so damn satisfying!’
Anne Sutton drove home.
For the past two days, besides going to work, Anne Sutton had been checking on her new house. She had the housekeeper bring a team to clean it thoroughly, planning to move in on her day off.
That evening, while Anne Sutton was packing with the housekeeper, Ian ran in through the door. "Mommy."
Seeing him, Anne Sutton said, "What are you doing here?"
Ian walked over, hugged her leg, and looked up at her. "Mean Mommy, you don’t even miss Ian."
Anne Sutton looked at the little guy and said, "That’s not true. Mommy has been thinking about you constantly. I’m getting ready to move my things to the new house, and then I’ll bring you over to play."
Just as she finished speaking, Nathan Fawcett also walked over. He stood at the bedroom doorway, watching Anne Sutton pack.
When Anne saw him, she asked, "Why did you bring Ian over again?"
"Shouldn’t I bring him to see you?" Nathan Fawcett said. "What, you don’t want to see your son? Then I won’t bring him next time."
"Of course not." Anne Sutton looked at the little boy in front of her. It felt strange not having seen him for a few days. She picked Ian up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Anne Sutton came out of the bedroom holding Ian, walked to the living room, and asked, "Have you eaten dinner?"
"We already ate," Ian said. "And we brought you something to eat, too."