Everyone else in the operating room looked at Anne Sutton, wanting to speak but not daring to.
After all, they never expected to stumble upon such juicy gossip.
Anne Sutton didn't look at anyone and walked straight out.
After leaving the hospital, she drove home and checked her phone, just in time to see a friend from work had sent her screenshots of people discussing her and Charles Prescott.
"Anne, what's going on?"
Anne Sutton put her phone down without replying.
She got out of her car, and before she even reached the front door, she heard the family's housekeeper, Mrs. Walters, say, "Miss Anne, you're back! Your mother and sister have been waiting for you."
"What's wrong?" She had been at the hospital for the last few days and had only just returned.
Mrs. Walters said, "Mr. Prescott called. He said his uncle is sick and wants Miss Sharon to go take care of him. Otherwise, he'll cut off all financial support to the family."
'Charles Prescott's uncle?'
'Isn't that Nathan Fawcett?'
Nathan Fawcett had always been in poor health. Last month, his doctor said he might only have a few months to live.
Unwilling to let him die so young, the Fawcett Family devised a plan: find him a wife to carry on the family line.
Ostensibly, they were looking for someone to take care of him, but in reality, they had an ulterior motive.
Not only was the man a sickly invalid, but his chronic poor health had also given him an absolutely atrocious temper.
Anne had met him once and had been so intimidated she couldn't even speak.
'But is Charles Prescott even human?'
'My sister Sharon is only eighteen, she just started college. And he actually expects her to go take care of his dying uncle?'
'All because I broke up with him?'
Anne Sutton walked through the door and saw Sharon Sutton sitting on the sofa, crying. "I'm not going!"
Her father, Sean Sutton, was scolding her. "You have to go. This is what Mr. Prescott wants. If you don't, what will happen to our family? He always means what he says. If he cuts us off, will we be sleeping on the streets tomorrow?"
If they declared bankruptcy, the Sutton family business, built up over so many years, would be completely gone.
"My sister is about to marry him, how could he abandon us?" Sharon said. "Dad, I really don't want to go. I'm so young, why are you doing this to me?"
When she saw Anne return, she looked as if she'd seen her savior. "Sis, can you please talk to your fiancé? I don't want to go take care of his uncle. Ask him to find someone else, please! Why does it have to be me?"
Sharon's eyes were red from crying. Looking at her, Anne's heart ached. She couldn't bear it. She picked up her phone and called Charles Prescott.
He didn't answer the phone. It was his assistant, Henry Underwood. "Ms. Sutton."
"Where is Charles Prescott?"
"Mr. Prescott is busy at the moment. Is there a message I can relay to him for you?"
Anne clutched her phone. "Why is he making my sister go take care of his uncle? What is he playing at?"
"Regarding that, Mr. Prescott said that if you are willing to apologize to him and come have dinner with him, he will let the matter drop."
Anne couldn't believe what she was hearing. 'Does he think he's so powerful that he can decide another person's fate with a single word?'
'It was clearly his fault. His mistress showed up right on my doorstep, and now that I'm the one who broke up with him, I have to go and apologize?'
Anne asked, "And what if I don't?"
"Then you'll have to either watch your sister go to the Fawcett family or wait for the Sutton family to go bankrupt." Henry Underwood then tried to persuade her, "Ms. Sutton, Mr. Prescott really does still love you. Hasn't he been good to you all these years? He didn't abandon you, even with your family's current situation. You shouldn't be fighting with him. If you leave him, you'll never find anyone better."
As Charles Prescott's assistant, Henry would always tell her things like this.
It was as if Charles Prescott not calling off their engagement was a great blessing bestowed upon her. For years, she had brainwashed herself into believing it.
But today...
The triumphant look on that woman's face flashed before her eyes again.
Before Henry Underwood could say anything more, Anne hung up the phone.
She realized her whole family was looking at her expectantly.
Her father, Sean Sutton, asked, "Well? What did he say?"
Anne said, "Dad, I'll go to the Fawcett family in Sharon's place."
Sean Sutton looked at Anne. "Are you kidding? you're about to marry Mr. Prescott! They're looking for a wife for Nathan Fawcett, how could you possibly go? If Mr. Prescott finds out, he'll be furious."
"Charles Prescott doesn't love me at all, and besides, he has a child with another woman. We're over. I know their family, so let me go in Sharon's place."
Sean Sutton said, "You mean you want to marry Nathan Fawcett?"
"If he's willing to marry me, that's not out of the question."
"Are you crazy!" Sean Sutton exclaimed. "No matter how you look at it, Charles Prescott is a better prospect than Nathan Fawcett. I heard Nathan doesn't have more than a few months left. If you're with him, you'll be a widow in no time, and he has a terrible temper. Why don't you go have a nice talk with Mr. Prescott? I still think he's very good to you."
Anne thought of Charles Prescott. 'Good to her?'
'Yeah, right!'
'He's just so good to me!'
'He made her a laughingstock for the entire hospital to see.'
"Don't say another word. I'll handle the family's affairs. Don't make things difficult for Sharon."
...
Before her father could say another word, Anne walked out the door.
Nathan Fawcett was the sole heir to the Fawcett family.
But due to his poor health, Master Fawcett had also adopted another son: Charles Prescott's father.
Everyone said Nathan Fawcett wouldn't live more than a few months. Once he passed, everything the Fawcett family owned would go to Charles Prescott.
This was why Charles Prescott was so arrogant.
After all, the Fawcett family controlled all of Westhaven's major industries.
Who in the business world didn't have to curry favor with the Fawcetts?
Her father used to do business under Master Fawcett.
But in recent years, the family business had been doing poorly.
If not for her engagement to Charles Prescott and his willingness to help them, her family would have likely gone bankrupt long ago.
Anne pushed her thoughts aside and got out of the car.
She wore a hat and mask, keeping her face well-hidden.
After all, everyone in the Fawcett household knew she was Charles Prescott's fiancée.
When she reached the door, a butler saw her and asked, "Miss Sharon Sutton?"
Afraid he would recognize her, Anne didn't speak and simply nodded.
The butler then led her inside.
As they walked, he gave her instructions. "The Eldest Young Master is upstairs. He hasn't eaten dinner yet, so you'll need to make sure he eats. He has a bad temper, so be careful not to upset him."
Anne nodded and went upstairs.
Although she had been to the Fawcett estate before, she had never entered the wing where Nathan Fawcett lived.
Nathan Fawcett was a well-known recluse.
Charles Prescott and his family lived separately in the front part of the estate.
Once upstairs, Anne knocked on the door, then pushed it open and went in.
She saw Nathan Fawcett sitting by the window. He wore a white shirt so large it was disproportionate to his frame, making him look as if he were enveloped in a sack.
He looked somewhat dejected.
She had seen him before; at least back then, his clothes had been tidy.
Anne cleared her throat. The man turned his head to glance at her.
He had a handsome face, but years of illness had left him with heavy, dark circles under his eyes and a gaze filled with malice.
He stared at Anne standing in the doorway. "You came to see me dressed like that? Take off your hat and mask!"