Chapter 330: Wanting to Find Someone to Look After the Child

Anne Sutton said, "I have to work tomorrow, so I need to get to bed early tonight."

"So soon?"

"It’s a hospital, after all!" Anne said. "You saw how your mother was working even over the New Year holiday."

Anna Linden was a workaholic.

Back when Anne was in Westhaven, she also had to work shifts over the New Year.

But not this year...

Because she was still considered a newcomer here, and on top of that, she had to go back to Westhaven for the holiday, she had specifically requested time off.

Nathan Fawcett said, "Alright!"

The two returned to the room. Anne tidied up her things while Nathan went to take a shower.

They both went to bed very early.

...

Once Anne went back to work, Nathan Fawcett helped Mrs. Sutton with the renovations.

He and Ian bustled about, helping out at the shop.

Seeing him so involved, Mrs. Sutton was a little overwhelmed. "Um... Ethan Linden," she said, "if you have your own business to attend to, please go. I can handle the renovations myself."

It wasn’t as if she had to do the manual labor herself; she had contractors for that.

She felt a little bad that Nathan had made a special trip just to help.

Nathan looked at Mrs. Sutton and said, "It’s no problem. I’m doing this for Anne."

Mrs. Sutton said, "Really, you don’t have to do all this."

Nathan said, "Once Anne and I get married, we’ll be one family, and you’ll be like a mother to me! I will honor and respect you, so you don’t have to be so formal with me."

’If I want to win Anne over, I have to do these things myself.’

’I have to get on my future mother-in-law’s good side!’

’If I don’t show up, Caleb Summers will!’

Nathan Fawcett was nothing if not sharp.

He wasn’t about to give anyone else that kind of opportunity.

...

In the afternoon, once things were mostly settled at the shop, Nathan left to take care of his own business.

Mrs. Sutton took Ian home with her, made dinner for Anne, and waited for her to get off work.

After Anne got off work, she had dinner with her mother and Ian.

Mrs. Sutton said, "The renovations are almost finished. We should be able to open in a few days."

"So soon?" Anne said, "I thought it would take a lot longer."

Mrs. Sutton said, "Nathan has been a huge help lately! He’s been bustling about, and thanks to him, everything is getting done much faster."

"He went to the shop?"

"He goes every day. He didn’t tell you?"

"..." Anne shook her head. "He didn’t mention it."

Mrs. Sutton smiled. "I used to worry he wouldn’t treat you well, but from what I’ve seen lately, he’s been very good to you! He really seems different from how he was before. Looking back, I realize he’s much more reliable than Charles Prescott. You were right to leave Charles."

At the time, they had all been worried that after Anne left Charles Prescott, she wouldn’t be able to find anyone better.

After all, aside from being a bit of a player, Charles had been a great catch in every other respect.

Hearing her mother, Anne said, "You’re only realizing that now? Charles is a classic player. He was always getting entangled with other women. When I was determined to leave him, all of you tried to talk me out of it!"

Mrs. Sutton said, "It’s my fault. I was just too naive!"

She had always felt that marriage required tolerance and compromise.

’Everyone’s marriage is like that. If you don’t endure, how can you go on living?’

’To keep a family together, you had to endure.’

But she never expected that sometimes, patience doesn’t lead to a happy ending.

Lately, she had been thinking that divorcing Sean Sutton wasn’t so bad after all.

She was getting ready to open her shop, she had her own work to focus on, and her mood had improved considerably.

Who had the energy to care about what Sean Sutton and Maya Evans were doing every day?

Anne looked at her mother, smiled, and asked, "By the way, have you set a date for the grand opening?"

"I have," Mrs. Sutton said. "The end of the month will be perfect! I already had someone calculate the dates and pick an auspicious one."

Anne said, "You’ve gotten used to Veridia by now, haven’t you?"

Mrs. Sutton nodded. "I have. Since getting together with your father, I’d never even left Westhaven."

"Left Westhaven?" Anne said. "You barely even left the house. You spent every day worrying about me and Sharon, taking care of everything for the family! And for what? When you got divorced, he acted like he earned all the money himself and you did nothing. Mom, from now on, you just need to live for yourself!"

Mrs. Sutton said, "Okay."

With a daughter like Anne, she had to admit, her own perspective had changed a great deal.

...

The Fawcett Group had resumed operations after the holiday. Charles Prescott arranged a job for David Hayes that came with a significant salary increase—enough to cover his and Sharon Sutton’s monthly expenses and raise a child, so the financial pressure on them was much lower.

If they saved for a year or two, they could even buy a bigger house.

He sent a message to Anne to let her know.

Anne had just finished dinner when she received the message from Charles Prescott.

She glanced at her phone and said to Mrs. Sutton, "Charles just messaged me. He said he arranged the job for David Hayes. His annual salary is seven or eight hundred thousand now. That should be more than enough, right?"

Mrs. Sutton was a bit surprised. "That much?"

Anne replied, "Yep! Why else would he be so desperate for me to pull some strings for him? Now we’ll just have to see if he treats Sharon well from now on!"

Mrs. Sutton said, "I hope he treats Sharon well. Your sister seems completely smitten with him—totally head over heels. If things go south between them, she’ll be heartbroken."

Anne looked at her mother and thought of Sharon. Sharon’s personality was much more like Mrs. Sutton’s than her own.

That’s why she was so easily manipulated by players.

...

After Charles messaged Anne, Sharon also called to check in.

Anne video-called her. Mrs. Sutton was there and chatted with her for a bit as well.

It was obvious she was overjoyed about David Hayes’s raise.

Sharon said, "Sis, David’s job is all settled. Thank you."

"Don’t mention it," Anne said. "I’m just glad it’s settled. You can rest easy now."

Sharon nodded. "He said that after the baby is born, we’ll have our wedding."

Sharon was already showing, so having a wedding right now would be inconvenient.

So it was better to wait until after the baby was born.

Anne said, "Okay, you two can make your own plans. Just make sure to treat yourself well. Don’t let yourself get pushed around. Mom and I aren’t there with you, so you have to take good care of yourself."

"I will."

After hanging up, Sharon looked over at David Hayes cooking in the kitchen. She walked up beside him. "Honey."

Having just gotten a promotion, David found her much more pleasant to look at, and his attitude was better. "Why are you in here? The kitchen is full of fumes. You should go wait outside."

Sharon said, "You work so hard, having to come home and cook right after your shift. Why don’t we hire a housekeeper?"

Hearing this, David said, "Is that really necessary? Hiring a housekeeper costs a lot of money."

"But after I give birth, we’ll need someone to help with the baby."

"We don’t need to do that," David said. "My mom can just come over and help out."

Sharon felt a pang of unhappiness at the mention of his mother. She and her future mother-in-law didn’t get along well to begin with.

’His mother is always so preachy!’

’Even now, the occasional trips back to his hometown with him were an ordeal.’