Chapter 357: Poorly Handled

The family of three lay in the same bed, a rare moment for them.

Nathan Fawcett’s arm was wrapped around Anne Sutton.

Anne Sutton looked at his hand and said, "Nathan."

Hearing her, Nathan Fawcett asked, "What is it?"

"Let’s not fight anymore, okay?" Anne Sutton said. "I was always trying to keep you from having a complete fallout with your mother, thinking it would be bad for you. But now, it seems some things are just the way they are, and they can’t be changed. I don’t want to fight with you anymore."

Hearing her, Nathan Fawcett looked at her and reached out to brush her hair back. "Of course I don’t want to fight with you either."

The anger he’d felt all day suddenly subsided, and he no longer wanted to be at odds with her.

Hearing his words, Anne Sutton said, "We’ve been fighting lately, and you haven’t been around. Ian keeps asking what’s wrong with you. When I ask if he misses you, he doesn’t say anything, but I know he really wants his dad to be by his side."

’After all, this was the father who had raised him. How could Ian possibly bear to be without him?’

Nathan Fawcett said to Anne Sutton, "You’re silly."

"How am I silly?" Anne Sutton took his hand and gave his fingers a squeeze.

Nathan Fawcett said, "It’s nothing."

Nathan Fawcett was rather touched. At a time like this, instead of telling him to leave, she was saying she didn’t want to fight anymore.

"I always thought Ms. Sutton was a mercenary woman who only saw personal gain. It seems I misjudged you."

Hearing his words, the corner of Anne Sutton’s mouth twitched. "So that’s what you’ve always thought of me? But then again, I guess I’ve always been that kind of person!"

’Who doesn’t like money?’

She was simply too lazy to hide it.

Nathan Fawcett said, "Then if you’re staying with me, aren’t you afraid I won’t be able to provide for you in the future?"

"Don’t you have the Fawcett Group? And even if you don’t, I still have a job! I probably won’t let you starve to death."

Hearing her words, Nathan Fawcett said, "Don’t worry! We won’t starve. As long as I’m around, how could I ever let you suffer?"

"You make it sound like you have a plan. Have you already decided what you’re going to do?"

Nathan Fawcett said, "If it comes to it, I’ll get a job on an assembly line to provide for you."

Anne Sutton glanced at the man. "Tsk, since when did you learn such a down-to-earth expression?"

Nathan Fawcett hugged her from behind and fell silent.

...

Just as Mrs. Sutton was about to close up for the night, she saw Anna Linden walk in.

Anna Linden said, "You haven’t closed yet?"

"I had a feeling you’d come by," Mrs. Sutton said with a smile.

Anna Linden glanced at her. "I thought you were closed and almost didn’t bother coming. I just came to try my luck and was surprised to see you’re still open."

’She only thought of coming here because she had nowhere else to go!’

Anna Linden asked, "Are you closing? Is there anything to eat?"

"I saved some for you," Mrs. Sutton said. "A few of your favorite dishes."

"Thank you." Anna Linden gave Mrs. Sutton a grateful look.

Hearing her, Mrs. Sutton said, "Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll go get things ready."

Anna Linden nodded. "Alright."

She had dinner at Mrs. Sutton’s place, and the two of them talked about what happened that day.

Anna Linden looked at Mrs. Sutton and asked, "You weren’t too scared today, were you?"

"Not at all."

Anna Linden said, "It’s all my nephew’s fault for being so useless. I’ve already disciplined him! It won’t happen again."

Mrs. Sutton said, "It’s fine. Nothing happened to me, so don’t worry. But about you and Ethan Linden..."

"Don’t mention him." Anna Linden’s mood soured the moment Ethan Linden was brought up. "Just pretend I never had a son!"

"What happened now?" Mrs. Sutton looked at Anna Linden in disbelief, wondering how their relationship had deteriorated to this point.

Anna Linden said to Mrs. Sutton, "Just don’t mention him. In any case, I don’t want to see him ever again."

’I’ll just treat the last few years as a total waste!’

’Ethan Linden left a long time ago. I was just the one who couldn’t let go.’

’Now that Nathan Fawcett is no longer willing to be Ethan Linden’s stand-in, that’s for the best!’

’I’m not going to indulge him anymore!’

Mrs. Sutton said, "I don’t really understand your family’s affairs, but don’t get too upset. It’s not good for you."

"Mm."

They sat for a while longer before Anna Linden’s phone rang.

She picked up her phone, glanced at the screen, and saw it was a call from Noah Linden.

’Why is he calling me at a time like this?’

Anna Linden didn’t understand, but she answered the call anyway. "Hello?"

On the other end, Noah Linden’s voice sounded very cautious. "Aunt Anna, are you home? There’s something I need to come over and ask you about."

"I’m not home. What is it?"

Noah Linden said, "I have some company business I need to ask you about. When will you be back? I can wait for you. Or I could go find you at the hospital tomorrow."

"Just handle the company’s business as you see fit. Why are you looking for me?" Ever since handing things over to Nathan Fawcett, she had stopped managing the company’s affairs.

’Noah Linden, of all people, calling me in the middle of the night. He’s clearly just trying to add to my troubles.’

Noah Linden said, "This is very important. I don’t dare make a decision on my own."

Anna Linden took a deep breath. "Fine, come to my house in an hour."

’She really couldn’t take it anymore!’

But she couldn’t just wash her hands of it completely, either.

After leaving Mrs. Sutton’s place, Anna Linden went home.

Noah Linden was already waiting at the door. When he saw her, he said respectfully, "Aunt Anna."

"What is it?" Anna Linden looked at him, unable to understand. "Why come find me this late at night?"

Noah Linden handed her a file. "It’s about the Thorne Group. We’re on good terms with the Thorne Family, but they still haven’t repaid the money they borrowed. When we press them, they just say they’re going bankrupt! What should we do?"

He had come to find Anna Linden only because he was out of options.

Anna Linden asked, "How were matters like this handled before?"

"I don’t know," Noah Linden said. "Ethan Linden always handled them."

"..." Anna Linden was speechless. "If he could handle it, why can’t you? Go figure it out on your own."

"..." Hearing Anna Linden’s words, Noah Linden said, "Ethan Linden had his own methods. A lot of people deferred to him. I can’t command that kind of respect."

Before, with Ethan Linden propping up the company, all Noah had to do was report any troublesome matters up the chain.

But now that Ethan Linden was gone, he was expected to be in charge. The responsibility had suddenly fallen onto his shoulders, and he truly didn’t know how to handle it.

Anna Linden looked at his troubled expression and said, "I put so much trust in you, yet you can’t even handle a small thing like this?"

Noah Linden said, "I’m sorry, Aunt Anna. I’m just too stupid!"

"..." Anna Linden stared at him. She knew he had always been obedient and sensible.

Among the younger members of the family, he was actually quite capable.

He rarely did anything to make her angry.

’And yet now... he was calling himself stupid!’

Anna Linden said, "Just go figure it out yourself. Now that you’ve taken over the company, you need to learn to make your own decisions. Don’t come running to me for every little thing."

Having been lectured, Noah Linden nodded helplessly, though his problem remained unsolved.