"But, Sis, I heard that Nathan Fawcett guy is terrifying. It's so unfair that you have to marry him. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation."
"It has nothing to do with you," Anne Sutton said. "You're young. You never should have been dragged into the family's problems in the first place."
This was her only younger sister. When Anne Sutton herself was still young, her family had arranged her engagement.
That was how she became Charles Prescott's fiancée.
'Looking back now, I feel like I've completely wasted all these years!'
She didn't want Sharon to sacrifice herself for the family, just as she had.
Sharon's eyes instantly reddened. "Thank you, Sis. You're too good to me! If it weren't for you, I'd be the one marrying that dying old man right now."
"Old man?"
"Yeah!" Sharon Sutton said. "My brother-in-law... wait, no, I mean Mr. Prescott's uncle. Shouldn't he be really old?"
"He is a bit older than me, but not so old that you'd call him an old man. He's actually quite young."
'He just won't be living for long!'
Sharon said, "But no matter what, he can't be that great. You've been through so much, Sis. You've sacrificed a lot for this family."
Anne Sutton looked up at the silly girl and ruffled her hair. "Just focus on your studies. Don't overthink things all the time. I'll handle the family's problems."
"So, is our family still going to go bankrupt?"
"Of course not," Anne Sutton said. "I'll never let you guys live at the mercy of Charles Prescott again."
Mrs. Sutton, sitting to the side, looked at Anne Sutton and said, "Anne, I really don't think you should let things with Charles Prescott get this ugly. From the way he talks, I can tell he still has feelings for you. It's better to have another friend than another enemy. Don't go too far."
Her mother had a rather timid personality and always wanted to resolve things peacefully.
That's why they really didn't want to see Anne Sutton offending Charles Prescott like this.
Anne Sutton said, "I'm not the one who went too far. I'm just sick of being at his mercy! He has another woman and a child. Mom..."
"Powerful men are all like that, just like your father..." Realizing she had misspoken, Mrs. Sutton shut her mouth.
Anne Sutton froze for a moment, then looked at her mother and said, "Are you saying Dad also..."
"Anne," Mrs. Sutton interrupted. "All men are like that. The only reason they don't fool around is because they don't have the money. Charles Prescott is so well-off; as a woman, there's no need for you to be so petty with him."
"No!" Anne Sutton was stubborn. "I'm going to make it a big deal!"
'She used to think she shouldn't make a big deal out of it, either.'
'But Charles Prescott had gone way too far!'
'If Sylvia Warren hadn't caused a scene right in front of her, she could have tolerated it.'
But when Anne Sutton recalled how Sylvia Warren had slandered her, and how Charles Prescott couldn't have cared less, she found the whole thing laughable.
Mrs. Sutton looked at her daughter and said no more.
This was the first Anne Sutton had heard of her father having other women. She asked, "Where's Dad?"
"He went out for a meal. Said he was discussing company business with someone."
Just as her mother finished speaking, Anne Sutton's phone rang. She glanced at it and saw it was a call from her father.
Sean Sutton asked, "You're home?"
"Yes," Anne Sutton replied.
Sean Sutton said, "Are you free right now? Come join us for a meal. I happen to have something to ask you."
Anne Sutton wanted to talk to her father too, so she stood up.
She said to her mother, "Dad asked me to join him for a meal. I'm going to go meet him."
Mrs. Sutton said, "What I just said... don't mention it to your father."
"What?" Anne Sutton asked. "The fact that he has other women? You've really managed to keep that a secret all these years."
Perhaps because she felt that both she and Sharon were too young, their mother had never spoken of these things in front of them.
But she wasn't a child anymore, and she was starting to understand many things.
'For her father to act like this... it was truly outrageous.'
Mrs. Sutton said, "Don't say anything. It will just start another fight. I pretend not to know about his affairs. I'm already used to it."
"I understand," Anne Sutton said.
With that, she walked out.
She headed to the restaurant where her father was.
Anne Sutton drove over and arrived at their private room.
It wasn't actually mealtime.
The restaurant wasn't very crowded.
Anne Sutton walked in and saw that Charles Prescott was there too.
She had thought her father was having a meal with someone else; she never expected it would be with Charles Prescott.
Sean Sutton was in the middle of saying to Charles Prescott, "Anne can be insensible at times. Please don't hold it against her."
Charles Prescott replied, "I know she's willful. Why would I hold it against her?"
Sean Sutton said, "I'll have a good talk with her later."
"That won't be necessary." Charles Prescott glanced at Anne Sutton, who had just appeared in the doorway. His deep eyes were fixed on her. It was just like the old days when she would come looking for him while he was dining with others, and he would use that same tone to ask, "Well? Not coming in?"
Except, his tone was always laced with an unmistakable air of superiority.
Anne Sutton watched his high-and-mighty act, realizing he only put on this facade in front of her father.
Every time he had visited their home over the years, she had seen her father bowing and scraping before him.
'And he's supposed to be his elder!'
'It had to be said, in this world, only money earned you respect.'
Seeing Anne Sutton standing motionless in the doorway, Sean Sutton said, "You're here. Come on in."
Anne Sutton walked in, sat down beside her father, and looked at Charles Prescott. "How does Mr. Prescott have time to be having a meal with my dad?"
Sean Sutton glanced at his daughter. "Is that any way to speak to Mr. Prescott? He's helping our family handle things right now."
"Him?" Anne Sutton looked at Charles Prescott. She knew that Nathan Fawcett was ill and couldn't handle these matters himself, which was why he had Charles Prescott do everything.
'And now that he's shown up in person, it's being treated like his own personal achievement!'
Anne Sutton said, "He's just an errand boy, running tasks for someone else. Dad, you don't need to treat him like he's a big deal."
Hearing her words, Charles Prescott's mouth twitched.
He looked at her with amusement. "Anne, the more you talk like this, the more I like you. Understand?"
'Of all the women, she was the only one who would talk to him like this!'
'He actually found it interesting to see her act this way.'
'After all, if everyone in front of him was just a suck-up with no personality of their own, he'd find it boring.'
"You're insane!" Anne Sutton couldn't be bothered to look at him. She glanced at her father; she had originally come here to talk to him about something.
But with Charles Prescott here, she couldn't very well let him gloat.
'Otherwise, he'd probably say, 'Look at your own father. How dare you have a problem with me!''
Charles Prescott looked at Sean Sutton and said, "It seems she doesn't particularly want to see me. I'll take my leave."
Sean Sutton said, "I'm so sorry. Please, take care."