Married the Sick Uncle – Just Waiting to Inherit His Fortune

Nathan Fawcett looked at her, not letting go. "You didn’t reply all night," he asked. "What were you doing? Were you secretly sulking?"

"I’m glad you know," Anne Sutton said. "This is just pointless! When your mother agreed to us being together the other day, I thought we’d finally seen a glimmer of hope. But now I realize that being with you is harder than Moses’s journey to Vesperia. I told my mother tonight that I’m not getting married anymore! Nathan, we’re not kids. Let’s stop all this drama. We’re so busy every day, let’s not waste our time."

Nathan Fawcett looked at her and said, "Alright."

When Anne Sutton saw how quickly he agreed, she looked at him, surprised. "You agree?"

Nathan Fawcett nodded. "That’s right! I was afraid you’d kick me out if I didn’t agree! If you don’t want to get married, then we won’t. When you feel like getting married someday, can we do it then?"

Anne Sutton looked at the man before her. "Alright!"

Nathan Fawcett looked at her tenderly. "But... if we don’t get married, you won’t feel like you’re being wronged, will you?"

"Why would I feel wronged?" Anne Sutton looked at him and said, "Marriage is just about making things official for everyone else to see. But haven’t you realized? Marriage is also a set of shackles! Your grandfather and his family will think that by being with you, I’m just trying to get a piece of your fortune and take advantage of you."

’Especially if she married Nathan Fawcett and ended up with a share of the Fawcett family’s assets. She had no such intentions, of course. Everything she had was a gift from Nathan, which she had simply accepted.’

’But to everyone else, it would just look like she was after his money!’

’They’d be afraid that after she married Nathan, she’d run off with everything the Linden Family has!’

’The fact that Master Linden was able to build the Linden Family into what it is today proves he’s a smart man, not a fool.’

’And that’s precisely why he considers so many possibilities.’

’In truth, Anne Sutton could understand.’

’If she had that much money, she’d hate for someone to just take it for nothing too!’

’After all, who would want to work their whole life just to see someone with no blood ties walk away with everything they’ve built?’

Nathan Fawcett looked at her and said, "Anne, if you don’t want to get married, then we won’t. You just have to know that I’ll always be by your side. You’re Ian’s mother, and you’ll always be the woman I love."

Anne Sutton looked at the man before her. She had been in a terrible mood all day, but after a few comforting words from Nathan, she felt quite a bit better.

She asked Nathan, "So, does Ian still have to go back to the Linden Family? Does your grandfather still want to take him back?"

’From the way Master Linden was acting, it seemed he had no intention of letting Ian stay with her.’

’In his eyes, she was just a worthless woman who would corrupt his great-grandson!’

Nathan Fawcett said, "If he took him back, would you be willing to let him go?"

The moment Anne Sutton heard him say that, she was instantly on her guard. "Of course not!"

Nathan Fawcett said, "Don’t worry. Ian wouldn’t want to go either. He likes being here with you, so just let him stay with you. I’ll take him to see my grandfather myself another time. My grandfather’s health isn’t good. He only has the energy to stir up trouble like this because he just got back. He usually doesn’t have this much time on his hands, so relax."

Anne Sutton said, "So you do have a conscience! I was afraid you were going to take your grandfather’s side."

"..." Nathan Fawcett looked at Anne Sutton and said nothing.

’His grandfather was actually very good to him!’

’At least, without his grandfather, his life in the Linden Family would have been much harder.’

’Like with Ryan Linden and the others...’

’When they targeted him, his grandfather always took his side.’

Seeing him staring at her, Anne Sutton said, "Nathan, I know... your grandfather is very good to you, and he dotes on you. I’m not asking you to go against him for my sake! But you know how important Ian is to me. I just hope that no matter what happens to our relationship, we never use our child to hurt each other, okay?"

Hearing her words, Nathan Fawcett nodded. "Alright."

He squeezed Anne’s hand. "No matter what happens, if you want to see Ian, or I want to see him, I hope neither of us will make it difficult for the other. We both have the right to see our child."

"Thank you." Hearing him say that, Anne Sutton finally felt at ease.

Nathan Fawcett listened to her and chuckled. "You make it sound like we’ve already broken up!"

"Well, it’s hard to say what the future holds! Who knows?"

The lights were on in the room. Bathed in the glow of the bedside lamp, Nathan gazed at her. From this angle, Anne Sutton looked exceptionally gentle.

Nathan Fawcett said, "It’s strange. You’re right here in front of me, in my arms, yet I always have this feeling that I can’t quite hold on to you. Tell me, why is it so hard to just be with the person you love forever?"

Anne Sutton replied, "Maybe because a person’s life is just so long. There are so many things that are out of our control."

Nathan Fawcett looked at her. "Let’s get some sleep. We can deal with everything else tomorrow."

...

The next morning, Ian woke Anne Sutton up before she was even out of bed.

She dragged herself up and made something for Ian to eat.

Looking at her son sitting at the table, Anne Sutton placed breakfast in front of him and Nathan Fawcett. "Go on, eat up!"

Ian looked at Anne Sutton and said sweetly, "Thanks, Mommy."

Nathan Fawcett, sitting beside them, looked at Ian and teased, "You’re such a little charmer, always trying to make your mom happy!"

"What, would you rather I make her angry? You’re a mean daddy!"

Ian looked at Nathan Fawcett, indignant.

As the family was eating, Caleb Summers walked in.

Seeing them eating, he spoke up. "Sis-in-law, I want some too."

"Get lost. There’s none for you!"

Nathan Fawcett said frostily.

Caleb Summers said, "Nathan, that’s just too mean! How could you do this to me?"

Nathan Fawcett shot him a look. "And how would you like me to treat you? Put you on a pedestal and worship you?"

"You still shouldn’t talk to me like that!" Caleb Summers said, putting on a deliberately wounded expression. But he was used to messing around with Nathan and wasn’t the least bit angry.

He was just curious. "Weren’t you supposed to be staying at the family home for a while? Why’d you come back?"

’Anne Sutton, sitting nearby, glanced at Caleb Summers. He really knew how to touch a raw nerve!’

Nathan Fawcett shot back, "You live all the way out by Vastmere? Why are you being so nosy?"

Anne Sutton said, "Just go get a bowl and help yourself."

Caleb Summers didn’t stand on ceremony. He got up and headed to the kitchen himself.

He returned a moment later and asked Anne, "Sis-in-law, what’s the latest on you and Nathan getting married? Did you talk to the Master? Did he agree?"

Anne Sutton glanced at him. "Nathan and I aren’t planning on getting married anymore."

When Caleb Summers heard this, he asked, "The Master objected?"

Anne Sutton looked at Caleb Summers. "You knew he would object? Did you come here just to laugh at me?"

"That’s not what I meant," Caleb Summers said. "It’s just, you know how people his age are. They take social class very seriously. You and Nathan have genuine feelings for each other, so you think it doesn’t matter... but honestly, just look at the entertainment industry. How many of those women ever truly marry into a rich and powerful family?"