On the night of discharge, both Sheila Yardley and Julian Yardley returned, and Susan Wilde and her sister also rushed over upon hearing the news. Naturally, Liam Sterling, who always liked to come over for meals, wasn’t absent either.
With so many people around, the lively chatter and laughter distracted Shannon Quinn, and her mood improved significantly.
However, during the meal, Leo asked, "Why didn’t Uncle Sutton come?"
Shannon Quinn paused for a moment and simply replied, "Uncle Sutton had to go to work."
Leo seemed a bit displeased with Landon Sutton’s absence but didn’t ask further.
After dinner, he played with the LEGO set that Landon Sutton had given him. Although he still played with Liam Sterling, the child was noticeably a bit down.
When the guests had left, Shannon called Leo to her bedside, reached out to touch his head, and gently asked, "How come our little Leo doesn’t seem happy?"
Leo kicked off his slippers, climbed onto the bed, looked at Shannon, pouted, and asked her, "Mom, will Uncle Sutton still come?"
"Why do you like Uncle Sutton so much?"
Leo retorted, "So, Mom, don’t you like Uncle Sutton?"
Shannon was taken aback by her son’s question. Seeing her hesitation, Leo immediately began praising Landon Sutton: "Uncle Sutton is very handsome, tall, and very wealthy. He could take care of us, and then you wouldn’t have to work so hard, right, Mom?"
Shannon chuckled, pinched Leo’s nose, and said, "I didn’t raise you to be so money-minded." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Leo pushed her hand away, looking quite anxious, "Mom, think about it. You have to earn money for us, and every day it’s so hard for you. If Uncle has money to , you wouldn’t have to work and could sleep in every day."
"And Uncle earning money wouldn’t be hard work?"
"Uncle is more capable, he earns more money than you do."
"Are you looking down on your mom?"
"Mom, why are you so silly? If you marry Uncle Sutton, his money would be your money, and you’d be a rich lady."
Shannon furrowed her brows, tapping his little head, "Your mind is just full of money and being a rich lady. Adult stuff, kids don’t understand. Now go to sleep, you have to practice piano tomorrow."
Leo wanted to say something but stopped, turning his back to Shannon as he lay beside her, muttering softly, "Mom, you don’t understand."
It was rare for the little man to want to sleep next to her, so Shannon just pulled the blanket over him.
She could see that the child had something on his mind, but she didn’t understand why Leo was so fixated on Landon Sutton.
Landon Sutton wasn’t his first "client." The previous pursuers hadn’t seen Leo this interested—could it really be blood relations at work? Could the father and son have a psychic connection? Or was Leo already bought by Landon with money?
Catherine Yardley pushed the door open, looked at the scene in the room, and softly asked, "Is Leo asleep?"
"Yeah, Mom, you should sleep early too."
"I should carry him back to his room. He might kick you in his sleep."
"It’s okay; it’s rare for him to want to sleep next to me. You’ve had a busy day; get some rest."
"Alright, I’ll just sleep on the sofa, so you can call me if you need anything at night."
"No need, the most I’ll do at night is go to the toilet, I’ll manage."
Yet Catherine Yardley still felt uneasy, bringing a pillow and a blanket to lay down on the small sofa in Shannon’s room.
Only a small night light was left on in the room, while the snow outside fell quietly.
"Mom," Shannon suddenly spoke in the quiet.
Catherine Yardley sat up from the sofa, concerned, and asked, "What’s the matter?"
"If Dad were still alive, would you have stayed together for a lifetime?"
Catherine’s expression immediately dimmed a little, her eyes reddened, and she sighed, "A lifetime is long, and no one can say for sure about future events. Although your father passed away early, at least we were still in love at the end of his life. Shannon, actually, when two people want to be together but end up not being together, that’s the real regret."
Shannon remained silent. She hadn’t experienced what Catherine had, but she somewhat understood what her mother was saying.
The car accident had made her see many things clearly; life is truly fragile. A whole lifetime might just disappear suddenly.
"Shannon, is it true that you have feelings for him in your heart? Mom can see it."
Shannon turned her head, a bit puzzled as she looked at Catherine. She considered herself quite self-sufficient over the years, had never mentioned him, nor inquired about his affairs. She had always thought that without the binding engagement between them, she could cut off everything, and she never really loved him.
"Four years have passed, and there have been many men pursuing you around, but you’ve never accepted any of them. Now that he’s appeared, I feel that you’re different when he’s around you. You might just haven’t understood your own feelings yet."
"You said that Shirley is his girlfriend, but I couldn’t tell. I felt it was Shirley who wanted to pursue him, but his heart was still with you."
"Why do you say that?" Shannon curiously asked.
"When you were hospitalized, you probably didn’t notice, but it was mostly Shirley initiating conversations with him, and often he pretended not to hear. If he did reply, it was briefly only when necessary."
Shannon recalled; it seemed that was indeed the case.
"Loving someone for a long time without a response can be tiring, especially when he has another girl pursuing him. If he truly ends up with Shirley, I wonder if you’ll cry."
Shannon pouted and gave a disdainful huff, "Why would I cry?"
Saying that, she still seriously pondered over what her mother had said.
Loving someone for a long time can be exhausting...
Honestly, she was a bit impressed by Landon’s perseverance. If it were her, just sending messages and never getting a reply, she would probably have given up long ago.
"Happiness often relies on us to strive for it. If you want to be with him, why give him away to another, especially when the person in his heart is you."
"The thing is, I’m not even sure if I want to be with him."
"Then just imagine if he really marries Shirley or another woman, rebuilds his family, has another child, and never comes to see you and Leo again, how would you feel?"
Shannon remained silent; just thinking about these things didn’t feel very comfortable.
Maybe she did like him?
Regardless of whether it was for love or for the child, she found that she wasn’t entirely keen on seeing him marry and have children with other women.
Come to think of it, the divorce was because of outside rumors, and now she could be with him openly. Could she let go of her previous concerns?
Shannon wasn’t sure what decision to make. She didn’t sleep well at night and saw a post from Sylvie Pierce on her social feed the next morning.