Chapter 436: Becoming Increasingly Ill-Behaved

He stared at Lana Langley. "Are you asking to die? Believe it or not, I’ll kill you."

Lana Langley looked at him. "Weren’t you supposed to be on a date with a beauty? Why are you meddling with me? I’m not meddling with you!"

"I..." Hearing her mention the "beauty," Ryan Linden felt even more ridiculed.

Even though Lana Langley was completely in the dark, he suspected she was doing it on purpose.

He walked over, shooed away the young man beside Lana Langley, and said to her, "Believe it or not, I’ll beat you to death."

"Go on, hit me." Lana Langley wasn’t afraid of him. "It wouldn’t be the first time. I’m used to it. But Ryan Linden, if you dare hit me today, I won’t let you get away with it! I only put up with you before for our child’s sake. I’m not enduring it anymore."

Lana Langley was especially calm and composed now. ’Thinking of how she used to be afraid of losing face, always covering up for him, and having to pretend nothing happened after he beat her... she’d really had enough.’

Seeing her defiant expression and noticing people nearby staring at him, Ryan Linden didn’t dare to make a move.

Perhaps it was because he had never seen this side of Lana Langley.

He looked at her, his whole expression changing. "Honey, I was wrong. I won’t hit you anymore! Let’s go home, okay?"

Lana Langley said, "Weren’t you the one who told me not to regret this? What’s gotten into you?"

Looking at him acting like this, Lana Langley found it absurd.

’Wasn’t this the same Ryan Linden who’d been arrogant as all hell just yesterday? Why was he suddenly trying to sweet-talk her now?’

’How could this man change his tune as quickly as one flips through a book?’

Lana Langley ignored him and refused his suggestion. "I have other things to do. Stay away from me. I don’t want to see you."

Ryan Linden said, "If you’re not going home now, what else do you think you’re doing?"

"What business is it of yours?" Lana Langley said. "Don’t pester me. Believe it or not, I’ll call Nathan Fawcett right now."

Damn it!

Hearing her say she was going to call Nathan Fawcett, Ryan Linden was furious. "You think he has time to bother with you? He’s busy all day long!"

"He might not have time for me, but he’s definitely interested in *you*! He’d probably be more than happy to come over just to see you in trouble!" Lana Langley raised an eyebrow, looking at Ryan Linden. She knew exactly how bad the relationship between him and Nathan Fawcett was.

Ryan Linden looked hurt. "Have you forgotten that we’re a family? How can you side with an outsider against me?"

"Family? Not for much longer!" Lana Langley shot him a glare and walked away.

Ryan Linden wanted to chase after her, but he was afraid she’d actually call Nathan Fawcett over, so he could only restrain himself.

Anne Sutton and Nathan Fawcett had lunch at Mrs. Sutton’s restaurant. Sharon Sutton came along. Sharon didn’t know much about her mother’s business and hadn’t paid close attention during her previous visits.

Now, she finally had the presence of mind to take a proper look at her mother’s shop.

She had been in a very bad mood, but seeing how well her mother was doing after the divorce, her own mood suddenly improved quite a bit.

After the meal, Anne Sutton and Nathan Fawcett went home. Sharon, however, didn’t leave, staying behind to help Mrs. Sutton in the shop.

That evening, when Nathan Fawcett and Anne Sutton returned home, Lana Langley was already back.

She was sitting on the sofa, chatting with her son.

Anne Sutton was about to go upstairs when Lana Langley called out to her, "Anne."

Anne Sutton glanced at her, and seeing that she had something to say, she stopped and said to Nathan Fawcett, "Why don’t you take Ian for his bath first."

Nathan Fawcett nodded. Afraid that Lana Langley might hurt her, he said, "Call me if you need anything."

Anne Sutton smiled. "Okay."

After Nathan Fawcett went upstairs, Anne Sutton sat down on the sofa. She looked at Lana Langley and asked, "What’s up? Did you need me for something?"

Lana Langley said, "I want to divorce Ryan Linden."

Anne Sutton nodded. "If you want a divorce, then get one. What’s the matter?"

Lana Langley said, "Yesterday, he acted like he couldn’t wait to get a divorce. But today, for some reason, he’s refusing to agree to it! I wanted to ask you if you had any good ideas."

Anne Sutton looked at Lana Langley without speaking. The main reason was that she never imagined Lana Langley would one day come to her for advice on this sort of issue.

When Anne Sutton didn’t reply, Lana Langley grew a bit awkward. "I know I was... unpleasant in the past. I did a lot of things that made you unhappy, but right now, you’re the only person I can talk this over with."

"Are you sure you want a divorce? What about your child? Aren’t you going to consider him anymore?"

Anne Sutton glanced at Donna, who was sitting beside Lana Langley.

She was afraid that Lana Langley was just being impulsive and would regret it later once she reconsidered her child’s situation.

Lana Langley looked at her son, then turned to Anne Sutton. "I’ve already asked him. My son wants me to get a divorce, too! Ryan Linden is always busy with work and has hardly ever looked after him. He’s always hitting me, and our son hates him for it."

’Even her son had no attachment to him. Thinking about how she used to protect that man, Lana Langley found it hard to stomach her own past behavior.’

’All that talk about doing it for her son’s good... in reality, how could a child possibly have a healthy upbringing in that kind of family atmosphere?’

Anne Sutton said, "I’m relieved that you’ve come to your senses. As for the divorce, I’ll ask Nathan Fawcett and see if he has any solutions."

Lana Langley nodded. "Okay, thank you."

Anne Sutton really wasn’t used to her being so polite.

After finishing her conversation with Lana Langley, Anne Sutton went upstairs.

When Nathan Fawcett saw her come up, he asked, "What did you two talk about?"

Anne Sutton said, "Lana Langley wants a divorce, but Ryan Linden seems to be unwilling. She asked me if I had any ideas. It’s strange, isn’t it? When we saw him last night, he seemed pretty happy about the idea, didn’t he? Why is he suddenly against it now?"

Nathan Fawcett said, "He probably wanted to go out and find other women, only to discover none of them would give him the time of day. Back when he was with the Linden Group, plenty of people were trying to suck up to him, so he lost his sense of self-awareness. Do you really think anyone would be interested in a man like him?"

"No..."

’Thinking of what Ryan Linden was like, without the halo of his status, who would have to be blind to be interested in him?’

Nathan Fawcett said, "If they want a divorce, it shouldn’t be difficult. We just need to find a lawyer for Lana Langley. I can recommend someone."

"Then you should give her a recommendation. But... should we mention this to your mother?"

Nathan Fawcett nodded. "Yes."

As it turned out, the very next day, just as Anne Sutton arrived at the hospital, she discovered that Ryan Linden’s father had shown up.

He knew Anna Linden was usually busy with work, so it was more practical to find her at the hospital.

Anne Sutton had just come over to say hello to Anna Linden. After her greeting, she stood to the side and listened to their conversation.

Ryan Linden’s father said, "Anna, I came today mainly to discuss the matter with Lana Langley and the boy."

Anna Linden kept her eyes on her computer. "What is it? Go ahead, I’m listening."

Ryan’s father said, "Ryan came to see me. He said he wants to bring Lana Langley and the boy home. They’ve been imposing on you for so long. Let them come home."

Hearing this, Anna Linden finally looked up and glanced at him. "Lana Langley doesn’t want to go home. She wants to divorce Ryan Linden."

"How can that be acceptable!" Ryan’s father exclaimed. "They have a child. How can they just get a divorce on a whim? And Lana Langley... she’s becoming more and more unreasonable!"

Anna Linden looked at her cousin. "So, you also think it’s right for Ryan Linden to hit her, and that they shouldn’t get divorced?"

’Before, it was Lana Langley herself who was unwilling, so no one could force the issue. But now that she’s the one who has decided on divorce, things are different.’