Chapter 438: Deliberately Belittling Her

"So what if I can’t find anyone else?" Lana Langley said. "Even if I can’t, I still have my son. I can just live with him! You have no idea how terrible Ryan Linden has been. He gambled away the apartment he gave Donna, and he hits me!"

"He sold the apartment?" Hearing this, Mrs. Langley was a bit surprised. After all, that apartment was worth a lot of money.

It was only after they had a child that the patriarch thought to give their son an apartment as a gift.

But who would have thought Ryan Linden would even sell that apartment!

Lana Langley said, "Yes! I just never felt I could say anything before."

"If he sold it, he sold it!" Mrs. Langley, afraid Lana Langley would actually go through with the divorce, said, "You can just earn it back in the future."

"He can’t earn it back!" Lana Langley said. "He was already kicked out of the company by Nathan Fawcett. The Linden Group won’t take him back! All I do is stay with him and do chores all day—it’s completely meaningless. If I go out on my own, I can still find a job. It wouldn’t be hard to support myself and Donna. Besides, even if he could earn it back, he hits me! He takes it out on me whenever he’s the slightest bit unhappy! When he had that falling out with Nathan Fawcett, he blamed me for that too! I’m not going to take his abuse anymore."

"What married couple doesn’t have their bumps in the road? Your father and I have been arguing for years, and we still get by, don’t we? If I had divorced him, would you kids be where you are today? The child is still young. Just bear with it for a while."

"Donna also wants me to divorce his dad."

"What does a child know?" Mrs. Langley said. "If you really get divorced, he’ll have a mom but no dad. You think he’ll be happy? People will laugh at him! Oh, Lana! It was a blessing you were able to marry into the Linden Family. Look at you—you’re not pretty, and you’re fat... You’re lucky Ryan Linden was even willing to have you!"

"Mom," Lana Langley said, looking at her mother. Ever since she was little, her mom had told her, "You’re not pretty, so you have to study hard." It was as if in her mother’s eyes, she really was ugly—so ugly that no man would ever want her!

Lana Langley said, "So what if I’m not pretty? Does that mean I have to put up with Ryan Linden hitting me all the time? I’ve had enough! I’ve really had enough!"

’I’d grown so used to the abuse before that I’d become numb to it.’

’But now that something has awakened inside me, I really don’t want to go back to being beaten every other day!’

’I could be living a peaceful life, so why am I letting a scumbag ruin it?’

’I really can’t take it anymore!’

Hearing Lana Langley’s words, Mrs. Langley’s face darkened. "You say you don’t want to take it, but haven’t you been taking it all these years? Do you think if you find a new man, he won’t hit you? You’ll probably just find someone poorer than Ryan Linden who still hits you. When people outside find out you don’t have a husband, they’ll bully you too!"

"..." Lana Langley looked at her mother, so thoroughly rebuked that she didn’t know what to say.

After finishing dinner, Anne Sutton returned to the Linden Family estate and saw Lana Langley sitting by the fountain near the entrance, lost in thought.

She walked up to Lana Langley and asked, "What are you doing sitting out here?"

The mist from the fountain was getting her clothes all damp!

Lana Langley looked up at Anne Sutton and said, "Anne, is it ridiculous for me to want a divorce?"

Seeing her starting to hesitate about the divorce, Anne Sutton said, "Didn’t you say you’d already made up your mind? Why are you saying this now?"

Lana Langley said, "I went home today and told my mom about the divorce. She doesn’t approve. She even said... that I’m ugly, and that if I leave Ryan Linden, I’ll never find anyone else!"

She had just managed to regain a little confidence from working these past few days, but one trip home and her own mother had completely destroyed it again.

Looking at her state, Anne Sutton started to understand why Lana Langley had been able to endure Ryan Linden’s abuse for all these years.

Even her own family did nothing but criticize her, calling her ugly and fat, constantly putting her down. It was no wonder she couldn’t be confident!

Anne Sutton looked at Lana Langley and said, "Your mother says you’re ugly because she has a narrow mindset. How has work been for you lately?"

"It’s been great," Lana Langley said. "There were a lot of things I was afraid I couldn’t do well, but I discovered that in the end, the results were actually pretty good."

Anne Sutton smiled. "See? That’s what matters. When you accomplish something amazing, people will only admire you and think you’re capable. Will anyone care what you look like or what your figure is? You can do things that only Lana Langley can do! If you doubt yourself, others will only look down on you even more. You can have second thoughts right now, but when you go back to Ryan Linden’s side, and he takes out all his frustrations on you every single day, and even your own son is left trembling in fear of his own father—is that what you want?"

Lana Langley looked at Anne Sutton, seeing her firm expression, and felt a flicker of doubt.

Anne Sutton said, "I’m not forcing you to get a divorce; you can take your time to think it over. Nathan Fawcett found a lawyer for you. He said if you need help, you can contact them. I’ll forward you their contact info. Of course, you can also go back to Ryan Linden... It’s your choice. In this world, no one can make this decision for you but yourself."

Nathan Fawcett stood off to the side, watching Anne Sutton. He saw that as soon as she got back, she was here having a heart-to-heart with Lana Langley, so he didn’t go over and interrupt.

Watching his eloquent wife, Nathan Fawcett felt the corners of his lips curve into a smile.

’I don’t know why, but I just think she’s so beautiful!’

’It’s as if her presence fills the entire world with light.’

’A woman who dares to change her own circumstances is, without a doubt, a brave one.’

’And many people lack that kind of courage.’

’I remember how she married me back then, despite so many people being against it. In a way, I really admire her for it!’

After she finished talking with Lana Langley, Anne Sutton walked over and saw Nathan Fawcett standing by the flower bushes. Because it was a bit dark out and he was dressed all in black, he blended in with the night, and she almost didn’t recognize him.

He startled her, and she clutched her chest. "Are you trying to be a statue over here?"

"You said you were home. I saw you hadn’t come inside yet, so I came out to check on you."

Nathan Fawcett glanced over at Lana Langley, then said to Anne Sutton, "Looks like you had a nice chat?"

Anne Sutton glanced back at Lana Langley, who was still sitting there, then took Nathan Fawcett’s arm and went inside, telling him about what had happened that day.

"Tell me, is there something wrong with that uncle of yours? I noticed Dr. Linden didn’t seem to be in a very good mood today."

Nathan Fawcett said, "He was definitely out of line."

"The more he acts like that, the more I don’t want to see Lana Langley with Ryan Linden."

Nathan Fawcett looked at her. "Then what if Lana Langley really does have second thoughts and goes back to Ryan Linden? What will you do?"

Hearing Nathan Fawcett’s hypothetical question, Anne Sutton fell silent for a moment and lowered her head.

Even though it wasn’t her business, her heart ached as if a cold rain were falling inside it. "Not everyone in this world can live the life I imagine for them. It was true for my mother, and it was true for Sharon! I’ve seen it too many times! The only person who can change their life is never me—it’s themselves."