Chapter 397 - 400: I Love You

Wren Sutton held her phone, stunned.

It felt like something had struck her heart, leaving her shocked and inexplicably pained.

’Why is Adrian Lancaster suddenly asking about this? His tone is so lost, anxious, and cautious.’

Wren Sutton was silent for a few seconds, a flicker of doubt in her mind.

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Her question wasn’t an aggressive interrogation but one filled with heartfelt concern.

An indescribable panic swirled in Adrian Lancaster’s eyes.

He was trapped by those fragmented words. The more he thought about them, the more terrified he became, stubbornly demanding a clear answer.

"Because I want to know. Tell me."

Wren Sutton closed her eyes and took a breath. In that instant, she understood.

She understood the confusion and anxiety in Adrian Lancaster’s heart. He must have been disturbed by idle gossip, leading him to doubt himself and get lost in wild speculation.

"Adrian Lancaster, I’ll give you a clear answer right now. I love you."

Wren Sutton slowed her speech, her voice gentle yet firm, each word spoken without hesitation or doubt.

Hearing her answer, Adrian Lancaster was overcome with emotion. The fear and self-doubt that had been weighing on his heart all day began to fade with his wife’s gentle words.

"Honey, thank you for loving me. I love you, too."

Afraid of waking the child, Wren Sutton took her phone to the bathroom and gently closed the door.

But her doubts hadn’t been dispelled.

"Did someone say something to you?"

Adrian Lancaster avoided the details of the outsider’s provocation, choosing only to lay bare the thoughts that tormented him most.

"After I woke up, I could only remember you and our child. I don’t remember anything else, especially not our past."

"I don’t know what happened before, so just a few words from someone else can throw my mind into chaos."

Wren Sutton’s expression turned serious.

’I was right. It’s just as I suspected.’

Someone had taken advantage of her absence from the hospital to deliberately approach Adrian Lancaster and stir up trouble between them.

"What did you hear? Tell me. I want to know, too."

Adrian Lancaster hesitated.

He didn’t want to involve anyone else in matters between him and Wren Sutton.

But he also didn’t want to deliberately hide it from her, causing her to overthink things and feel insecure.

"Someone said... you don’t love me at all, that you have someone else in your heart, and that you want to divorce me."

"I asked Mom, and she said the Lancaster family had wronged you and made you suffer."

He paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

"I have no memories to refute it. I don’t even know what kind of person I used to be."

"All I can do is guess desperately... Guess if I was so terrible before, if I hurt you again and again, that it made you so disappointed you thought about leaving."

"Now, when I see you being so good to me, caring for me, taking care of me, and feeling for me... I’m both happy and terrified."

"I’m afraid it’s all fake. I’m afraid you’re only pitying me for our child’s sake. I’m afraid this little bit of warmth I have now could disappear at any moment."

After speaking, Adrian Lancaster felt completely drained. He leaned wearily against the headboard, patiently waiting for Wren Sutton’s response.

He longed for an answer, yet he was terrified of hearing words that would break his heart.

Outside the window, the night grew darker.

Both of them pressed their ears tightly to their phones, the silence on the line so profound they could hear each other breathe.

Wren Sutton: "..."

The past she had sealed away in her heart, the grievances that kept her tossing and turning at night, the bitter disappointment that had accumulated over time—it all came rushing back in an instant.

She didn’t want to lie, nor did she want to be perfunctory. She waited a long time before speaking.

"Adrian Lancaster, I’ll be honest with you. In the past... you really did hurt me beyond repair."

"Back then, I was completely disheartened. I had truly made up my mind to divorce you, because you didn’t love me or care about me at all. I was trapped in an unhappy marriage, and I was in agony."

Adrian Lancaster froze completely. His heart sank as if it had been plunged into icy water.

’I was such an asshole back then!’

’How could I not have cherished such a good wife?!’

Wren Sutton continued speaking calmly.

"But life is unpredictable. You and I have been through two life-and-death separations. The first was the plane crash, when you were missing for over a year before you returned. The second is this car accident."

"Let’s not talk about the plane crash today. I just want to say that when the car accident happened, you rushed over to protect me without a second thought, getting seriously injured to save me."

"In that moment, I finally believed that you love me."

"When you were in the operating room, your life hanging in the balance, and when you were lying unconscious in the ICU, I let go of all my past grievances and resentment."

"I don’t want a divorce now, and I don’t want to dwell on the past anymore. I just want to be with you and our child, and live a peaceful life."

Adrian Lancaster clutched his phone, a storm of complex emotions churning in his chest.

When he heard Wren Sutton admit she had once been determined to divorce him, he was filled with bitterness, guilt, and self-blame.

Hearing that she had let go of the past and was willing to start over with him, he felt incredibly moved, as if he could never repay her.

But this sense of relief was only temporary. He was still lost, still plagued by an indescribable unease.

Because he didn’t know what he had done in the past to hurt Wren Sutton.

He also wasn’t sure if her "letting go" meant she had truly moved on, or if it was just because he had risked his life to save her and for the sake of their child.

The blank space of his amnesia was like a river he couldn’t cross, and he couldn’t grasp what Wren Sutton was truly thinking deep down.

"I’m sorry, honey. I hurt you in the past, but I don’t even remember it. That’s so unfair to you."

Wren Sutton could still hear the anxiety in Adrian Lancaster’s voice, and she patiently soothed him.

"You didn’t forget the past on purpose. Don’t force yourself to think about what happened before. Living in the present is what’s most meaningful."

"Just focus on recovering. As the days go by, you’ll eventually see my true feelings for you."

Adrian Lancaster leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes, a searing warmth spreading through his chest.

Wren Sutton’s honest and forgiving words were like a warm ray of light, shining into the depths of his confused and bewildered heart, dispelling his panic.

"Okay, I’ll listen to you. I won’t think about the past. I’ll live in the present and focus on recovering."

"Honey, your words are more than enough. I’m content, and I believe that you love me now."

A smile touched Wren Sutton’s lips again. She truly had let it all go.

’You can’t live in the pain of the past and waste the happiness of today.’

’You have to look forward in life.’

The source of her past pain was that Adrian Lancaster didn’t love her. Now, she could feel his love, and her state of mind had changed along with it.

"Honey, it’s getting really late. Your wounds haven’t fully healed, so you need to rest well."

"Whatever you want to say, we can talk about it slowly when we see each other tomorrow. Good night."

Adrian Lancaster was reluctant to hang up but couldn’t bear to make Wren Sutton stay up late with him, so he could only agree softly.

"Okay, see you tomorrow. Good night, honey."

...

Wren Sutton hung up the phone and returned to the bedroom, but she still couldn’t sleep as she lay in bed.

She was certain now that someone had taken advantage of her absence to go to the hospital, whisper poison in Adrian Lancaster’s ear, stir up trouble, and provoke him.

If she didn’t find this person, there would be endless trouble.

After a moment of deliberation, Wren Sutton opened WeChat and sent a message to the male caregiver on duty.

[Mr. Morgan, sorry to bother you so late. I was wondering, who came to the hospital to visit Adrian Lancaster today?]

The caregiver’s reply quickly popped up.

[Besides Mrs. Lancaster, someone claiming to be Young Master Lancaster’s cousin also came by.]

Seeing the word "cousin," Wren Sutton’s brow furrowed.

In all her years married into the Lancaster family, she had never known Adrian Lancaster had a cousin.

But Wren Sutton was almost certain that this so-called cousin was the one who had been sowing discord.

[What’s her name? What did she look like? How long did she stay in the room?]

The caregiver replied to each question.

[Young Madam, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask for her name.]

[She was wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a mask. Most of her face was covered, so I couldn’t see her features clearly.]

[She was in the room for about ten minutes. Mrs. Lancaster arrived not long after she left.]

Wren Sutton: "..."

It seemed this "cousin" had come in a careful disguise, approaching Adrian Lancaster with a premeditated plan.

A chilling realization dawned on Wren Sutton.

It was too late now. Tomorrow, she would have to tell her parents-in-law about this. She couldn’t just let it go.

[Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work taking care of him at the hospital. If anyone else claiming to be a friend or relative comes to visit, turn them all away. Don’t let them in.]

After sending the message, Wren Sutton put her phone away and fell into deep thought, staring blankly at the ceiling. She had no leads, no suspects.

After thinking it over and over, she realized the only thing to do was to go to the hospital tomorrow and check the security footage.