Chapter 399 - 402: I Know What You’re Afraid Of

Wren Sutton and Adrian Lancaster sat quietly under the warm sun, their fingers intertwined. Neither of them spoke, unwilling to break the tranquil, warm atmosphere.

Adrian Lancaster gazed at Wren Sutton, who was right before him. Her gentle, attentive care filled him with happiness.

Yet, the happier he felt, the emptier his heart became, and the more insecure he grew.

Amnesia was like a deep chasm dividing his life. He didn’t know the man he used to be, or how many mistakes he had made.

No one had laid out the past and explained it to him clearly. This uncertainty became his deepest anxiety, like a ticking time bomb in his heart.

He didn’t dare to ask, nor could he allow himself to bask in his wife’s tenderness with a clear conscience. He was afraid this warmth was only temporary, terrified that she would still leave him one day.

After some time, Wren Sutton broke the silence, tilting her head to rest it gently on Adrian Lancaster’s shoulder.

"I know what you’re afraid of."

Adrian Lancaster’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The hand hanging by his other side clenched unconsciously.

"Don’t force yourself to think about the past. No matter what you were like before or what you did, the past is the past."

Wren Sutton raised her hand and gently smoothed Adrian Lancaster’s furrowed brow. "The person I’m here for, the one I’m protecting, is the you of right now."

"Your amnesia isn’t your fault, and that unknown past shouldn’t become a shackle that binds you."

"We have to look forward in life. I’ll always be with you, watching over our little home."

Adrian Lancaster’s breath hitched.

His lowered eyelashes hid the stinging sensation welling up in his eyes.

Wren Sutton’s gentle words pierced through the guilt, anxiety, and restless apprehension that had been clogging his chest.

She didn’t press him or criticize him; instead, she accepted him unconditionally.

Adrian Lancaster swallowed hard again. A thousand words caught in his throat, finally escaping as a single, faint, hoarse sound.

The gentle touch on his brow lingered, and the tension coiling through his body slowly began to unwind.

"Okay... I don’t want to think about the past."

"I’ll move forward with you."

His anxiety hadn’t completely vanished, nor had the knot in his heart been fully untangled.

But for the person before him, Adrian Lancaster was willing to try to let go of those self-tormenting obsessions and hold on to the warmth right in front of him.

As his voice faded, the hospital room fell quiet once more.

The two of them remained with their fingers intertwined, only letting go when the doctor came for his rounds.

After the routine check-up, the doctor smiled reassuringly at her.

"President Lancaster’s vitals are all stable and improving. The recovery from his physical trauma is far better than expected."

"Only the amnesia hasn’t shown significant improvement. There’s no need to rush. We’ll just have him rest and keep him under observation."

Wren Sutton nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor added a few more detailed instructions, telling Adrian Lancaster to get plenty of rest and not to be under any mental stress.

Then, the doctor and nurse left.

Adrian Lancaster hadn’t slept well last night, and waves of drowsiness washed over him. It wasn’t long before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Wren Sutton tucked him in, made sure he was sleeping soundly, and after giving a few instructions to the caregiver, she left the room with peace of mind.

She didn’t go anywhere else, heading straight for the hospital’s security room.

Wren Sutton explained the situation to the staff member on duty and requested the surveillance footage from outside the hospital room during a certain time frame from yesterday.

’I’m going to find out just who that mysterious woman claiming to be Adrian Lancaster’s cousin really is.’

The staff member knew Wren Sutton’s identity and didn’t give her any trouble, pulling up the footage after a few clicks on the computer.

"Mrs. Lancaster, your mother-in-law actually already checked on this yesterday. From what she said, she doesn’t recognize the person in the footage."

Wren Sutton: "..."

’Even my mother-in-law didn’t recognize her. It’s clear that person isn’t a distant relative of the Lancaster family at all, but an impostor.’

Wren Sutton suppressed the cold feeling rising in her heart and leaned closer to the monitor.

The staff member dragged the progress bar, freezing the frame at the moment Claire Bennett appeared at the door of the hospital room.

"This is her, Mrs. Lancaster. Do you recognize her?"

Wren Sutton held her breath, her gaze fixed on the screen like a hawk, scrutinizing every detail.

The woman in the footage was bundled up from head to toe, her face completely obscured.

Her figure was completely hidden by a loose-fitting coat, making it impossible to discern her original build.

Following Wren Sutton’s instructions, the staff member froze the frame and zoomed in. But no matter how they adjusted the angle or clarity, all they could see was a solid obstruction. They couldn’t even capture a hint of her facial contours.

"..."

Wren Sutton’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach.

Just from this footage, she couldn’t recognize who it was either.

Countless faces flashed through her mind, but none of them matched. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Wren Sutton stared at the screen for a long time, but she still had no leads, not a single clue to identify the person.

The woman’s disguise was flawless. She was meticulous and extremely cautious, deliberately hiding her identity from start to finish. It was obvious she was lying in wait, having planned this for a long time.

An indescribable panic welled up in her, but Wren Sutton took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

’This is no time to panic. I can’t risk tipping them off.’

She quietly instructed the staff member to send her a backup of the complete surveillance footage. She wanted to keep it as evidence.

The staff member did as she asked.

After receiving the backup, Wren Sutton thanked the staff member and then discreetly left the security room, returning to the hospital room.

Adrian Lancaster was still fast asleep. Wren Sutton sat in the chair by his bed, quietly keeping him company, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

She thought about asking Adrian Lancaster directly but couldn’t bear to upset him again by making him recall those unpleasant words.

After a long time, Wren Sutton finally pulled her gaze away, took out her phone, and played the surveillance video she had just received, watching it over and over again.

’Since I can’t see her face, I’ll study the way she walks—the length of her stride, whether she swings her arms noticeably...’

Although the woman in the video wasn’t a distant relative of the Lancaster family, she clearly knew what was going on between her and Adrian Lancaster.

Her purpose in coming to the hospital wasn’t to visit, but to sow discord.

"..."

Wren Sutton had a feeling that this person wasn’t far from her and Adrian Lancaster at all. She was lying dormant right beside them, waiting for the right moment to strike.

’So...’

Wren Sutton felt that the woman in the video might come back again.

...

The next few days were peaceful.

Wren Sutton continued to stay by Adrian Lancaster’s side, taking care of him, comforting him, and cooperating with the doctor on his various rehabilitation check-ups.

On the surface, everything seemed normal, no different than usual. Only Wren Sutton knew that she was constantly on high alert, never daring to lower her guard.

Her gaze would sweep toward the hospital room door from time to time, and her ears were always listening for any sounds in the hallway.

She waited patiently for the malicious woman who had impersonated his cousin to appear at the hospital again.

However, three days passed, and no suspicious figures appeared at the door to the room.

The only people who came into the room were doctors, nurses, the caregiver, and family. No one else ever came.

The completely disguised, malicious woman had vanished without a trace, as if she had never appeared at all.