Secretly Married for 4 Years, He Regrets to Tears After the Divorce-Chapter 214: Safe Return to Aston

Children.

Adrian Lancaster heard the word again. It wasn’t just his father; Sean Sterling had just mentioned it too.

Adrian Lancaster’s heart pounded violently in his chest. He asked, "Whose children?"

"Yours, of course. Wren gave birth to fraternal twins for you. They look just like you did as a child, the spitting image of you. The babies are now..." Theodore Lancaster did a rough calculation. "Three months old."

Sean Sterling said with envy, "The two little ones are as perfect as porcelain dolls, absolutely adorable. They’ve inherited the best traits from you and Wren."

Caleb Caldwell nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, they’re as beautiful as dolls."

Adrian Lancaster’s face was a mask of shock and elation, and the hand holding the peace charm trembled.

He hadn’t even known that Wren Sutton had been pregnant before he left Aston.

’Could it have been that time?’ Afterward, he had gone to be with Maya Marshall, leaving Wren Sutton all alone at home.

’I’m such a bastard,’ Adrian Lancaster cursed himself. So much had happened since that day, and he had done nothing but hurt her.

"I’ve wronged my wife. I did so many terrible things in the past that broke her heart."

Sean Sterling and Caleb Caldwell understood. They exchanged a look, then tried to console Adrian Lancaster.

"Heaven let you live for a reason. This is your chance to make up for your mistakes."

"When a woman is willing to have a man’s children, it means she still loves him. From now on, treat her right. Don’t let her down again."

Adrian Lancaster nodded, his heart heavy.

"I swear I will never let her down again."

...

The roar of the helicopter’s rotors over Sarankal beat like a heavy drum, striking a chord in everyone’s heart.

Before the search and rescue team departed, they left behind a large quantity of supplies, as instructed by Theodore Lancaster.

Valuable medicinal herbs were wrapped tightly in oil paper, seeds and grains were sorted into woven rattan baskets, and gold and gems glimmered from within coarse burlap sacks.

In addition, there was a book with a cowhide cover: *A Manual for Scientific Irrigation*.

Looking at the mountain of supplies before him, Barton was unimpressed. His face, etched by the elements, was set in a stubborn expression. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Take these things away. The Sarankal do not accept handouts."

"This isn’t a handout. It’s aid. It’s a token of our gratitude."

"We don’t need it. Your things will only defile Sarankal."

"You..."

Just then, Theodore Lancaster turned and strode over. He motioned for his team member to step back and faced Barton alone.

Theodore Lancaster didn’t speak immediately. His gaze swept over Barton’s resolute but gaunt face, then past him to the people whose eyes were a mixture of longing and confusion, and finally settled on the cracked earth beneath them.

"Chief Barton." Theodore Lancaster’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was piercing, cutting cleanly through the roar of the helicopter’s engine.

"See that cloud?" He casually pointed to a cloud on the horizon that was being scattered by the wind. "It won’t stop and rain for you just because of your pride."

Barton’s brow furrowed, his gaze sharp. "If you have something to say, say it directly. Don’t beat around the bush."

Theodore Lancaster retracted his gaze. "The land of Sarankal is arid, leading to poor harvests. Besides waiting for rain, you have no other options."

Barton was silent.

"The book I brought can bring this land back to life. It uses illustrations and text to explain in detail how to irrigate the fields with river water during the dry season."

"Only with food can your people survive. Otherwise, with everyone sallow and emaciated, weak and sickly, how can the Sarankal Tribe ever develop?"

Barton’s pupils trembled, but he responded stubbornly, "The River God will watch over Sarankal. We just had a great rain not long ago."

"And not long after that one rainfall, the land became cracked and dry again," Theodore Lancaster retorted, a hint of cold mockery in his tone. "Who knows when the next rain will come?"

The truth having been laid bare, Barton was momentarily speechless. He clenched his fists in silent fury.

Theodore Lancaster took a step forward, closing the distance with Barton, and lowered his voice. "Accepting help requires more courage than offering it, especially for a chief."

"What you carry on your shoulders isn’t your personal pride, but the life of every person in your tribe."

"You’re not rejecting my aid; you’re rejecting their chance to survive. Are you really going to let innocent villagers be buried alongside your pride?"

Hearing this, Barton’s body jolted. He turned to look back at the villagers who were watching him with pleading eyes. He saw the clear yet hungry eyes of the children, and the faint glimmer of hope in the numb expressions of the elders.

The knuckles of his clenched fists turned white before, finally, they slowly relaxed.

Barton took a deep breath of the scorching, desperate air and bowed his head to reality.

"Sarankal accepts these supplies. We will make this land grow with hope again."

Before turning to leave, Theodore Lancaster offered a few sincere words.

"Thank you to the Sarankal for saving my son. Your daughter, Nia, is a kind, brave, and good girl. Lady Luck will smile upon her and grant her a happy marriage."

Barton was silent.

The search and rescue team left Sarankal by helicopter.

Watching the "iron bird" fly into the distance until it disappeared completely, Barton slowly retracted his gaze.

Just then, a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

Barton turned to see his daughter running toward him, her face streaked with tears, hoarsely crying out Tarn’s name.

"Nia!"

"Father, where is Tarn? Where is he? Why can’t I find him?"

Barton told her, "He left with his father on the iron bird."

Nia looked as if she’d been struck by lightning. Her expression froze, and she was too heartbroken to speak.

Barton comforted her in a low voice, "Nia, you are my daughter, the pride of Sarankal. Pull yourself together. Forget that outsider."

Nia looked up at the sky, silent tears streaming down her face.

His heart ached for his daughter. "Nia, I will find a good man for you, one who truly belongs to you, and to Sarankal."

Nia shook her head. "My heart only has room for Tarn."

"You can’t force a happily ever after."

"If he couldn’t stay, then I’ll go find him."

Barton angrily refuted her. "Nonsense! The people of Sarankal—men and women, young and old—can never leave this place, for generations."

Nia said nothing. She turned silently and walked toward her wooden hut, her solemn expression suggesting she had made some kind of decision.

A storm raged in Barton’s eyes. With a wave of his hand, he commanded the guards beside him.

"Guard Nia. Do not allow her to take a single step out of Sarankal."

...

On the helicopter, Adrian Lancaster had fallen into a deep sleep from weakness and medication.

After a flight of over twenty hours, the aircraft returned safely to Aston.

The vast, modern skyline came into view, the glass curtain walls of skyscrapers reflecting a cold, dazzling light under the sun.

The helicopter landed on the helipad atop a private hospital in Aston.

A medical team, already on standby, quickly and efficiently transferred Adrian Lancaster to a gurney on the ground.

"Mr. Lancaster, please rest assured. We have everything under control."

Theodore Lancaster gave a low grunt of acknowledgment and followed closely behind, striding through a long corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant, heading straight for the VIP ward.

The hospital director personally oversaw Adrian Lancaster’s treatment.

Theodore Lancaster stood outside the examination room, watching through a glass window as the medical staff cleaned Adrian Lancaster’s body, changed his clothes, and performed various scans with precision instruments.

He remained standing, never sitting down, and ignored the vibrating phone in his pocket. He was like a silent mountain, ensuring every step of the process was flawless.

Only after all the preliminary examinations were complete—confirming that Adrian Lancaster’s weakness was mainly due to prolonged malnutrition and stress reactions, that his life was not in immediate danger, and that he had been given a sedative and was sleeping soundly—did Theodore Lancaster’s tense heart finally relax.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, his exhaustion showing. Slowly, he took out his phone and dialed his wife, Claire Sterling.

Claire Sterling answered instantly. Before she could speak, Theodore Lancaster said excitedly, "Adrian’s back. He’s at the hospital now."