Chapter 252: Not Indulging Her
He went upstairs.
He saw Chloe Chase coming out of his mother’s room and asked, "Mrs. Chase, what’s wrong with my mom?"
When Mrs. Chase saw Nathan Fawcett, she said, "Who else could it be? She was upset by Anne Sutton."
"..." Hearing this, Nathan Fawcett said, "What did Anne Sutton do?"
"It was nothing. You should go downstairs and eat."
’If I told him what Anne said to Anna, he’d just be unhappy too. It’s better not to say anything!’
Chloe Chase sighed deeply to herself. In this house, she worried every day about the relationship between Anna Linden and Nathan Fawcett, terrified that something would go wrong between them.
Nathan Fawcett looked at Chloe Chase, still hesitant. Chloe said, "It’s fine, go on and eat. By the way, Stella is here today too. Why don’t you go get her? It seems like she’s been in her room all day and hasn’t come down."
Hearing this, Nathan Fawcett frowned.
Seeing Chloe Chase’s expression, he had no other choice but to turn and leave.
He ended up at the door to Stella Shields’s room. Nathan Fawcett knocked. Stella was sitting on her bed, a bag of potato chips in her hand, sneaking a snack. Ever since becoming an actress, she had to diet every day. Her manager watched her like a hawk, so she could only eat junk food like this in secret.
Hiding in her room was the only place her manager couldn’t control her. She had been quite relaxed, but at the sound of the knock, she panicked and quickly hid the chips under her bed.
Once they were hidden, she asked, "Who is it?"
When there was no response from the doorway, Stella Shields stood up and opened the door. "Didn’t I say you don’t need to call me for dinner?"
As the words left her mouth, she saw Nathan Fawcett standing there.
’I can’t believe Nathan Fawcett would come knock on my door!’
’He must feel bad about how he treated me yesterday, right?’
However, Stella Shields didn’t let her happiness show. She just said, "What are you doing here?"
Nathan Fawcett looked at her. She was in her pajamas, looking nothing like the big star she was in public.
"To tell you to come downstairs and eat." Nathan Fawcett was speechless. ’If it weren’t for my mother, I wouldn’t even bother with her.’
Hearing this, Stella Shields pouted. "I’m not eating."
"What are you throwing a fit about now?"
"How am I supposed to eat when I have to see Anne Sutton?" Stella Shields said. "And you were so mean to me yesterday."
"Then don’t eat." Nathan Fawcett turned around directly, showing no intention of persuading her, and went downstairs.
Stella Shields clenched her fists tightly. She remembered how he used to speak to her so gently.
But ever since Anne Sutton appeared in Veridia, his attitude toward her had changed. He didn’t even have the patience for a few words with her anymore!
...
When Nathan Fawcett got downstairs, Anne Sutton was already coaxing Ian to eat.
Seeing Nathan Fawcett come down, Anne Sutton asked, "Is your mom going to eat?"
Nathan Fawcett sat down and said, "She said she’s not coming. What happened between you and her when you got back today?"
"What, did she run to you to complain?"
Anne Sutton looked at Nathan Fawcett with some surprise. She mulled it over. ’It’s one thing for Anna to be mad at me, but she wouldn’t actually run to Nathan to complain, would she?’
’After all, if anyone should be complaining, it’s me!’
’What kind of mother acts so horribly?’
Nathan Fawcett watched Anne Sutton.
Seeing him staring at her, Anne Sutton said, "What, you want to yell at me? Want me to listen to your mother? I don’t want to."
Nathan Fawcett said, "Didn’t you used to like her a lot?"
"But I can’t bring myself to like her now," Anne Sutton said. "If someone hates me, I hate them back! She doesn’t even like me, so am I supposed to keep acting like her little fangirl? Am I that stupid? I’m not going to gaslight myself into thinking I should."
The moment someone treated her poorly, her attitude would shift immediately.
It couldn’t be helped. She wasn’t the type to suffer abuse in silence.
Anna Linden was Nathan Fawcett’s mother, that much was true, but she wasn’t hers.
Nathan Fawcett sat to the side and glanced at Ian.
Ian said to Nathan Fawcett, "Daddy, Mommy didn’t make Grandma angry. I can prove it."
Nathan Fawcett was a little surprised to hear his son’s words. He said, "I know."
Anne Sutton seized the opportunity to say to Nathan Fawcett, "I know you walk on eggshells in this family, but I’m not you. I won’t be like you and give in to her on everything. Nathan, honestly, family is just like love. The more you beg for something, the less likely you are to get it. Other people won’t cherish your efforts; they’ll just think you’re a fool."
No matter what, Nathan Fawcett had lived with Anna Linden for years now! He had been a filial son, listening to her and respecting her...
But look where that got him. In Anna Linden’s eyes, Nathan Fawcett could never compare to the deceased Ethan Linden.
Nathan Fawcett listened to Anne Sutton’s words and looked at her. "What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing. Consider it me sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong. If you don’t want to hear it, just pretend you didn’t."
"He might not have heard it, but I did." Stella Shields walked over, looked at Anne Sutton, and accused, "Anne Sutton, you just moved in yesterday, and today you’re already trying to stir up trouble between Anna and Nathan? That’s a bit malicious, don’t you think?"
Anne Sutton looked at Stella Shields. "What part of that was stirring up trouble?"
"You clearly were!" Stella Shields said. "You can’t stand that Anna is against you and Ethan being together, so you think this will get rid of an obstacle, right? I don’t know how you managed to move in here, but... you can never marry Ethan Linden!"
Anne Sutton said, "You’re right, I can’t marry Ethan Linden, because I don’t even want to! As for you, well, that’s a different story! You’re dying to marry him, but he won’t have you. How pathetic."
"Anne Sutton!" Stella Shields was furious at Anne’s words.
"..." Nathan Fawcett, who was sitting to the side, glanced at Stella Shields and cut her off just as she was about to speak. "Are you here to eat or to argue? If you’re not hungry, you can go back to your room."
Stella Shields was already in a bad mood, but Nathan Fawcett’s words sparked her rebellious streak. "No!"
After saying that, she picked up her bowl and started eating.
Nathan Fawcett looked at Stella Shields and asked, "Are you done with your filming?"
Stella said, "What’s there to film? I’m just the second female lead, I have so few scenes! This is a female-centric drama, it’s not even my turn yet."
In all her time in the entertainment industry, this was the first time Stella Shields had ever been cast as the second female lead.
Ever since her debut, she had always been the main actress, so she had never suffered such an indignity.
Her tone was full of resentment as she spoke.
After all, it was Nathan Fawcett’s doing that things had turned out this way.
But Nathan Fawcett wasn’t falling for her act. "If you don’t want to do it, give the opportunity to someone else. I’m sure the entertainment industry isn’t short on good actors who want the part."
"..." Hearing his cold, merciless words, Stella Shields bit her lip. She wanted to retort several times but held her tongue.
She sat to the side and began to eat quietly.
She had already experienced the consequences of offending Nathan Fawcett before.
If she wanted to survive in the entertainment industry, she couldn’t afford to be willful.