Chapter 299: Feeling a Little Cold, Wanting a Hug

Late that night, Anne Sutton had only just fallen asleep when a knock sounded at the door.

She was jolted awake, her head killing her. "Who is it? Knocking at this hour?"

Nathan Fawcett said, "You stay in bed. I’ll go see who it is."

He got out of bed and went to the door. It was Stella Shields.

Nathan’s brow furrowed when he saw it was Stella Shields. "What are you doing here?"

Stella Shields’s eyes were red-rimmed. "Ethan, I don’t feel well. Can you please take me to the hospital?"

Nathan immediately refused. "Go by yourself."

"But I feel really awful!" Stella Shields said. "Besides, I’m scared to go to the hospital alone."

"What about your assistant?" Nathan said. "Why are you running over here and waking me up in the middle of the night?"

His sharp tone made Stella Shields burst into tears.

Nathan Fawcett frowned as he watched her cry. "Wait here."

With that, he turned and went back inside.

Anne Sutton had sat up. "Who was it?" she asked.

Nathan Fawcett said, "It’s Stella Shields. She said she’s not feeling well and wants me to take her to the hospital."

Anne was surprised to hear that. "What’s wrong with her? Is it serious?"

Nathan Fawcett said, "You should get back to sleep."

"I’ll go check on her," he told Anne Sutton. "If she’s really sick, I guess I’ll take her."

He’d known Stella Shields for a long time. She had helped him back when he needed it.

He really did owe her.

Anna Linden wasn’t home tonight.

’Of course, even if she were here, he couldn’t just wake her up.’

Nathan Fawcett stepped outside. Stella Shields was standing at the door in her pajamas, looking incredibly weak. "Let’s go," Nathan said.

Stella Shields looked at him and sniffled. "Thank you, Ethan."

Nathan Fawcett went downstairs, took out his phone, and called for his driver.

Stella Shields got into the car.

She looked extremely unwell.

Seeing her like that, Nathan Fawcett got in the car with her.

Anne Sutton stood by the window and watched as Nathan Fawcett took Stella to the hospital. She was struck by how patient he was.

’Then again, if Stella Shields was truly sick, it was only right for him to take her.’

’I hope it’s nothing serious with Stella.’

Anne Sutton sent Nathan Fawcett a text. "Do you need any help?"

After all, she knew her way around a hospital.

Nathan replied, "No, it’s fine. You get some sleep. Don’t you have work tomorrow?"

Anne nodded. "Yeah."

She really was exhausted, so she went to sleep.

Nathan Fawcett took Stella Shields to the hospital and didn’t return all night.

The next morning, Anne Sutton woke up and scrolled through the news on her phone while getting ready in the bathroom. She came across a story about Stella Shields. It claimed a mysterious man had taken the actress to the hospital for an abortion.

Stella Shields was a huge star, so her every move was under intense scrutiny.

But...

Anne Sutton never imagined that Nathan simply taking her to the hospital would blow up into such a ridiculous rumor.

’The media these days!’

’The stories they fabricate are just too outrageous!’

...

After having breakfast with Ian at home, Anne Sutton headed to the hospital.

When she arrived at Stella Shields’s room, she didn’t see Nathan Fawcett. Instead, Justin Shields was standing by the door.

Justin Shields must have just gotten there as well.

When he saw Anne Sutton, he greeted her, "Anne."

"How’s your sister?" Anne asked.

"I don’t know either. I just arrived. I wasn’t in town last night, so I rushed over as soon as I could."

Nathan Fawcett had called him in the middle of the night, but Justin Shields was only just now showing up.

Hearing this, Anne asked, "Oh, you weren’t in town? Did you go back to Westhaven?"

Justin Shields nodded. "Yeah."

Anne looked at him, then followed him through the doorway.

Stella Shields was lying in her hospital bed, crying. "I don’t know how they could write something like that! It’s horrible! Ethan, you’re not mad, are you?"

She looked at Nathan Fawcett, her expression filled with concern.

Nathan Fawcett stood to the side, watching her without a word.

Justin Shields walked in. "Stella."

Anne Sutton was with him.

Spotting Anne Sutton, Stella Shields asked, "Ms. Sutton? What brings you here?"

"I heard you were sick," Anne said. "I came to check on you and brought some food for you all."

Anne Sutton handed over a thermal container. It held breakfast for Nathan Fawcett, and of course, some for Stella as well.

Anne handed Nathan his portion. "You didn’t stay up all night, did you?"

Nathan Fawcett yawned. "I’m fine. Not tired."

Anne’s gaze shifted from Stella Shields to Justin Shields.

Justin Shields quickly explained, "It’s my fault. I was worried the media would harass Stella if she was alone at the hospital, so I asked Ethan to stay with her."

Nathan said, "I didn’t expect you to take so long."

Justin Shields gave an awkward laugh.

Stella Shields said, "No, it’s my fault. I’m the one who kept Ethan up all night. It’s all because of that scene I filmed where I fell into the water."

"Next time, just use a stunt double for things like that," Justin Shields said. "You don’t have to go into the water yourself."

"If I use a stunt double and the fans find out, they’ll just criticize me again," Stella said meekly.

Nathan Fawcett said, "Well, since your brother’s here, I’m going to head back."

With that, he walked out the door.

Seeing him leave, Anne Sutton followed him out.

She looked at him and asked, "Aren’t you going to eat?"

"I’ll eat when I get back," Nathan replied.

"Then you should head back. Get some sleep, too."

Nathan Fawcett looked at Anne Sutton and said, "I was going to come back last night, but my mom called. She was worried something might happen to Stella, so I stayed. You’re not... misunderstanding, are you?"

Hearing this, Anne said, "What’s there to misunderstand?"

"That there’s something between me and her," Nathan said, watching Anne worriedly.

’Even though he had no such intentions, he felt an explanation was necessary.’

’To keep the misunderstanding from getting worse.’

After hearing what Nathan said, Anne replied, "If you really did have something going on with her, I couldn’t be happier."

"Why?" Nathan’s expression darkened.

Anne said, "Then you could be with someone else! And you wouldn’t be pestering me all the time."

Nathan: "..."

He was at a loss for words. "So you just can’t wait for me to get lost? You really find me that annoying, don’t you?"

’She really doesn’t care about me at all!’

"Just hurry up and go home," Anne said.

Nathan looked at her. "You came here so early... was it just to see me?"

’She had come quite early today.’

Anne replied, "No. I have a lot to do, so I came in early."

Nathan said, "I really wish you’d said you came to see me. That would have made me so happy!"

’This man was really... ’

’...getting more and more shameless!’

"Just go already!"

"I want to hug you," Nathan said, then sneezed. "I feel a little cold."

’He just wants a hug, yet he’s using being cold as an excuse.’

After saying this, he stood before her, looking at her with a completely sincere expression, awaiting her response.

When she remained silent, he asked again, "Can I?"

Anne looked at him, the corner of her lip twitching.

Nathan knew her silence was a tacit agreement. He moved in and wrapped his arms around her.

He then took the opportunity to press a kiss to her ear.

The kiss was incredibly gentle.

It was an exceptionally sweet moment...