Chapter 326: Call Her Sister-in-Law

She would never normally talk to Nathan Fawcett like that!

But right now, in front of Anna Linden and Stella Shields, she wanted to do exactly that.

Seeing the dark expressions on both Stella Shields’ and Anna Linden’s faces, she actually felt quite pleased.

Anna Linden looked at Anne Sutton and said, "To hear you talk, one might think someone is forcing you two apart! Anne Sutton, if I hadn’t allowed you into this house, do you really think you could have entered?"

"..." Anne Sutton raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, Dr. Linden. I’m well aware that you’ve been very good to me."

’She says she’s good to me, but it’s only because she’s afraid Nathan Fawcett won’t be able to find a wife!’

Anne Sutton knew that as soon as Nathan Fawcett recovered, Anna Linden would surely kick her out. She wouldn’t be allowed to act so brazenly in her presence, like she was now.

But what could Stella Shields possibly understand about any of this?

Seeing that Anna Linden had tacitly approved of Anne Sutton moving in, Stella felt incredibly wronged.

After all, she had always believed Anna Linden was on her side.

Yet Anne Sutton had been living in the house this whole time!

Watching Anne deliberately use that passive-aggressive tone to upset Stella Shields, Anna Linden realized she truly couldn’t stand the woman.

She announced, "Let’s eat!"

’Any more of this, and my blood pressure is going to skyrocket!’

Anne Sutton truly had a knack for infuriating people.

Everyone sat down and began to eat.

Anna Linden sat to one side and asked Stella Shields, "How is your family? Are they all in good health?"

Stella Shields nodded. "They’re doing very well, thank you for your concern, Auntie."

"And how is work going?" Anna Linden looked at her and asked curiously.

Stella Shields replied, "Filming for the series is ongoing. I haven’t been feeling my best lately, so aside from shooting, I haven’t attended any other events. People on the internet are so bored these days; some are even saying I’m pregnant. I mean, honestly. I’m single—who would I possibly be pregnant with?"

Anna Linden gave her a look, the corners of her lips turning up. "You’re in the entertainment industry now and you have a lot of influence. You should probably spend less time online to keep it from affecting your mood."

"It won’t," Stella Shields said. "I’ve been through the wringer; what haven’t I seen? I’m not afraid of things like that anymore."

She was already used to receiving all sorts of comments from the public!

It wasn’t like when she first entered the industry; back then, she would cry if she saw people saying her acting was bad.

Now when she saw comments like that, she would just curse ’idiots’ in her head.

Anne Sutton, Nathan Fawcett, and Ian sat to the side without a word, just listening to the other two talk.

Noticing Nathan Fawcett didn’t have much of an appetite, Anne put some food on his plate. "You should eat more."

Nathan Fawcett glanced at her and smiled.

After placing the food on his plate, Anne noticed that both Stella Shields and Anna Linden were staring at her.

Anne said, "What are you looking at me for? Or would you like me to get you some too, Dr. Linden?"

Anne picked up her chopsticks, about to put some food on Anna Linden’s plate.

Anna Linden watched Anne place the food in her bowl, shot her a look, then silently moved the food to her discard plate without eating it.

Stella Shields watched this unfold with a smirk. She turned to Anna Linden and said, "Not much of an appetite lately, Auntie?"

Anna Linden said, "We had so much rich food over the holidays, I can’t stomach it."

"Then you should have someone make you something lighter."

"Forget it. I don’t have much of an appetite. I’ll just pick at my food."

Anna Linden didn’t eat much.

She had only asked them over for dinner because she wanted Nathan Fawcett to bring Ian home. She didn’t want him spending all day entangled with Anne Sutton, to the point where she never even caught a glimpse of them.

With that in mind, Anna Linden looked at Anne Sutton and said, "I hear you don’t plan on living here anymore?"

Anne Sutton nodded. "Yes, my mother is here now, so I’ll be moving out. I won’t be living in the Linden family home anymore."

"Then what about Ian?" Anna Linden asked. "What’s this? Weren’t you two the picture of a loving mother and son just a moment ago? Are you abandoning Ian now?"

"Of course not," Anne said. "Ian can live here, or he can live with me. It doesn’t have to be a problem."

Anna Linden said, "Who said Ian could live with you? You aren’t married to Ethan Linden, so of course he should live in his own home."

Nathan Fawcett looked at his mother. "Mom."

Ian declared, "I want to live with my mommy!"

Anna Linden looked at the little boy. "Is what Grandma says not important to you anymore?"

Ian retorted, "But everyone wants to live with their own mommy! If you couldn’t live with your mommy, would you be happy?"

Anna Linden was speechless.

She looked at Ian’s serious expression, which was just like her Ethan’s when he was a child...

Anna Linden’s feelings toward Nathan Fawcett were complicated; there had been a time when she couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Whenever she saw Nathan Fawcett, she was reminded of his father.

But Ian looked just like Ethan Linden did as a child, and their personalities were so similar, she simply couldn’t bring herself to be harsh with him.

She had intended to use the opportunity to teach Anne Sutton a lesson, but she had ended up upsetting Ian instead.

Anna Linden said to Ian, "Alright, alright, I was just talking. If you want to be with your mother, then go be with her. Grandma’s busy with work and doesn’t have time to look after you anyway."

"Thank you, Grandma." Ian’s expression immediately brightened, his face full of gratitude as he looked at Anna Linden.

Anna Linden looked at the little boy and couldn’t help but smile.

Anna Linden ate very little for dinner before heading upstairs.

Anne Sutton, sitting beside him, looked at Nathan Fawcett. "Does your mom always eat so little?"

"She already said she doesn’t have an appetite," Nathan Fawcett replied. "She usually doesn’t eat much in the evenings."

Stella Shields, who had only been drinking water, said, "I’m not eating either. I’ve gained weight recently. Anne Sutton, I heard that when my mother went to your house, your mother cursed her out!"

"So what if she did?" Anne Sutton was completely unapologetic. "Your mother deserved it."

"You... Say that again?" Stella Shields sputtered, furious.

Anne Sutton glanced at Nathan Fawcett beside her. "Ethan Linden is right here. Why don’t you ask him what he thinks? Your mother told me to leave Ethan, claimed he was your fiancé, and said you two were going to be together. If my mom wasn’t going to chew her out for that, who would she? Stella Shields, the fact that our mothers’ relationship is like this now is all your fault. I have no idea what you told your mother, but how do you have the nerve to claim Ethan is your fiancé?"

"But he was supposed to be..." Stella said. "If you hadn’t shown up, Ethan and I would be together! Auntie always wanted me to be with him."

"I never agreed to anything," Nathan Fawcett interjected quickly, afraid that Stella would implicate him and cause Anne to misunderstand.

Seeing how eager he was to distance himself from her, Stella said sadly, "Ethan, you’re being so awful right now! You defend this woman at every turn! Have you forgotten how close we used to be? When I used to get attacked online, you would encourage me. You would even go after the people who bullied me! But what about now? Now all you do is help Anne Sutton bully me."

"..." Nathan Fawcett said, "I’ve warned you. You’re the one who keeps starting trouble."

"...So what if I can’t stand the sight of her?"

"Then why are you blaming me?" Nathan Fawcett said. "I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen. I can tolerate you making a scene however you want. But Stella Shields, Ian and she are the most important people in my life! If you really consider me a friend, then please respect them. And call Anne Sutton ’Sister-in-law’!"