Chapter 473: Do You Need to Be This Scared?

"..." Listening to Justin Shields, Stella felt a headache coming on.

Justin Shields said, "Listen, just take a shower and get some rest. You’re just exhausted."

He then made an excuse. "I’ve got something to do."

And with that, he hung up.

After hanging up, Justin Shields sat on the sofa, rubbing his temples. His sister’s words echoed in his head, and a part of him really wanted her to come back.

But he couldn’t let her give up such a great opportunity.

Once Stella married Silas Hawthorne, he would never have to fear Nathan Fawcett again.

With such a powerful backer, he would no longer have to fear Nathan Fawcett coming after him.

Justin Shields hadn’t contacted Nathan Fawcett since that last incident.

And to be fair, Nathan Fawcett hadn’t targeted the Shields Family like he used to.

But the memory of how easily Fawcett could have crushed him underfoot had been a harsh wake-up call for Justin Shields.

Now that Stella had left the Linden Family, how else could he expect his sister to bring any benefit to the Shields Family?

’I’m sorry, Stella.’

Justin Shields sighed helplessly and stood up to pour himself a glass of water.

Stella took a shower and went straight to bed.

Whether it was from fear or something else entirely, she fell ill.

The next morning, the butler approached Silas Hawthorne at the dining table. "Mr. Hawthorne."

"Is she up yet?" Silas Hawthorne was in the middle of breakfast. Since Stella hadn’t woken up, he’d had someone go get her.

The butler said, "She’s sick. It seems she has a fever. Should we have someone come and take a look?"

Silas Hawthorne paused when he heard this. "How did she get sick?"

"I don’t know."

"I’ll take her to the hospital after I finish eating."

After finishing his meal, Silas Hawthorne stood up and went upstairs.

He found Stella Shields lying in bed under the covers, her whole body trembling with fever.

Anne Sutton was at work today.

The hospital Silas Hawthorne brought Stella Shields to happened to be the one where she worked.

The news was already in an uproar.

Stories claimed that Stella Shields had latched onto the big boss of Apex Group.

The two of them had been photographed, and it was all over the news, but Silas Hawthorne paid it no mind.

The man was notoriously unconcerned with public opinion.

Several of his previous fiancées had jumped to their deaths from buildings, spawning all sorts of online conspiracy theories, yet he remained unbothered.

It was as if nothing and no one could affect him.

Now that word was out that Stella Shields had gotten involved with such a demonic man, her fans online couldn’t believe it. As for her anti-fans, they were all waiting to watch her become a laughingstock.

Some even began spinning a dramatic narrative involving Nathan Fawcett, Stella Shields, and Silas Hawthorne.

Anne Sutton wasn’t seeing outpatients today. While making her rounds, she heard someone say, "Silas Hawthorne brought Stella Shields to the hospital today."

"It looks like Stella Shields is sick."

"Are they really together?"

Stella Shields was a huge star, after all.

People were naturally curious about her life.

"Yes! They’re really together. I saw them with my own eyes. Honestly, Silas Hawthorne is just a little older, but he’s still quite handsome."

"Handsome, my ass," another person said dismissively. "Get involved with him and you might not live to tell the tale."

As the two nurses were talking, Anne Sutton saw Silas Hawthorne walk over.

Hearing them discussing him, he stopped, and his gaze fell upon the two nurses. "Were you talking about me?"

The nurses looked up, saw the devilish man, and were so frightened they made to run.

After all, they’d been caught gossiping by the very person they were talking about.

Silas Hawthorne said, "Did I say you could leave?"

His attitude was utterly domineering.

Hearing him, the two of them froze in terror.

Silas Hawthorne walked up to the two women, his eyes fixed on their name tags. "Hmm, I’ve noted your names. You can go."

"Mr. Hawthorne," the two nurses said, their faces pale with fear. "We didn’t mean it."

"Oh, dear. But I happened to overhear. How unlucky for you, wouldn’t you agree?"

Anne Sutton stood to the side, watching the man deliberately frighten the nurses.

She walked over and said to the two nurses, "You two can go."

"Dr. Sutton." The nurses looked at Anne Sutton as if she were their savior.

Although Anne Sutton hadn’t been at this hospital long, many people there treated her with respect.

After all, she was one of Anna Linden’s people and had a close relationship with Nathan Fawcett.

The two nurses quickly left.

Silas Hawthorne looked at Anne Sutton, raising an eyebrow. "President Fawcett’s girlfriend?"

Anne Sutton said, "Those young women didn’t mean any harm, they were just gossiping. The rumors are all over the internet now. Surely President Hawthorne doesn’t need to concern himself with them."

Silas Hawthorne stared at Anne Sutton. "So, what you’re saying, Ms. Sutton, is that you want me to target you instead? You want to take the blame for them?"

"Of course not," Anne Sutton said. "I was just coming to ask you how Ms. Shields is. I heard she’s sick. Is she doing any better?"

Silas Hawthorne looked at Anne Sutton. "Are you two that close?"

Anne Sutton said, "She’s a huge star. Lots of people like her. It’s not strange for me to be a fan, is it?"

Silas Hawthorne gave Anne Sutton a look filled with meaning, then led her to the hospital room.

Inside the room, Stella Shields was lying on the hospital bed, awake.

She was getting an IV. Seeing Silas Hawthorne and Anne Sutton enter, she tensed up.

She asked Anne Sutton, "What are you doing here?"

’I can’t believe I actually got sick!’

’And with such a high fever, too.’

’It was all my fault. I spent all night thinking about Silas Hawthorne, about how terrifying he was.’

Anne Sutton said, "I heard you were sick, so I came to see you."

Stella Shields’s gaze fell on Silas Hawthorne.

Silas Hawthorne glanced at her. "Good, you’re awake. I have to step out for a bit. I’ll be back to get you later."

He had his own business to attend to, after all.

He couldn’t possibly stay here and keep Stella Shields company all day.

Only after he left did Stella Shields finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Anne Sutton didn’t miss the visible wave of relief that washed over her. "What’s wrong? Are you that afraid of him?"

Stella Shields’s gaze landed on Anne Sutton. "What are you doing here? We’re not that close."

"Just passing by." Anne Sutton had only pretended to be visiting Stella to get those two nurses out of a bind; thankfully, Silas Hawthorne had bought it.

Anne Sutton looked at Stella Shields. "It seems you don’t actually like him, do you?"

"Who could possibly like him?" Stella Shields said. "I heard his last few fiancées all died. If my brother wasn’t forcing me to be with him, I’d leave this instant."

’I did want to leave, but I never imagined I’d get sick.’

Stella Shields looked at Anne Sutton and said, "Anne."

"..." ’She rarely calls me by my name.’

Anne Sutton asked, "What is it?"

"Can you please talk to Auntie for me? Ask if I can stay at the Linden Family’s house for a few days? I’m scared being with this man."

’I know Anna Linden doesn’t like me.’

’But I’m really out of options.’

’I’m sick now, so it’s not a good time to go back.’

’I just need to find a place to hide for a while.’

Anne Sutton looked at Stella Shields and said, "Do you really need to be this terrified?"