Chapter 508: Anna Linden Goes to Find Silas Hawthorne

Anne Sutton nodded. “Okay.”

After leaving Anna Linden’s office, Anne Sutton was still in shock. ‘That Silas Hawthorne actually pursued Anna Linden?’

Anna Linden sat at her desk, picked up her phone, and sent Silas Hawthorne a message: “Let’s have dinner tonight.”

Silas Hawthorne was at the airport.

He was about to see Stella Shields off to her film set.

When he received Anna Linden’s message, a smile played on his lips. He turned to Stella Shields and said, “You’ll have to go by yourself. Something’s come up, so I can’t go with you.”

Stella Shields stared at the man before her. She and Silas Hawthorne had grown quite close recently.

She looked at him. “What is it?”

Silas Hawthorne simply said, “Be good.”

With that, he walked away.

He was usually so gentle with her.

Whenever she said she didn’t want to marry him, he would patiently try to coax her.

But just now, it was as if his very soul had been stolen away by someone else.

His attention wasn’t on her at all.

Watching him act like this, Stella Shields found that her heart ached with a surprising intensity.

‘Older men really are a handful.’

‘If it were Nathan Fawcett, he’d be direct about it if he didn’t like me.’

‘But Silas Hawthorne?’

‘He flirts with her, yet makes himself impossible to understand.’

‘She had no idea if she even had a place in his heart.’

‘If he didn’t like her, why was he forcing himself?’

‘And if he did like her, why did he treat her with that kind of attitude just now?’

“Wait.” Stella Shields summoned her courage and called out to Silas Hawthorne’s assistant, who was about to leave.

The assistant looked at her and smiled. “Is there anything you need, Ms. Shields?”

“Who is Mr. Hawthorne going to see? He seemed so happy. Is he seeing another woman?”

‘A man like him must be seeing someone on the side!’

The assistant smiled. “I wouldn’t know. Have a safe trip, Ms. Shields.”

With that, the assistant turned and walked away.

As Stella Shields watched Silas Hawthorne’s entourage depart, she felt a surge of irritation.

‘If he doesn’t like me, why did he lead me on?’

‘And now look at this, he’s left my mind in a complete mess!’

…

That evening, by the time Anna Linden finished her meeting and left work, it was already half-past nine.

She had always been a workaholic and often got home late.

Unfortunately, her meeting with Silas Hawthorne had been scheduled for nine o’clock.

Still, she rushed over.

When she arrived, she saw Silas Hawthorne still sitting there.

He had arrived an hour before their appointed time.

Which meant he had been waiting for a long time.

He didn’t seem impatient, though.

Seeing Anna Linden approach, he said, “Have a seat.”

Although Anna Linden looked young for her age, she was, after all, a mother of two and now even a grandmother.

On top of that, she was a full nine years older than Silas Hawthorne.

She sat down across from Silas Hawthorne.

Silas Hawthorne said, “What made you decide to see me? I was supposed to go on a business trip today.”

Anna Linden opened her bag, pulled out a stack of printed documents, and threw them in Silas Hawthorne’s face. “Is this your handiwork?”

She had absolutely no patience for him.

Silas Hawthorne picked up the papers that had fallen to the floor, opened them, and saw they were all related to the recent troubles at the Linden Group.

He looked at her. “What does this have to do with me?”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Anna Linden said. “If I want to investigate something, I’ll find out the truth. Silas Hawthorne, targeting the Linden Family like this… what exactly are you playing at?”

“I’m not targeting the Linden Family,” Silas Hawthorne explained.

“Then tell me what you’re doing.”

A smirk played on his lips. “I’m only targeting Nathan Fawcett. He’s that man’s son. What’s wrong with me going after him? Anna, you never would have come to me over this bastard before! What’s changed? He isn’t Ethan Linden. It was bad enough you let him take over the Linden Family, but now you’re defending him so fiercely?”

Anna Linden’s eyes darkened. “He is my son. If you target him, you’re targeting me.”

“But his name is Fawcett!” Silas Hawthorne retorted. “He’s Arthur Fawcett’s son, raised by Arthur Fawcett, have you forgotten? Have you forgotten how that man treated you? For his sake, you gave up everything from the Linden Family and married him. But while you were pregnant with his child, he was with other women. Are you really okay with that? How could you come and make trouble for me over a bastard like him? I’m just teaching him a lesson. I’m not planning to do anything drastic! I would never do anything to harm the Linden Family.”

It was just that every time he threw a challenge at Nathan Fawcett—hoping to make him lose face at the Linden Group, to make everyone see he was unworthy of being the Family Head—Nathan managed to resolve every single problem.

That was why he had to resort to more extreme measures.

Anna Linden looked at Silas Hawthorne. In the past, she certainly would have turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

But she and Nathan Fawcett had long since reconciled.

Anna Linden said, “Don’t target him anymore. Nathan is my son, and he’s a good kid. His father is dead. Silas Hawthorne, it’s been so many years. You can move on from me. I’m just a failed woman who got married and then divorced. You don’t need to keep watching my every move.”

‘The point is, he’s nine years younger than her!’

‘When she used to help him with his homework, he was just a kid.’

‘How could she have known that he would one day become so obsessed with every part of her life?’

The moment she got divorced, he’d shown up declaring he wanted to marry her!

After she had gotten married, he had come to her, demanding to know why she would marry such a man!

He wasn’t even of legal marrying age back then.

Anna Linden just thought he was insane!

Silas Hawthorne said, “You’ve made your peace, but I can’t. That man ruined you, and he ruined my life, too. If it weren’t for him, we would have been perfect.”

Anna Linden gave a weary laugh. “Even if I hadn’t married him, I would never have gotten together with you. The thought never even crossed my mind! To me, you’re just a relative’s kid, that’s all.”

Silas Hawthorne said, “I don’t believe you.”

Anna Linden said, “Aren’t you engaged to Stella Shields? If you’re going to be with her, then you should treat her well. You need to live your own life. Look at yourself, you’re not young anymore. Do something sensible for once, will you?”

“I’m not going to marry her,” Silas Hawthorne said. “I heard you doted on her when she lived with the Linden Family, and the girl thinks highly of you, but I won’t marry her. Just like I never married any of those other women.”

Anna Linden rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Do you know your father is very worried about you? He thinks you have a psychological problem, that you’re not normal. He’s come to my hospital several times asking me to recommend a good psychiatrist for you. I originally thought you didn’t need one, but it’s clear now that you really do.”

Silas Hawthorne laughed. “Aren’t you a doctor? Only you can cure me. If you’re willing to be my doctor, I’d be more than happy to come see you every day.”

“I don’t have the time,” Anna Linden said. “Besides, the very sight of you disgusts me.”

She had only ever seen him as a younger brother.

But his feelings for her were so twisted.

It was truly repulsive to her.

He had been engaged several times before.

Some were matches arranged by his family.

Others had thrown themselves at him.

But in the end, they all fell through.

He would treat them incredibly well at first, only to cast them aside in the end. Most of those women ended up with depression because of him.