Chapter 46
“Don’t say she doesn’t have the child, you know, even if she had given birth, I wouldn’t recognize the baby as a Collins?” Anna glanced sideways at Carla, her voice filled with warning. “I’ll tell you next time, don’t mention that woman in my presente. If you really care about her so much, then leave this house, move in with that woman, how about that? I guarantee I can find another wife for my son!”
Carla immediately lowered her head and said nothing.
Anna ignored her and turned her gaze to Filippo, giving instructions.
“Go call Nathan. I want him home!”
Filippo nodded and left to make the call.
Stella knew that Anna’s action of calling Nathan back at this moment would likely lead to trouble–maybe even an explosive confrontation. She felt a bit dizzy.
She understood Anna was doing this mainly for her. Anna believed Stella had been wronged and felt Nathan was treating her coldly.
However, Stella thought it was unnecessary to escalate things like this because she and Nathan were only together because of Liam. To be honest, they couldn’t even consider themselves husband and wife. Stella didn’t allow herself to harbor any illusions about him.
No one knew how Filippo managed to convince Nathan to return, but he arrived home quickly.
Seeing everyone gathered, he sat in the living room, as if aware they had all been waiting for him.
He probably had a good guess about what they wanted to discuss. His cold gaze swept over Stella briefly, but he remained silent.
Walking into the living room, Anna raised her eyes to look at him.
“If your father hadn’t called you, were you planning not to come home? Or will it be like the past four years, where you abandoned your wife and son just for that woman?”
Nathan had always been dissatisfied with how Anna referred to Olivia. Hearing this, he became visibly provoked.
“Grandma, I’ve said this before. Olivia has her own name. Please respect her.”
“Respect her?” Anna sounded like she was hearing a joke. “If she wants respect, she should first respect herself! If she’s not an actress, then what is she? Not only did she perform on TV screens, but even her private life was filled with drama. Her acting skills and performances are truly remarkable. It’s a pity she retired from the entertainment industry!”
But Nathan clearly had no patience to listen to her words. He prepared to leave.
“If Grandma called me back just to say this, then I’m sorry. I’m very busy and not interested in listening to this.”
Anna glared at his tall figure, so angry that she trembled and slammed her palm against the coffee table.
“Nathan, do you not know who your wife is? Since you married Ella, you must take responsibility for her. She is your lawful wife!”
Nathan stopped in his tracks, turned around, and pointed at her.
“If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t Stella the one you forced me to marry?”
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Chapter 46
“Bastard! What nonsense are you talking about?” Filippo noticed Ana and Stella’s faces growing increasingly pale, fearing something bad might happen, so he immediately spoke up.
Although Nathan said nothing farther, he still didn’t come back into the room.
Filippo’s face was full of anger. At this moment, if Carla hadn’t held him back, he might have struck Nathan on the spot!
The argument grew more heated, but Nathan showed no intention of leaving.
“Nathan, if you dare leave this house today to go to that woman, then in the future, you shouldn’t return. Our Collins family will no longer recognize you as one of us!”
“Mother–in–law?”
“Mom?”
Carla and Filippo turned to Anna with expressions of disbelief.
The statement was harsh. None of them expected Anna to say something so severe. Even four years ago, when Nathan left, Anna didn’t say such a thing.
Furthermore, everyone understood that if Anna could utter those words, she truly meant them.
If Nathan decided to leave the Collins household today, he would genuinely be unable to return. Even though Carla sympathized with Olivia, she felt a tinge of fear now.
“Nathan, come back here first. Let’s talk about this calmly.”
But Nathan simply paused, without turning around. He despised being coerced, even by Anna.
He chuckled coldly and walked out.
Anna was so furious she sat trembling on the sofa, her face pale and body shaking.
“That bastard… he had the nerve to do something like this for Olivia…”
Stella, worried that Anna might faint again, quickly placed a hand on her back and patted it gently.
“Grandma, don’t be like this…”
“He’s such a disappointment…”
At first, Anna was muttering to herself, but then she stopped, raising her head to look to the side, her face surprised.
“Liam…”
Hearing Anna call his name, Stella quickly turned to look.
Liam was sitting on the staircase, holding onto the banister and looking down.
Everything that had just happened–he had seen and heard.
He had just woken up and stumbled upon this scene.
Anna’s heart ached as she extended a hand toward him.
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Chapter 46
“Liam…”
However, unlike usual, when Liam would immediately run to her upon hearing his name, this time he remained still and slowly
walked back to his room.
His small, lonely figure fugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
“Grandma, I’ll go check on him,” Stella said, quickly leaving the living room and heading upstairs to Liam’s room.
The door was closed. She tried turning the doorknob but found it locked.
Placing her ear against the door, she listened. It was completely silent inside. She knocked several times.
“Liam, it’s Mommy. Why did you lock the door? Open up, okay? Let Mommy in.”
But there was no response from inside.
Stella didn’t know what he was doing in there or how he was feeling. She was deeply worried, so she kept knocking on the door.
This was the first time Liam had ever locked himself inside his room.
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