Chapter 1148

Anastasia took a slow sip of her juice, acting totally unbothered by Autumn's reaction, as if she hadn't noticed a thing.

Today, the whole family tree was bound to get tangled.

There was no way Autumn would let Alan call her son "little uncle" in front of everyone. That'd basically be announcing to the world that Julie was her daughter and Alan her grandson.

Lately, the gossip mill had been churning nonstop-people were whispering about Autumn and Devin, saying Julie's real mom was probably Autumn herself.

With rumors flying and everyone watching, Autumn had to be extra careful.

Alan glanced over at the baby and piped up, "Chelsea, why is the little brother so tiny? Why won't he open his eyes? It's daytime and he's still sleeping.”

Autumn laughed, "He's just a baby, sweetheart. He needs lots of sleep. When he's bigger and can walk, he'll be able to play with Daria."

Alan pulled a face. "I don't want to play with him. I want to play with Nate. This little brother is so ugly. Chelsea, are you really his mom? How come all the other kids' moms are young and pretty, but you look so old?"

Anastasia nearly choked on her juice.

Kids-absolutely zero filter.

Even if a woman's actually old, nobody likes to be told so.

Autumn's expression soured, her cheeks burning with embarrassment as she tried to keep her cool. "Daria, that's your little brother. You two should help each other out. Why would you say you don't want to play with him?"

Alan stomped over to Anastasia, shot Autumn a glare, and announced, "I'm not playing with him. Auntie, I need to pee."

Anastasia quickly put her juice down, grabbed Alan's hand, and said, "Come on, Auntie will take you to the bathroom."

Honestly, thank goodness for bathroom breaks—she'd never been so glad to have an excuse to leave.

"Mrs. Walker, I'll take Daria to the restroom for a minute," she called over her shoulder.

As soon as they were gone, Autumn's face darkened even more. In her mind, Anastasia was the one egging Alan on. If Alan kept hanging around her, he'd be doomed.

After Alan finished, Anastasia helped him wash his hands. "Daria, next time don't say things like that in front of Chelsea. It's rude."

Alan pouted. “But Chelsea is so old and still had a baby. Auntie, when the baby goes to school, he's going to be sad."

"Why do you think that?" Anastasia asked.

"Because all the other kids will laugh at him. His mom looks so old," Alan said, completely serious. "She doesn't look like a mom-she looks like a grandma."

Anastasia ruffled his hair. "You cheeky thing. Listen, remember what Auntie said you can't say things like that what other people do is their business we cant control them. But we can control what we say and do, okay?"

Even though Alan was Julie's child, Anastasia treated him just like her own when it came to teaching right from wrong.

Joseph never talked about Julie in front of Alan, so the kid didn't have any memories of his mother. What a child became depended on what the adults taught him.

Alan was a good kid-Anastasia liked him, and so did Flynn.

Even Katelyn, who'd been cold toward Alan before, had started to warm up.

Alan nodded. "Okay, Auntie. I got it."

"Good boy. Tonight, come home with Auntie and you can play with Nate and Emmie. Paradise misses you too."

"Yay! I get to play with my brother, my sister, and big sis!" Alan bounced up and down with excitement.

Anastasia led him back to the lounge, where Autumn was still sitting, looking like she'd bitten a lemon.

"Mrs. Walker," Anastasia said, guiding Alan to sit down beside her again.

Autumn's face was like stone. "Anastasia, there are some things I'd like to say to you."

"Go ahead," Anastasia replied with a polite smile, though inside she was rolling her eyes. Honestly, that expression-like the whole world owed her something.

Autumn really launched into it. "You're not Baria's mother, so you can't just teach him whatever you want. Whatever issues the adults have, that's between us. Don't drag the kids into it, Daria is still so young. If he picks up bad habits, can your conscience handle that? You've got three kids of your own-you should be setting a good example."

That rubbed Anastasia the wrong way.

Who did Autumn think she was, giving her a lecture?

i.ne

Anastasia's smile was polite, but her eyes were icy. "Mrs. Walker, you've got it wrong. I always teach Daria be honest and never to lie. Who knew he'd be so blunt? He just says what he's thinking. Surely you aren going to hold a grudge against a kid, are you?"