CHAPTER 387: CHAPTER 387: COMPLETELY LEAVING

Ethan Sterling had no idea what Ruby Sullivan was up to, but he still obeyed her and locked the door.

He walked in a few steps and sat down on the stool in front of the dressing table, "How’s your hand?"

"It should be fine, it’s not bleeding anymore." Ruby turned slightly, wrapped in the blanket and looked at him, "What exactly must be done for you to stop targeting Nirvana?"

Ethan Sterling remained silent.

Ruby Sullivan got up, letting the blanket slide off her. She nonchalantly got out of bed and walked over to him, looked down at him from above, "The Sterling Group gave up on perfume because you didn’t want to compete with me back then, but now I’m not your wife anymore, so there’s no reason left for you to give up. Do you want Nirvana to close down or do you want to acquire my company?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, gently held his face, with a seductive tone in her voice.

Ethan Sterling gently pulled her hands away and raised his eyebrows, "Don’t play with fire."

Ruby Sullivan chuckled lightly, with contempt and female ridicule, and suddenly leaned down to gently bite his ear, "What if I insist?"

His gaze fell on the scar on her waist, and he lightly pressed his lips against it. It was a testament to their past, an eternal reminder.

In the next second, Ethan Sterling suddenly stood up, holding her and laying her down on the bed, pressing his whole body against hers.

Two hours later, Ethan Sterling flipped off her, panting. It had been over a year since they had been intimate. Originally, he wanted to wait until after their wedding.

Turning his head, he saw Ruby Sullivan getting out of bed to look through his clothes, and he was curious, "What are you looking for?"

"Relax, I just suddenly wanted to smoke." Ruby Sullivan answered lazily, but after searching all the pockets in his coat, she couldn’t find any and felt disappointed.

"Have you quit smoking again?" Unable to find a cigarette, she could only drink a large glass of water to ease her anxiety.

Ethan Sterling frowned at her, suddenly feeling as if he had been used, "Why are you acting like this today?"

"Like what?" Ruby put down her water glass, initially didn’t understand, but pondered his gaze for a moment, then chuckled, "Oh, isn’t this what you wanted? Besides, I’m a normal woman, you know."

"Ruby Sullivan!" Ethan Sterling frowned, this woman was indeed being erratic, using him as a tool to vent her frustrations!

Had he been too gentle with her just now?

Thinking this, his expression grew increasingly grim.

Ruby Sullivan sat on the edge of the bed, giving him only her back view, one leg crossed over the other. Her usually upright spine was now casually slouched, as if she didn’t care about anything anymore.

This demeanor was unfamiliar to Ethan Sterling.

He stared at her steadily, his expression still grim.

Ruby Sullivan chuckled lightly, "Ethan Sterling, I’ve had enough of playing with you. I accepted you only to fulfill a teenage dream of mine, and now I find it quite boring. A man like you who can’t distinguish a green tea bitch should either marry a naive little rabbit or a scheming green tea girl who’d keep pretending in front of you, not someone like me."

"If you continue to trouble Nirvana, don’t blame me for turning to The Lawson Group." She squinted her eyes, looking both like a warning and an announcement.

"You dare!" Ethan Sterling exclaimed in anger.

She snorted coldly and slowly got back into bed, covered herself with the blanket, flipped her hair, and found a comfortable position to lie down, "Mr. Sterling, do you think there’s anything I wouldn’t dare? Even a rabbit will bite when pushed to a corner, do you think your pressure would make me reconsider? How could it?"

She had weaknesses in L’s hands, and being with him would only turn him into someone else’s joke, even an attack target for L. Who was she to cause two men such trouble? If she were a few years younger, she’d be thrilled thinking it was a dream.

What girl hasn’t fantasized about having two quality suitors fight over her? Of course, the fantasy might involve more than just two.

She smiled and turned her head to see Ethan Sterling’s pale, angry face, "Let’s sleep, I’m exhausted."

Ethan Sterling wanted to pin this woman down and take her fiercely a few more times, but looking at her indifferent smile and the coldness in her eyes, he only felt heartache, deep heartache.

"Ruby Sullivan, will you only be satisfied if I leave you completely?"

"Yes."

"Fine." Ethan Sterling said, got up swiftly, dressed, and left.

Ruby Sullivan heard the door close, knowing this time he had left for good.

As the year-end approached, Vivian came back, and the two kids were already on holiday at home. Ruby Sullivan was as busy as ever. After discussing with Ruby, they decided to take the kids to the old house to stay for a while.

Ruby Sullivan signed a long-term cooperation contract with Ronan Russo’s factory. Although the factory was limited in scale, the more reliable production facilities in Ariston all refused to work with Nirvana for various reasons, presumably having received word from The Sterling Group.

Ruby Sullivan didn’t force it, luckily Ronan Russo introduced a few familiar factories, and after visiting them only one seemed promising, but its scale was even smaller than Ronan Russo’s, and the combined production wouldn’t be enough to maintain normal sales.

To secure collaboration with Alex, she had to boost domestic sales; without products, negotiations were pointless.

While she was busy traveling nationwide to find factories, a second devastating issue arose: the previous supplier of raw materials refused to continue supplying.

Ruby Sullivan didn’t know if it was The Lawson Group or The Sterling Group’s orders; either way, she couldn’t afford to offend either.

After discussing with Howard, Ruby Sullivan decided to make a trip to Ankoria to find new suppliers, replacing her beloved Vorosnya roses with Damask roses.

Howard didn’t dismiss her solution, he hesitated before taking their materials and went to apply for visas first.

She couldn’t ignore his expression and called out, "If you want to say something, just say it."

"Boss, I think we need to solve the problem from the root. If The Sterling Group and The Lawson Group really want to crush Nirvana at all costs, no matter how hard the company tries, it will only end in closure or acquisition." He said and quickly left.

He knew anyone in Ruby Sullivan’s position would be in a difficult situation now, but she had to make a choice; if she was determined to fight to the end, she had to be more decisive.

Ruby Sullivan sat in the meeting room, her mind in chaos.

Since that day, she hadn’t seen Ethan Sterling. Word had it that he’s been attending various parties frequently, even announcing their divorce, and Vivian mentioned he plans to start dating someone new.

It’s a good thing, isn’t it what she wanted before?

She sat in the conference room for more than an hour before finally calling L. It was late night in Bellaza, but the call was answered quickly.

"I need your help," Ruby Sullivan said calmly.