CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: I AM RUBY SULLIVAN’S FRIEND

Faye Truman looked at the man at the door with full surprise, as if she had turned into a puppet, forgetting to think for a moment.

Ethan Sterling smiled nonchalantly, "Mr. Truman, long time no see."

Seth Sterling followed up with a greeting, "Hello, Uncle."

Honey happily ran out of the room, "Mr. Sterling, Brother Seth." She said as she took Seth’s hand.

Faye Truman finally snapped back to reality and invited the Sterling father and son inside.

"The world is really small," he joked.

Ethan Sterling played along casually, asking, "Are you a friend of Wenny?"

"Not really a friend, she was originally just a client introduced by Sasha Shaw." Ethan Sterling finished, blinking, "Don’t worry, she’s only inquired about some business, nothing serious yet." He said kindly.

Wenny is currently trying hard to woo Ethan Sterling, and he can’t ruin it!

Ethan Sterling nodded, "To let you come all the way from R City to help take care of a child, not even as a friend," he smiled lightly, refraining from speaking further.

Faye Truman’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, then he casually said, "I was temporarily assigned to meet a client this time, and just helping out."

Ethan Sterling stood up, looked at him meaningfully, "You don’t have to explain so much, I thought you would want to kill me upon seeing me." He said and quickly walked to Honey’s room, instructing, "Seth, I’m leaving, call if there’s anything."

"Okay."

"Goodbye, Uncle Sterling."

After the farewell of the two children, came the sound of the door opening and leaving, while Faye Truman stood where he was, clenching his fists tightly.

He hesitated for a long time, then called Ruby Sullivan, "Ethan Sterling came."

Ruby Sullivan was momentarily startled, and the sample in her hand fell to the ground, spreading a strong fragrance instantly.

She took a deep breath, quickly found a nearby chair to sit on, "Did he figure it out?"

"I don’t know, I said you were a client introduced by Sasha Shaw, and this time because of work in Ariston, I’m just helping you out."

Ruby Sullivan pondered for a moment and said, "Ethan Sterling has always suspected my identity, let him guess if he wants, it’s even better that he saw you, saves me from hiding one more thing."

She was speaking from the heart.

Who can say for sure what Ethan Sterling is thinking? Besides, does she have anything to fear from him guessing now? Let him think what he likes.

She took a sip of water to calm down, then immediately started formulating the new sample according to the previous recipe.

Ruby Sullivan rested for a while, then called Ethan Sterling, ostensibly to have him look at the sample at the company, but in reality, she wanted to test him, and coincidentally, borrow Mama Bennett.

Though Ethan Sterling hesitated a bit, he agreed to go out, "Forget the sample, I’m not interested in perfumes. There’s a nice Beijing cuisine restaurant nearby the company, let’s go for a meal."

After putting down the phone, Ruby Sullivan headed straight for the restaurant.

Before long, Ethan Sterling also arrived. He wasn’t wearing a suit today, but jeans and a loose T-shirt, looking much more lively, and appeared several years younger.

Ruby Sullivan watched him walk in all the way, feeling somewhat dazed, almost as if seeing the young man from her memories.

"Is there something on my face?" Ethan Sterling, having never been stared at like that by her, was in a rather good mood, and his face showed a vague smile.

Ruby Sullivan realized her gaze was fixed, hurriedly lowering her eyes, "What would Mr. Sterling like to eat?"

"Just a meat dish, a vegetable, and a soup, I’m not very hungry."

Ruby Sullivan mumbled his words, her eyes searching the menu, promptly finding three dishes that matched his taste and current requirements. She waved over a waiter, "This one, this one, and this one, that’s all."

Ethan Sterling leaned back in his chair, watching her playfully, "Wenny, since when did you know my tastes so well?"

Ruby Sullivan laughed, "After all, I’ve been around Mama Bennett for so long, I had to gather some useful information, of course." She poured a cup of lemon water, taking a sip to ease her tension.

Today, Ethan Sterling seemingly had no intention of making things difficult for her regarding Faye Truman’s matters, was he too confident, not wanting to waste words with her, or did he believe what Faye Truman said?

"Useful information?" Ethan Sterling repeated the phrase, smiling.

Ruby Sullivan attempted to avoid the slightly awkward topic, directly moving to the main point, "Can you lend me Mama Bennett for a while, I need someone to help look after Honey."

"Why would I help you?" Ethan Sterling raised an eyebrow.

Ruby Sullivan hadn’t expected him to play dumb, and couldn’t help feeling annoyed, "Does Mr. Sterling wish for me to give in to threats and obediently resign?" She laughed coldly, "I am not worried about finding another job, but Mr. Sterling might find it hard to find another such excellent perfumer like me."

At this time, the waiter brought the dishes.

Ethan Sterling served a bowl of stone pot tofu soup, gently stirring for a while, then put down the spoon and said, "Resigning is your freedom."

He raised the corner of his lips, with a malicious smile in his eyes, as if the more desperate she was, the more amused he became.

Ruby Sullivan was infuriated, suppressing her temper, and barely smiling, "Mr. Sterling spent so much money getting me back, the product is about to launch, don’t you think it’s a pity?"

"Indeed a pity." Ethan Sterling nodded as if taking her seriously, and suddenly laughed, "What’s more pity is that The Sterling Group can afford such a loss, it’s not something Miss Wenny can use to bargain with me."

Ruby Sullivan felt a chill in her heart, her eyes clouding over with severity. After a long silence, she pretended to laugh light-heartedly, "Then what if I tell you that Honey is your daughter?"

"I’m not particularly interested in that matter." Ethan Sterling stared directly at her.

Ruby Sullivan’s heart grew more uneasy.

How much of the truth did Ethan Sterling know, what led to such a big turnaround?

"Then... would you want to know how Ruby Sullivan died?" Ruby Sullivan probed, carefully observing his expression.

A trace of shadow flickered across Ethan Sterling’s face.

Ruby Sullivan smiled, speaking calmly, "Now that things have come to this, I don’t want to hide it from you any longer. Ruby Sullivan and I were very good friends, she didn’t die after giving birth, it was in a recent car accident in Bellaza, and I indeed came to Celestia for Honey, a friend asked me on their deathbed, I couldn’t refuse to help."

Ethan Sterling’s face darkened instantly, he lowered his head, remaining silent for a long while before asking, "She... really died?"

"Back then, when you forced her to take abortion pills to give way to Mrs. Sterling, weren’t you wanting her dead? Now pretending this sick expression... are you afraid of nightmares waking you at night?" Ruby Sullivan looked at him with disgust, purposefully using harsh words to provoke him.

"Forced her and abortion pills?" Ethan Sterling looked at her with genuine surprise, "When did I force her to take abortion pills? When did I force her to give way?"

Ruby Sullivan looked at him in shock, convinced he wasn’t acting, tentatively asked, "Seth and Honey are the same age, didn’t you force her to give way to bring Seth’s biological mother home?"

Ethan Sterling clenched his fists, speaking somewhat hoarsely, "Seth... is an adopted child."

This time, it was Ruby Sullivan’s turn to be stunned.