CHAPTER 77: CHAPTER 77: A GRAND SHOW BETWEEN BROTHERS

After dinner, Ruby Sullivan was about to leave when she remembered she hadn’t driven, and Leon Sterling was the first to stand up, offering to take her home.

Before Ruby Sullivan could respond, Ethan Sterling cut in first, "You’re not familiar with the roads here, let me take her instead."

Cindy was single-mindedly hoping her brother would get the girl, and she quickly supported Ethan, "Yeah, let big brother take her."

Leon Sterling was unwilling to give up, "I know the way to Wenny’s house, and I also promised Honey I’d tell her a story tonight, right, Honey?" He smiled at Honey, hoping the little one would come help him out.

Honey had almost forgotten about this, but hearing him say it, she quickly remembered and tugged on Ruby Sullivan’s finger, saying, "Yeah, Mom, let Uncle Don take us home."

Cindy saw this and got a little anxious. She hugged Leon Sterling’s neck and pulled him aside, lowering her voice and speaking in French, "Big brother is pursuing Wenny; of course, he should be the one to take her."

Leon Sterling looked puzzled, "Big brother pursuing Wenny? Isn’t he supposed to be engaged to that Miss Sullivan?" He said, ignoring his worried sister, and happily walked over to take Ruby Sullivan and Honey, "Let’s go."

Ethan Sterling glanced at him and furrowed his brow slightly but said nothing.

Due to the situation the previous night, Ruby Sullivan hadn’t wanted Ethan Sterling to take them, but seeing Cindy’s look just then, she suddenly thought of what she heard at noon and was afraid Cindy might talk to Ethan Sterling while Leon Sterling took her home, so dragging it out a bit longer might be better.

By the time Ethan Sterling returned, she might already be asleep, and the next day she might forget those things.

After hesitating for a moment, she had no choice but to smile at Leon Sterling, "The roads in Ariston at night aren’t easy to navigate, let Mr. Sterling take me instead, besides, I happen to have some work matters to discuss with him." She finished and bent down to comfort Honey, "Honey, next time we’ll give Uncle Don a chance to tell you a story, okay?"

Honey looked at Leon Sterling, then at Ethan Sterling, though a bit reluctant, she nodded, considering Uncle Don was handsome too, "Uncle Don, you won’t forget, right?"

"I won’t." Leon Sterling smiled, but couldn’t hide the loneliness in his eyes.

Ethan Sterling immediately stood up from his chair, "Let’s go." With that, breaking from his usual behavior, he picked up Honey.

Seth Sterling watched his dad’s actions and silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart.

Cindy watched their departing figures, nodding with satisfaction, "Big brother indeed should be with a high-quality beauty like Wenny, those two sisters from the Sullivan Family really are not a match for him."

Although she hadn’t seen Ruby Sullivan in person, she’d seen their wedding photo, that big piece of flesh standing next to her brother. After she saw it, she cried on behalf of her brother. Her outstanding brother, how could he marry such a woman?

Leon Sterling’s usual gentle face suddenly showed anger, "How do you know Ruby Sullivan isn’t a match for big brother?"

Cindy, still immersed in her fantasy about her brother and Wenny, didn’t notice her second brother’s expression and said matter-of-factly, "How could big brother like such a useless fat girl? That Ruby Sullivan, she’s not even as good as her unimpressive sister. Grandma’s judgment is really problematic."

"Shallow." Leon Sterling muttered angrily, shaking his hand and walking upstairs.

Cindy was stunned, blinking, then turned to look at her mom, Rachel Lawson, "Vivian, is second brother in a bad mood today?"

Rachel Lawson, who had been watching the scene, just smiled and shrugged indifferently.

She of course knew why her younger son was in a bad mood, but all of this, it’s better not to let her silly daughter know.

She initially agreed to let Cindy enter the entertainment industry purely because she thought besides looking good, her daughter had no redeeming qualities, failing at studying and being unable to find her way in painting, now it seems there’s nothing wrong with it. For instance, today’s drama, her daughter absolutely contributed the most.

*

After reaching Ruby Sullivan’s house, it was only natural that Ethan Sterling followed them out of the car to escort the mother and daughter upstairs.

Ruby Sullivan thought of Cindy and swallowed back the refusal, "I happen to want to show you the video I took last night."

After coming home, Mama Bennett took Honey for a bath, and Ruby Sullivan brought her laptop to the living room to watch the video with Ethan Sterling on the sofa.

Although the whole thing was filmed in night vision, some important dialogues were recorded quite clearly, like Gemma Joyce’s remarks.

As Ruby Sullivan saw Ethan Sterling’s face getting grimmer, she thought he saw that she considered collaborating with others, so she explained, "I just wanted to know what scheme Tyler Aldrin was up to, and at that time, I couldn’t leave forcefully, I had to first listen to Gemma Joyce’s suggestion."

Ethan Sterling frowned as he watched the screen, "I know you’re not that stupid."

Ruby Sullivan secretly rolled her eyes, thinking, even if she had somewhat believed it, so what? How does that make her stupid?

Although...a little stupid she was.

Towards the end, the scene turned into Ruby Sullivan being beaten, and with the live band’s loud music, you couldn’t hear any dialogue, so Ruby Sullivan turned off the video.

"Do you think what Gemma Joyce told me is true or false?" she asked him.

Ethan Sterling exhaled long, slowly unclenching his fist that had been tightly clenched.

"Except that she genuinely hates Rhonda Sullivan, everything else should be false." Ethan Sterling raised his eyebrows, "You wouldn’t really think The Sullivan Group sent her to discuss any cooperation with Tyler Aldrin, would you?"

Ruby Sullivan blinked and averted her gaze, feeling guilty for a moment, "Of course...not."

Ever since she was a child, she hadn’t been interested in these matters, otherwise, her father wouldn’t have handed the family business to Rhonda Sullivan to manage, not letting her get involved with anything about the company. Though under the master’s guidance, she had made significant progress in recent years, compared to Ethan Sterling, she was just sprouting a bit of green in the spring, still way too tender.

If Tyler Aldrin hadn’t changed his attitude later, she might have actually believed it.

Ethan Sterling flicked her forehead dismissively, "Tyler Aldrin is just scum. Gemma Joyce tricking you outside was simply looking to use Tyler Aldrin to ruin you. Even if I pursued it afterward, she could use this excuse to shirk responsibility."

Ruby Sullivan rubbed her forehead, inadvertently revealing her inherent clumsiness, "So you already know it was Rhonda Sullivan setting me up?"

Ethan Sterling nodded, "I suspect that making you embarrassed at the birthday party before was Gemma Joyce’s deliberate act. I heard The Sullivan Group had been using many improper means to open various channels in recent years. It’s probably because of her looks that Gemma Joyce was well-fed and taken care of by Rhonda Sullivan, I’m sure she’s long harbored resentment."

"So...she genuinely wanted to save me that day?"

"Probably, at least, I think she didn’t want Rhonda Sullivan to have it too easy." Ethan Sterling sneered, drawing a big cross on Rhonda Sullivan’s name in his mind.

Mama Bennett came out of the bathroom with Honey, "Miss Wallace, you can use the bathroom now."

Ruby Sullivan responded and said to Ethan Sterling, "It’s getting late, you should also go back."

Ethan Sterling stood up, "You too, rest early."

Passing by Honey’s room, he hesitated, "Let me go tell Honey a story before I go."

Ruby Sullivan was startled, not having reacted before he knocked and entered Honey’s room, shortly after, Mama Bennett was ushered out.

Ruby Sullivan walked slowly to the door, gently pushed it ajar, watching Ethan Sterling softly telling stories to Honey, feeling both gratified and heartbroken.

If he really liked this child, why wouldn’t he donate even a bit of his marrow? If he doesn’t like her...then who is this act for?