novelraw Chapter 135: Give Me Some Time
Chapter 135: Give Me Some Time
Ruby Sullivan instinctively stopped in her tracks, staring at the back of his head. Ethan Sterling was slightly leaning back in his chair, and the well-tailored suit made even his back look impeccable.
In the afternoon, when the two of them were standing in front of the mirror, he said the suit was a great buy and matched her dress perfectly.
She took a deep breath and smiled at Rhonda Sullivan, who saw her first, a very formal, courteous smile.
"Sister, long time no see." Rhonda smirked with satisfaction, "I was just talking to Ethan about you."
Ethan Sterling frowned and glared at Rhonda, then got up and looked at Ruby Sullivan, "I was just looking for you."
Ruby walked over to him, looked up with a slight smile, "I was just looking for you too. Hm, telepathy?" Saying so, she blushed with embarrassment and smiled.
Ethan also smiled, almost habitually holding her hand.
"You two go ahead and talk. I happened to come out with my mentor for some fresh air, hm." She glanced around, "I should be nearby, you can find me when you’re done chatting."
"Alright." Ethan squeezed her hand briefly before releasing it and gave a smile to Dr. L in the distance.
Ruby turned to find Dr. L. It seemed that Rhonda was just an ordinary friend to Ethan. She didn’t want to interfere and had her own things to do.
"Where does my mentor want to sit?" Ruby asked casually.
Dr. L stroked his chin with interest, "Then let’s..." He drew out the words, thinking for a long time before finally choosing a spot at some distance from Ethan and Rhonda, at least where their conversation couldn’t be overheard.
The two took their seats, and both ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail.
L studied Ruby’s face carefully, guessing, "Wouldn’t you prefer a spot closer to them?"
"The things my mentor wants to say to me, you wouldn’t want a third person to know, right?" Ruby suppressed her chaotic thoughts, genuinely calm.
Dr. L leaned back in the rattan chair, with his hands interlaced in front of him, slowly saying, "When you left The Lawson Group, you said you wanted revenge and to save your daughter. Have you achieved those goals now?"
Ruby knew he wasn’t there to reminisce and likely didn’t care about the outcome of the questions, so she answered perfunctorily, "Honey is still waiting for a suitable bone marrow."
"But that man can’t give you that."
"Not necessarily..." Ruby looked at Dr. L’s eyes, feeling uncomfortable, so she averted her gaze under the guise of sipping her cocktail.
Dr. L took a deep breath, "I don’t know why, but after you left, I felt a bit unhappy."
"If my mentor can’t stand me competing with The Lawson Group in the perfume business, you can entirely block my path, there’s no need to target The Sterling Group." She knew begging wouldn’t help, so she gave her own choice.
This future, she could give up, but she didn’t want to drag Ethan into it.
L frowned, his face showing displeasure. He was rarely one who wore his emotions on his sleeve, indicating her words had reached a level of dissatisfaction.
Ruby momentarily felt scared, averting her gaze again. This fear was like a student facing a teacher’s scolding; whether right or wrong, they always felt a bit timid.
But she hated this about herself.
It was indeed L who had saved her, but she had also fulfilled the contract between them, working diligently at The Lawson Group for three years.
She took a deep breath and once again raised her head to meet his eyes, her gaze much firmer, "A lot of misunderstandings happened back then. I’ve cleared them up. Even if Ethan was wrong then, it’s not enough to warrant The Sterling Group paying the price. Mentor, if you still consider me your apprentice, you shouldn’t be collaborating with Rhonda Sullivan!"
L chuckled softly, as if she had said something very amusing; after a while, he finally said, "Wenny, despite all those outings to observe men’s ways that I took you along to comprehend, it turns out your heart, where the little princess resides, can only see the surface no matter how much you’ve seen."
Ruby frowned, not quite understanding his words.
L dropped the expression and looked straight at her, "I can’t consider you as my apprentice anymore. If you don’t want Rhonda to take back The Sullivan Group, you must abandon Ethan and return to my side."
The last few words he spoke slowly, his deep eyes revealing all the unspoken implications she dared not admit.
Ruby was momentarily stunned, "I... don’t understand what you mean."
L smiled, diverting his gaze, unwilling to express it explicitly, lightly shifting the topic, "I heard Rhonda has been doing her prenatal checkups with Mercy, and Ethan regards the child in her womb highly."
On the other side, Rhonda suddenly became emotional, leaning forward slightly and grabbing Ethan’s hand, "If you really care about the child in my womb, then divorce that woman immediately. Why do I always have to be the one without the status or the name?"
Ethan frowned, rudely pulling back his hand, "Mind the setting."
Rhonda pouted coquettishly, "I just can’t bear it! Before, you wanted to use her as a money-making machine, and it’s proven that her previous achievements were thanks to Dr. L’s protection. Moreover, as my belly grows every day, do you want your child to be pointed at behind their back?"
Listening to her words, Ethan thought of Honey instead.
How was that child doing abroad with her busy mother? Did she, without a father, still like when he first met her, want to recognize a handsome uncle as a father?
"Ethan, are you listening?" Rhonda realized he was distracted, raising her voice in anger.
"Calm down, give me a month, and I’ll sort this out."
Rhonda was dissatisfied, "Why still a month’s wait? If you can say you’ll serve me, I’ll agree."
"Honey’s health is very poor; she’s my daughter. I want to wait until she stabilizes to discuss divorce with Ruby, and besides, we’ve just got married. The Dream series is about to launch its second release. Pressuring me at this time benefits neither you nor me."
Having said that, Ethan got up, unwilling to waste words with her, turning to see a man sitting across from Dr. L, with Ruby nowhere to be seen.
"Ethan!" Rhonda urgently called out, standing up and suddenly clutched her stomach with an "Oh no!"
Ethan sensed something was amiss and went to her immediately, even crouching down out of concern, "What’s wrong?"
Rhonda furrowed her brow, biting her lip with a pained expression, "I don’t know..."
"Can you stand? I’ll take you to the hospital right away."
After a moment of trying to calm herself down, Rhonda nodded with difficulty.
Ethan quickly took her by the arm, helping her up, afraid anything might happen to her child.
Although he intended to leave discreetly from the sidelines, upon entering the hall, he was spotted by Naomi Sinclair.
She was the type who thrived on drama, shouting "Mr. Sterling" excitedly and hopping over.
Ethan was anxious and didn’t waste any time because of this.
Naomi followed with small steps, "Mr. Sterling, are you rekindling an old flame with your lover?"
"Don’t talk nonsense." Ethan frowned.
"Haha, Mr. Sterling, you’re something else. I’ll ask Sis-in-law to bring some cake back for you." Naomi exaggeratedly laughed, turning to look for Ruby Sullivan.
The commotion she made was big enough that everyone who wasn’t blind saw it, and naturally, after witnessing, they also looked concernedly at Ruby Sullivan.