CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18: DISPUTE

This slap not only shocked Rhonda Sullivan, but even Ethan Sterling, who was covering Seth Sterling’s eyes, was stunned for a moment. The woman in front of him was charming, making one irresistibly want to get closer, yet upon getting close, one would discover the thorns she had erected all around her. Even so, she still captivated people.

Ruby Sullivan looked at her coldly, her hand yet to be withdrawn, while five clear fingerprints had already surfaced on Rhonda Sullivan’s face.

Honey has a bleeding disorder, and ever since learning about this illness, she has been cherished and cared for as if in the palm of a hand; they were even reluctant to let her attend kindergarten.

Even a small wound could possibly cost her life.

Compared to this slap, it was still lighter.

Rhonda Sullivan’s eyes immediately brimmed with tears as she covered her face, staring in disbelief at Ruby Sullivan, instinctively wanting to hit back: "You crazy woman—"

Her hand stopped mid-air, flung aside by Ruby Sullivan.

"Mr. Sterling, considering she’s your woman, I won’t hold it against you, but she must take this slap, willingly or not. Otherwise, our cooperation ends here."

The voice was calm, as if narrating a trivial matter, but only Ethan Sterling knew how much of a threat lay within.

It took a lot of time and effort to bring Wenny back.

The woman before him seemed just a bit more beautiful, but few knew that because of her, Dr’s fragrance products performance doubled in just one quarter, a phenomenon only seen before with the legendary master perfumer Dr. L, and as everyone knew, Dr. L no longer appeared, no amount of money could summon him.

In this world, there’s no shortage of good perfumers, but there’s a shortage of perfumers who can perfectly combine fragrance creation with market demand. Just for this alone, this woman’s worth is immeasurable.

The importance of this was clear to him.

"Enough!" He looked at Rhonda Sullivan, with a sharpness in his gaze, "How much longer are you going to cause trouble?"

Rhonda Sullivan looked at him aggrieved, wanting to retort but was startled by the emotion in Ethan Sterling’s eyes.

When had he ever looked at her like this?

"Ethan, are you treating me this way for her?" Rhonda Sullivan’s voice carried an almost undetectable tremor.

Ethan Sterling remained unmoved, looking at her with disgust: "Get out, now!"

Rhonda Sullivan knew he was truly angry this time. She had spent three years driving away Ruby Sullivan and five years entering The Sullivan Family, yet in just a few days, she lost to this woman twice in a row.

Rhonda Sullivan gritted her teeth, looking at her with a desire to tear her apart, but fearing Ethan Sterling’s greater disdain towards her, she could only glare at her fiercely, grabbing her bag and turning to leave.

Ruby Sullivan watched her departing figure, a cold smile forming on her lips: "It seems Mr. Sterling’s beloved seems to have quite a bit to say about what I’ve done?"

As she spoke, she intended to carry Honey and leave, suddenly noticing a small boy hiding behind Ethan Sterling.

A slightly excessively indifferent expression, eyes full of inquiry, yet it made her heart flutter uncontrollably. Just now, she only had Ethan Sterling cover his eyes, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what had just happened.

Thinking of this tugged at Ruby Sullivan’s heart with pain. After all, he was just a five-year-old child, what would he understand?

Ruby Sullivan crouched down to meet Seth Sterling’s gaze; his dark eyes were so deep they stirred discomfort in Ruby Sullivan.

"What’s your name?"

"Seth Sterling."

Ruby Sullivan nodded and continued smiling, "You’re the good friend Honey talks about, right? In the future, Auntie can also cook for you."

Seth Sterling still didn’t speak, with a sullen face, not knowing what he was thinking, creating a moment of awkwardness; Ruby Sullivan gave a self-deprecating smile, just intending to stand up when Honey suddenly grabbed her hand and whispered: "Mom, you should hug Brother Sterling too, he got scared today by Honey."

Ruby Sullivan glanced at Seth Sterling, seeing no resistance in his demeanor, warmly smiled, and reached out to envelop him in her embrace.

Seth Sterling’s body stiffened as if experiencing such close contact with someone for the first time.

Ruby Sullivan sighed inwardly, just about to withdraw, when she suddenly heard a soft sob.

A pair of small hands suddenly clutched her clothing, something with a slight chill seeped into her shoulder, and then Ruby Sullivan heard him say: "I’m sorry."

Ruby Sullivan paused, seemingly not hearing clearly, turned her head wanting to listen again, but unfortunately, Seth had already released her hand.

That sight tugged painfully at Ruby Sullivan’s heart; she touched Seth Sterling’s face, instinctively softening her voice: "It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t have to say sorry."

Seth Sterling did not look at her, only the slightly reddened eyes betrayed his suppressed emotion: "I didn’t protect her..."

"It’s alright, you’ve already done your best, haven’t you?" Ruby Sullivan ruffled his hair, not knowing why; although he was Rhonda Sullivan’s child, she inexplicably felt particularly fond of him.

Watching him pretend to be strong, it just made her heart ache since he was only a child.

Ruby Sullivan stood up, pulling Honey’s hand into his palm, "Honey has forgiven you too, right?"

"Yes, Brother Sterling! Today, if it weren’t for you calling Handsome Uncle, Honey’s blood wouldn’t have stopped!"

Seth Sterling looked at her, his tightly pursed lips forming a straight line, held Honey’s hand, lowering his head.

Ruby Sullivan sighed, collecting her expression, displaying an aloof demeanor towards Ethan Sterling: "Mr. Sterling, I hope this kind of thing doesn’t happen again."

"If it happens again," her eyes flashed with a hint of a threat, "I won’t hold back next time." After saying this, she gave Seth Sterling a final pat on the head for comfort, holding Honey as they walked towards the door.

Behind her, Ethan Sterling looked on with interest in his eyes.

"Holding back"? Was today actually considered holding back?

Heh, for so many years, daring to repeatedly threaten him, she was the first.

Ethan Sterling chuckled softly, patting Seth Sterling’s shoulder, "Let’s go."

The Sterling Family.

"Sir, since Miss Sullivan returned, she has been staying in her room and has not come down for dinner. Will there be an issue?" Mama Bennett happened to be coming out of the kitchen, glanced up at the direction of the second floor, expressing a bit of concern.

At the dining table, Seth Sterling unemotionally glanced to observe Ethan Sterling’s expression.

Due to Rhonda Sullivan’s boldness, under the pretense of ensuring he wouldn’t miss the maternal presence in his childhood, she had moved into The Sterling Family three years ago, under the guise of taking care of him.

Seth Sterling had always been utterly annoyed by her, even more annoyed by Ethan Sterling’s tacit approval.

He clearly didn’t need anyone else to take care of him, yet his dad always thought he was lacking maternal love.

This point simply couldn’t be reasoned with that man.

As he fiddled with the mashed potatoes on his plate, he casually "reminded": "Dad, aren’t you going to coax Aunt Sullivan?"

He understood Ethan Sterling’s pride and arrogance, who would never go out of his way for a woman, let alone be seen as needing to coax Rhonda Sullivan by outsiders. Not even his own son could do that.

As expected, Ethan Sterling’s expression darkened.

"Tell her to come down for dinner, if she doesn’t eat, she can get out of The Sterling Family tonight." Leaving this sentence, Ethan Sterling frowned as he placed a piece of steak in his mouth.

Beside him, Seth Sterling remained unfazed, seemingly unconcerned about these matters.

Mama Bennett glanced worriedly at this father and son pair, so different in demeanor, and sighed inwardly, heading upstairs to call her down.

In no time, Rhonda Sullivan came down.

She was having a tantrum, but it was only a unilateral one. Concerning this matter, as long as Ethan Sterling didn’t make a statement, she could overturn the entire The Sterling Family without consequence.

But if he dared to furrow a brow, Rhonda Sullivan could only meekly, with her tail between her legs, sit on the stool obediently.

"Ethan," seeing him silent, Rhonda Sullivan took the initiative to break the atmosphere, squeezing out a smile, softly moving closer, "Today’s matter was also for Seth’s good; that kind of junk food is definitely bad for his health, you know that."