CHAPTER 401: CHAPTER 401: CAN’T BRING MYSELF TO HATE YOU

Ruby Sullivan looked at Emily, with the same doubt in her heart. But she didn’t dwell on it, quickly shifting her gaze and walking over.

Emily, on the other hand, looked at her, a trace of a cold smile flashing in her eyes. As Ruby drew near, she deliberately shouted at Ethan Sterling, "Ethan Sterling, you’re already married?" Without waiting for Ethan’s response, she continued, "Then what is Hannah to you?" Her question was not meant for an answer; she merely wanted his wife to know he had a mistress.

Although she was rather wild in her personal life, she absolutely couldn’t consider someone with a boyfriend who was married. She had no idea Hannah Jennings would be so shameless.

There weren’t many people in the hall, but her shouting indeed caused a bad scene.

Ethan Sterling frowned, while Ruby Sullivan was taken aback.

Brandon Sullivan erupted during their silence, slamming the table, glaring angrily, and asked, "Ethan Sterling, who is that person she mentioned?"

Instantly, Ethan’s face grew even darker.

Startled by his yell, Ruby Sullivan hastily spoke, "Dad, calm down, there’s something I haven’t told you yet; Ethan and I have been divorced for a while."

"Divorced?"

Ruby waved her hand, motioning Brandon to swallow his questions and then said to the dumbfounded blonde beauty, "Hannah Jennings is his girlfriend, I’m his ex-wife, we’re just here for a meal, no need to be so shocked."

After she finished, she turned to Ethan, "Order yet?"

"About to."

"Then... get a waiter, what are you waiting for?"

"Yeah." Ethan closed the menu, turned to signal the waiter who was watching the commotion, and then glanced at Emily who was blocking the way, "Correction, Hannah Jennings is my ex-girlfriend."

This left Emily even more puzzled.

The waiter approached and couldn’t help but politely remind, "Could you please step aside, this guest, thank you."

Emily blinked, turned her head, and ran to her seat, intending to find Hannah Jennings, only to discover that there were only two people left, her classmates said that Hannah had left shortly after she did.

"So what did you figure out? Is Hannah a mistress?"

They were a bit far away and didn’t catch all the words, just scattered pieces that they filled in with their imagination.

Emily took a sip of soup to calm herself and smiled slowly, "I suspect she’s not just a mistress, but she’s been dumped already."

"That explosive? Spill the details."

"Well..."

On the other side, a table full of dishes was served. Brandon Sullivan hadn’t tasted such pleasing food in a long time, and his appetite promptly overshadowed everything else, temporarily forgetting his daughter’s talk of divorce.

Ruby Sullivan looked at Ethan Sterling with some curiosity, "You changed girlfriends so fast?" Yesterday he still called ’darling’, today she’s the ex-girlfriend, tsk tsk, quite the modern pace.

"When it’s unsuitable, no need to waste time. Besides, I didn’t change, just went back to being single."

Ruby recalled the girl she saw in his office, "Except for being a bit younger and prettier than Rhonda, she seems no different, isn’t this the type you like?"

Ethan Sterling’s face sank, ignoring Brandon Sullivan’s presence, and sneered, "Since when did you understand me better than myself?"

"I have grounds for this; if Rhonda Sullivan wasn’t your type back then, our marriage wouldn’t have been broken up, why disdain one woman for another you didn’t like, right?"

Ruby Sullivan thought she laid it out clearly and logically. She didn’t know she was so knowledgeable, almost wanting to applaud herself.

Ethan Sterling, infuriated, felt a headache with no outlet, "Nonsense."

Ruby Sullivan giggled, Mr. Sterling was forced to use crude language; once again, she almost applauded herself.

Their exchange was too rapid; Brandon Sullivan only heard Rhonda’s name and the murmurs of liking or disliking, completely misunderstanding, thinking they fought over Rhonda, which is why they divorced. Thus, he scolded, "Stop fighting, take a step back, companion each other into old age, you must cherish."

Companion into old age...

If there wasn’t a divorce, if they had a pair of children, they really could have been a blissful family, couldn’t they?

Ruby Sullivan sneaked a peek at Ethan Sterling; their eyes met momentarily before she hurriedly looked away.

She mocked leisurely, "If you’re in a relationship, enjoy it, you’re not young anymore; do you still want to be some sort of love slayer?"

Ethan Sterling almost choked himself with anger from her words. He barely suppressed his surging irritation, lightly responding, "Not impossible."

Ruby Sullivan glared at him, ending the dull banter.

After lunch, Ruby Sullivan didn’t hesitate to take Brandon Sullivan home.

He’d given all his shares to Rhonda Sullivan, and his Alzheimer’s was worsening. To Rhonda, he was like a living burden. Ruby assumed Rhonda would at least treat him well due to their father-daughter bond, but unexpectedly, she completely ignored him, leaving him to fend for himself.

She ran the bathtub with hot water, telling him to clean himself first.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she saw Ethan Sterling had taken off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, intending to get in.

"What are you doing?" Ruby Sullivan didn’t dare speculate.

Because she couldn’t envision Ethan Sterling doing such a thing.

"What do you think? I’m worried something might happen to him at your house, and Rhonda would make a fuss, causing you trouble."

"You should be happy if someone bothers me, right? That way you could acquire Nirvana at a super low price easier." She seized the chance to sarcastically quip at him.

"Afraid you’d lose it and join L." Ethan said and pulled her aside from the doorway, walking in himself.

She was right; he wished someone would give her trouble so her Nirvana couldn’t continue. Acquiring it wasn’t the point; he wanted to stand out as her hero at that time.

That’s just how childish he was. What could he do? She drove him to this.

As for helping her take care of Brandon Sullivan, it had nothing to do with all of this. Simply put, he’s her dad; no matter how harsh her words were, he knew in her heart she couldn’t let go.

After his bath, Brandon Sullivan was very happy, fell asleep watching TV in the living room, Ruby Sullivan didn’t wake him, turned off the TV, covered him up, fearing he’d have trouble sleeping if awakened. Ethan Sterling washed him and left, still no words between them, as The Sterling Group’s hostile takeover was a thorn in Ruby Sullivan’s heart.

She knew Nirvana had to endure others’ sabotage to grow stronger, but having Ethan Sterling sabotage her, she couldn’t be content about it.

In the evening, she made some porridge, prepared some simple stir-fried greens, and Brandon Sullivan surprisingly found it super delicious, drinking three large bowls of porridge. Worried he’d overeat and hurt himself, Ruby sternly stopped him when he reached for the fourth bowl.

After waking up, Brandon Sullivan babbled endlessly about this and that; Ruby Sullivan still didn’t feel like listening or responding, but seeing his complexion improved from the morning, she felt reassured.

I may never forgive you, but I also can’t bring myself to hate you, because in my childhood and youth, you were so important.