CHAPTER 422: CHAPTER 422: AN UNLOVELY MISUNDERSTANDING

Aidan Sinclair opened his eyes in the morning and watched Stella Jennings’ training camp record video again. The feelings that had settled overnight started to sprout, like spring grass growing uncontrollably, making him uneasy and restless.

He felt this couldn’t go on, so he changed into sportswear, ready to run on the treadmill and sweat it out. But by the time he realized what was happening, he already heard Ruby Sullivan’s voice in the receiver.

Aidan Sinclair was stunned for a moment, his expression a bit dazed, unsure how he ended up making this call. Now that the call was connected, he didn’t know what to say.

"Sinclair?" Ruby Sullivan hesitated for a long time before tentatively calling out.

"Ah, hey, hello." Aidan Sinclair broke into a cold sweat at his temples and chuckled as he wandered over to sit on the couch.

Ruby Sullivan heard a question mark pop out above her head, "...hello?"

Aidan Sinclair had a ten-second mental struggle, still too embarrassed to be honest. "Nothing much, just haven’t seen you in a while, thought I’d call to check in. So... you go ahead and be busy."

"Wait!" Ruby Sullivan quickly shouted, afraid he’d hang up, "I just happen to have something to ask you—are you and Ethan Sterling having any trouble with your collaboration lately? He seems... not in a great mood."

Aidan Sinclair thought about it, Ethan Sterling did seem a bit grumpy yesterday. Then he remembered Ethan’s previous complaints about losing his wife, and his breakup with Hannah Jennings yesterday, so he confidently speculated, "It might be because he broke up with his girlfriend, so he’s a bit upset. You know about his relationship with Hannah Jennings, right?"

He hadn’t remembered much of what Ethan Sterling said yesterday, but since T was quite special, he remembered that T was pursuing Ruby Sullivan, so he wasn’t too discreet about mentioning Ethan Sterling’s romantic affairs.

This surprised Ruby Sullivan, "Was his relationship with Hannah Jennings really that strong?" She wasn’t sure how to express herself, but she didn’t think Ethan Sterling seemed like someone who would be sad about a breakup. Maybe she was too close to see clearly?

Aidan Sinclair was trapped in emotional turmoil, his intelligence not at its best, "Breakups usually make you sad for a few days, that’s only human."

"That’s true," Ruby Sullivan chuckled, "I just heard it from the kids, so I thought I’d ask you. If he’s not in a good mood, I won’t let the kids bother him these days. Let’s leave it at that then."

"Hang on," Aidan Sinclair was reluctant to hang up the phone, "I heard you have a good relationship with Stella Jennings?"

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing much, just leave it at that." Aidan Sinclair quickly hung up, his palms sweaty.

This felt like the hesitation before reaching home. He’s never been an indecisive man, but this time, he was genuinely afraid of rejection. If he got rejected, would the young lady still talk to him about which desserts were tasty? She’d only see him as a shameless, out-and-out pervert to stay far away from.

Aidan Sinclair threw his phone on the sofa in frustration, feeling he should have just gone for a run from the start instead of making that impulsive call.

How could he have known that this call not only didn’t bring him any benefit but also inadvertently betrayed a brother.

After ending the call, Ruby Sullivan’s thoughts sank into a bottomless pit as she recollected Ethan Sterling’s oddities, suddenly realizing he never said he went to Gallia to find her. Perhaps it was just a coincidence of work; even if hotel rooms and tickets were meddled with...

What good motives would a man have for meddling with hotel matters? As for the tickets, it’s easy to understand. Rather than reaching out to a stranger during a crisis, holding her hand is less likely to be rejected.

Thinking this way, Ruby Sullivan felt gloomy.

These matters didn’t prove that Ethan Sterling was always thinking of her, rather they showed that he took her for granted.

She submerged her head in water, not wanting to come out.

But she quickly calmed down, deciding to wait and see. With the progress of export work and new product development, she had plenty of work to keep herself numb and distracted.

For the next half month, Ethan Sterling didn’t look for her. Their rare meetings were only because of picking up or dropping off the kids, exchanging less than ten words.

By this point, Ruby Sullivan was almost certain that she simply misunderstood. She indeed vowed to face her relationship with Ethan Sterling with courage, but if he had chosen to quit, she decided to not disturb him.

In early March, VS Magazine was to host a charity gala to fund international ocean animal rescue organizations. Both Ruby and Sasha received invitations, as neither planned to bring a male companion along, so Sasha picked a dress named "Angel Sisters."

This dress was tailored to Sasha’s measurements, as she felt lost amid the issues with Leon Sterling at the time, so she suddenly imagined herself as a fallen angel, wanting to be ruthless, and made a pure black dress with an asymmetric skirt hem, with the short side adorned with overlapping petal edges revealing almost the entire thigh when walking—explosively sexy.

After completing it, a pure image of an angel appeared in her mind, leading to another pure white dress, with a short skirt overlaid with sequined long tulle, which looked light and playful, contrasting starkly with the black one.

Sasha assumed Ruby Sullivan would choose the white one, thinking it matched Ruby’s temperament better, but after looking at both, Ruby decisively picked the black one.

"I’m going to outshine everyone, make those long-legged female stars pale in comparison!" Ruby Sullivan held the dress in front of her, confidently declaring to the mirror.

After the last press conference, although The Sterling Group immediately suppressed the news, once her divorce with Ethan Sterling spread, everyone who knew about it considered it confirmed. Hence, Ruby Sullivan had been avoiding such social gatherings.

Although she could ignore the gossip, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling hurt.

But this time, she wanted to be high-profile, to become the center of attention, to show Ethan Sterling she would no longer be Ruby Sullivan, but Nuggly Sullivan!

Sasha patted her shoulder, "That’s the right attitude!"

On the day of the gala, Ruby Sullivan applied an elaborate queen’s makeup, adorned with star-like fiery red lips, irresistibly charming, every step showcasing grace.

While Sasha dressed up to look youthful and radiant, appearing alongside Ruby Sullivan, they exuded youthful exuberance.

Their complementary appearances quickly made them the center of attention upon entering. After exchanging pleasantries with Dragon Girl, a genteel gentleman approached to invi Sasha for a dance.

Sasha happily agreed. When Ruby Sullivan saw Cindy Sterling was also present, she headed towards her but was suddenly bumped, nearly falling, turning to see someone familiar.