CHAPTER 492: CHAPTER 492: TRULY FOND

As the bracelet was taken out, it stunned the people nearby; even Hannah Jennings thought she was seeing things. A big show for a mother-in-law’s birthday, isn’t it just to impress others? And Ruby Sullivan gives a shabby Bodhi Seed bracelet at such a moment?

Though such things can be extremely valuable, the ragged cloth bag used for packaging made it seem like a random pick from a street stall.

Most people had this attitude, inevitably letting out a low snicker or two.

At this birthday party, Shawn Sheffield had brought his youngest daughter, Wendy Sheffield, along because their last interaction was quite unpleasant. Although they came, they didn’t go near the third Sinclair brother or Vivian, acting every bit the guests and waiting for the third brother to make peace.

In Shawn Sheffield’s view, the third Sinclair brother’s invitation was his way of apologizing.

Well, he might have been overthinking it. He received the invitation because Aidan Sinclair felt it necessary for Wendy Sheffield to be there.

At the moment, he and his wife stood a few steps away, seeming to chat with others but actually keeping an eye on the situation here.

For some reason, they hadn’t seen the third brother anywhere, so they kept glancing at Vivian.

Seeing this, Shawn Sheffield signaled to his daughter. After receiving the invitation, he secretly investigated that even though the third Sinclair brother was hosting the birthday party for his wife, it was Aidan Sinclair who was overseeing the details, including the menu and the choice of band, showing that Vivian, the stepmother, held considerable weight in his heart. So, he had long instructed Wendy Sheffield to pick a suitable gift.

Wendy Sheffield had heard that Vivian was an artist, so she bought her a set of particularly expensive paintbrushes. Apparently, each brush was crafted by a renowned artisan, with intricately designed handles and meticulously selected bristles.

Over there, Hannah Jennings, upon seeing the bracelet, deliberately asked, "Wenny, is there anything special about this bracelet?"

"Actually, I don’t really understand..."

Before she could finish, Vivian had put the bracelet away, "I like it a lot." Naturally, she didn’t share the third brother’s fascination with such things, so she couldn’t tell the quality of the item. But the two inconspicuous wooden beads hanging from the blue cloth strap featured simple water-pattern carvings that she recognized.

Given it was a gift from Ruby Sullivan, Vivian immediately judged it to be a spiritual object from Dragon Spring Temple. Master Valerius had said that spiritual objects dislike noise and shouldn’t be casually touched, so she quickly tucked it away to prevent the nearby people, with eyes but no perception, from contaminating her bracelet.

And since Master Valerius’s items are priceless, she needed to be even more low-profile at such a moment because the third brother and Valerius were friends.

She leaned close to Ruby Sullivan’s ear and whispered, "Has it been blessed?"

Ruby Sullivan glanced at her, smiled, and nodded.

Vivian imitated the third brother’s manner, "Unspeakable, unspeakable."

Stella Jennings didn’t know what riddles they were speaking in, only felt that Vivian was trying to save her face, which irked her somewhat. In her mind, Vivian had brought Ruby Sullivan over just to let Ruby know her place and leave Ethan Sterling alone.

At this moment, Wendy Sheffield came up, "Auntie, long time no see."

With these words, Vivian’s face instantly fell, but she managed not to lose her temper and rather politely said, "You can call me Vivian; I’m more used to people calling me by my name."

Hannah Jennings knew this woman; instead of managing the family business after studying abroad, she’d gone on a crazy matchmaking spree. They say she’s looking for a good match to help the Sheffield Family climb back up.

"Vivian, this set of handcrafted paintbrushes comes from a famous Helvetian artisan. I hope you’ll like them."

Ruby Sullivan took them, feeling their weight, and immediately called for a waiter to take them away, "I like them very much, thank you." She turned her head and said, "Aidan’s over there; you can ask him if he found a dance partner for the opening dance." She mischievously winked, as if showing her a way forward.

Wendy Sheffield was very pleased, "Then I’ll go find Aidan."

Vivian nodded, thinking she’d completed the task Aidan had assigned. She checked her watch, frowning slightly, "It’s almost time for the opening dance, and Ethan’s not here yet?"

Hannah Jennings quickly chimed in, "Would you like me to call Ethan?" She then realized her words might not be appropriate and embarrassingly added, "Oh, my silly head, didn’t you come with Ethan today, Wenny?" She had seen Ruby Sullivan and Sasha Shaw come in together today, so she deliberately asked this way, calling Ruby ’sis’ while addressing Ethan by name—also on purpose.

Vivian ignored her long ramble and calmly asked Ruby Sullivan, "Could you call Ethan and ask where he is?"

"He has a crucial conference call today. If he could get out early, he definitely wouldn’t have delayed," Ruby Sullivan explained.

"That makes sense," Vivian conceded, pursing her lips, appearing upset but understanding of her son’s situation.

Just then, Ethan Sterling walked in from the entrance, catching his wife’s eye immediately with a tender smile.

Vivian feigned anger, "Seems I raised this son in vain. With you around, he can’t even see his own mother." Despite her words, her eyes were full of affection.

After the recent troubles, her biggest worry was conflict between these two children. Seeing them deal with the challenge in the simplest way, she felt great relief. Watching them stay together rather than break up over various reasons gave her the greatest joy.

Ethan Sterling approached, holding Ruby Sullivan’s hand first, and briefly explained, "There was a bit of a situation at work."

"Well, my son’s a busy man, after all."

"Ethan," Hannah Jennings interjected, greeting Ethan Sterling.

Ethan Sterling turned, as if seeing her for the first time, and nodded slightly, "Hello." The greeting was quite perfunctory, but Hannah Jennings should still feel gratified, given that Mr. Sterling didn’t say "Hello" to just anyone.

"Where’s the third uncle?" He quickly changed the subject.

Vivian checked the time again, shook her head helplessly, "I don’t know. He said this morning he definitely wouldn’t miss the opening dance. He should be arriving soon." While saying this, she looked around and saw the third uncle making his way over through the crowd, exchanging greetings, his shiny bald head glistening with sweat—who knows what he had been up to.

Shawn Sheffield was convinced he was coming toward him, so he deliberately raised his head high, straightened his suit, and thought he would offer him an excuse if he spoke. Then he saw the third uncle cheerfully walk past, as if he didn’t even see him.

"He just didn’t see me." He found a way out for himself, telling his wife.

Mrs. Sheffield nodded, beads of sweat forming on her brow.

The third uncle approached Vivian, "Sorry, sorry, where are Don and Cindy?" He looked around and instructed the nearby waiter to notify them about the opening dance.

"Yes." Though the waiter looked typical, he was actually the third uncle’s personal bodyguard, so he had been handling the gifts for Vivian earlier.

Hannah Jennings, being neglected off to the side, started to look unpleasant.