CHAPTER 5: CHAPTER 5: REUNION

Ruby Sullivan turned around and immediately saw Melody Wallace in her adorable little yellow duck outfit. Finally, a huge weight lifted off her heart as she quickly scooped her up, her voice choked with emotion, "Where did you go, you scared Mommy to death, do you know that?"

Honey, hearing her mother’s choked voice, also began to speak through tears, "Honey missed Mommy so much too. It’s all because the uncle on the screen was so handsome, he mesmerized Honey..."

"Pfft." Nearby, the shop assistant couldn’t help but laugh.

Listening to her daughter’s audacious words, Ruby Sullivan’s last bit of lingering fear vanished without a trace. She was about to sternly teach her daughter a lesson when she looked up and met a pair of unfathomable eyes.

Those eyes were sharp as ink, yet as shocking as a bolt from the blue, causing her body to stiffen abruptly. Ruby Sullivan’s face turned pale instantly, her voice gone from her throat.

She had imagined countless times what it would be like to stand before Ethan Sterling, elegant and poised.

But never had she thought it would be so sudden.

Right in front of her now was a man so familiar she wouldn’t forget him even if he turned to ash in this lifetime.

Ethan Sterling!

Her fingertips couldn’t help but tremble as the memories of past humiliation surged through her mind—

"Ruby Sullivan, get rid of this child..."

"I’m pregnant too, the child is Ethan’s..."

"You have to take this medicine, whether you want to or not..."

Ruby Sullivan locked her gaze, the pain lingering in her heart from five years ago seemingly undiminished. At the sight of this man, a torrent of hatred within her nearly surged uncontrollably.

Taking a deep breath and pausing for a few seconds, Ruby Sullivan then put on a polite smile, "Mr. Sterling, I didn’t expect to meet you here. Did you just help take care of Honey? I appreciate it."

Ethan Sterling had been leisurely watching this reunion drama unfold, not expecting the woman to suddenly raise her head and speak.

As their eyes met, the man’s evident shock was visible.

The woman before him, with a charming face and a perfect figure, was like a boldly blooming rose, thorny, alluring, and dangerous.

It was Wenny.

He had requested her photo when deciding to collaborate, knowing she looked good, but never imagined that in person, she would be even more unforgettable and evoke a strange sense of... familiarity.

He quickly relaxed his furrowed brow, but his face remained mostly expressionless, "Miss Wenny, indeed it is quite a coincidence. This is..." Ethan Sterling looked down at the little girl clinging lovingly to the woman, "Your child?"

"Yes." Ruby Sullivan’s face was impeccable, yet her heart was on edge.

Even though she knew Ethan Sterling couldn’t possibly recognize her, Honey was his biological child...

Thinking of this, she boldly took the initiative, standing up and reaching out her hand, "Why don’t I treat Mr. Sterling to a meal and thank him in person?"

Saying this, she smoothly pulled Honey behind her.

Ethan Sterling didn’t notice anything amiss, only casting a brief glance at Ruby Sullivan’s slender, white hand, his gaze indifferent, "Sorry, I have a cleanliness compulsion."

Ruby Sullivan’s pupils contracted imperceptibly, memories flashing of him wiping his hands every time he touched her five years ago, the derisive smile nearly escaping her control.

Indeed, after all these years, this man hadn’t changed one bit.

Still as sharp-tongued and... ruthless as ever.

She pretended to tilt her head slightly, using her left hand to gently tuck back the hair at her ear, then looked up, her smile growing more enchanting, "President Lockwood is truly as the rumors say, pristine and virtuous."